One day, a 15-year-old boy going through puberty was suddenly hit with an obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). If something popped into his head, he had to obsessively think about it and he turned nervous when he did not act in a certain way.
The cause for this sudden OCD was unknown. He was unable to concentrate in his studies and it was hard to make friends. Soon he was called the “odd boy” and was shunned. Teachers did not seem to care about him as well. For this lonely and bullied child, music was his only friend.
When conscripted, he joined the marching band. Although there were many limitations with his life in the Army, he was happy for he had music. However, when he returned to the society, another misfortune affected him.
Long exposure to loud sounds all day long caused his ears to become supersensitive. He had hyperacusia — a health condition characterized by an over-sensitivity to certain frequency ranges of a sound. The pain was too much to handle. After spending six months in bed and as soon as his symptoms started to show signs of improvement, he started to make music.
Just two years later, a song he had composed ranked first in the Japanese Oricon daily chart.
The hero of this story is Shin Young-seop, 29, who is currently enrolled at the Pusan University of Foreign Studies in the business Japanese language department. He wrote “Love me,” the title song of a popular Japanese female group SDN48, which soon reached number one on the Oricon chart.
The Japanese music industry was pleasantly surprised and has called Shin the “unknown South Korean who shook the Japanese pop music scene.”
“I didn’t think about the emotions portrayed in Japanese pop music. I just wanted to express my longing of a bright life filled with meeting new people and learning to love someone,” said Shin. “That’s why the music is so upbeat. The simple melody is repeated throughout the song so it’s easy to sing-along to.”
“I had depression when I was just lying around the house, suffering from auditory hypersensitivity. It still makes me cry when I think of that time. But the pain of the past has helped me mature. I’m even thankful to those who bullied me. Because of them, I found music.”
In 2009, he made a one-man band called “AM Secret” but the reaction of the agencies was not good. Then late last year, Magic One Corporation, a Japanese record producing company announced that they were recruiting a Korean composer. Shin, who had applied out of curiosity, later went on to reach number one.
It is significant that an amateur Korean successfully entered the Japanese music industry. After learning of his story, netizens started calling Shin the “Korean Beethoven” who overcame his disability and cheering him on.
It’s unknown if he will ever fully recover his hearing. “Even now, I can’t listen to music all day long because it hurts my ears. It’s fatal for a composer but I will never stop making music. It has helped me get through the hard times and has made me stronger. I intend to do music for the rest of my life.” |
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