Kim Back-keun is a rice farmer in Garakgol in Noonsa-dong, Gwangmyeong-si, Gyeonggi-do Province. What distinguishes him from the others is that he does farming in the day and sings at night. 

As he starts to sing, his profound, rough voice embraces the grief of a farmer's life and life as a human being.

On Nov. 7, the singing farmer hosted a small concert, the third of its kind. The last two concerts were held on his own land, but this year, due to the rain, he set up stage inside the greenhouse next to his home. 


The greenhouse soon resonated with the sounds of a traditional wooden flute, the daegeum, drums, a bass, a guitar and a piano. As the music played on, the audience shared rice cake, or tteok, and rice beer, or makgeolli. They soon were enjoying the rice beer and the farmer’s music at the same time. 


Kim and his family have been involved in rice farming for 30 years. As the sixth generation involved in the family business, Kim has developed his own brand of rice, “Kim Back Keun’s Noble Rice.” 

The music that he has loved ever since he was young has been a huge comfort to him every step of the way. His unstoppable desire for music is the reason he still sticks to holding these concerts every year. 



Singing_Farmer_Concert_02.jpg


Singing_Farmer_Concert_03.jpg The audience gathers not only from around Garakgol in Noonsa-dong, Gwangmyeong-si, but also from across the nation, to see rice farmer Kim Back-keun sing in concert.



You've held this concert now for six years. Why?

- It’s like a battle within myself. I’d like to let people know through my music and through my voice what it's like to be a farmer and how precious the things we eat can be in our lives. I always thought somebody should do this. Somebody should come out and represent farmers like me. What keeps me going with these concerts is support from my family, friends and neighbors. Singing is my only way to express my gratitude for their support.

How have you been doing this year, since we interviewed you last year? 

- This year has been a tough one for me. It’s been thirty years since I started in the farming business, and we had the worst ever drought this year. I almost gave up on the business. At some point, I realized I shouldn't stop here, however. Then I did everything I could do to bring the business back to life. It all paid off. I had a good harvest in the end. I just wanted to give something back and decided to hold the concert this year, too.

Music has been a great comfort for me, especially in these dark days. I made a new song this year, “Ray of Light.” The song sends the message that when there is darkness in your life, there is also a time you can see a ray of light, which is a ray of hope. When the ray of light reaches more and more people, the world will become a better place. 

If you have any message to send to your fans, what would it be?

- Today, I will sing about the importance of people, friends and Mother Nature around us. Each individual gathered here today is a person who has worked hard in his or her own field. This concert is a moment that will never come back, a moment that we will never again be able to seize. I hope today’s concert will give them some pause to reflect on themselves and to feel the preciousness of nature and of farmers.