VOA文化艺术2024--South Korean Grandmas Rap about Farm Life

South Korean Grandmas Rap about Farm Life

　　A group of South Korean rappers in their eighties has become popular in their hometown and beyond. The group raps about farm life and bringing energy to a quiet rural area threatened by shrinking population.

　　The group is called Suni and the Seven princesses. They have become famous in their local area since starting out at a community center last August in Chilgok County. The area is southeast of the capital, Seoul.

　　"It feels like I'm getting younger...Even if I'm old, I'm excited," said 81-year-old Park Jeom-sun of a recent performance at a school. She is the leader of the group and known as Suni.

　　At first, they had a small fan group of 150 people, but the group's popularity spread. They have been asked to perform in nearby towns and to appear on TV shows. Their videos have gained more than 77,000 views on YouTube.

　　Their success comes as South Korea is about to become a "super-ageing" country as early as next year. One fifth of the country's population is over the age of 65.

　　Rural areas like Chilgok are shrinking as young people move away to the cities and fewer of them have children.

　　Park said, "In the past, it felt like I'm living in a really busy town, but now it's not good. There are no people here anymore."

　　Park said she and the group feel like they are reliving their youth when they perform in clothes like funny hats and baggy¹ pants and wear metal jewelry².

　　Their songs tell about rural life with lines like: "Picking chili³ from a chili farm...Picking watermelon from a watermelon farm. So happy to be back home!"

　　Watermelon and chili are popular crops in the area.

　　The group members have known each other since they were young. They could not receive an education during the years after the Korean War. In 2016, they all took an adult education class to learn how to read and write the Korean alphabet, Hangul.

　　Last year, Park came across a rap performance on the internet and the group decided⁴ to learn rap from their Hangul teacher. They wanted to form a senior group, rapping about rural life.

　　Their first performance came at a school play at the same community center where they met for their Hangul classes.

　　Inspired by the success of Suni and the Seven Princesses, four other rap groups of older South Koreans have appeared in Chilgok. Some formed with the idea of keeping their minds strong and to not feel alone.

　　Park's proud 27-year-old granddaughter, Kang Hye-eun, believes her grandmother is the most famous person of Chilgok.

　　She said, "I thought only celebrities⁵ become popular on social media, but my grandmother is there now."

　　Words in This Story

　　rap – n. a type of music that has words that are spoken with the rhythm instead of being sung

　　excited – adj. very enthusiastic and eager about something

　　baggy –adj. loose fitting and not tight

　　inspired – adj. having a particular cause or influence

　　proud – adj. very happy and pleased because of something you have done, something you own, or someone you know or are related to

　　celebrity⁶ – n. a person who is famous

1 baggy   

adj.膨胀如袋的，宽松下垂的

参考例句：

• My T-shirt went all baggy in the wash.我的T恤越洗越大了。
• Baggy pants are meant to be stylish,not offensive.松松垮垮的裤子意味着时髦，而不是无礼。

2 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

3 chili   

n.辣椒

参考例句：

• He helped himself to another two small spoonfuls of chili oil.他自己下手又加了两小勺辣椒油。
• It has chocolate,chili,and other spices.有巧克力粉，辣椒，和其他的调味品。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

6 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。