The Return of Soo and Jin

The twin duo of Soo and Jin, who thought that they would never get on stage again, are now thinking of releasing a new album in early April. It has been 17 years since their first album.

Ahn Sang-jin (45) said, “I cried the first day we began recording the new album. I couldn’t eat and just cried. I felt like I became a new singer. However, I never thought of giving up.”

In 1986, they sang for eight hours every day at Myungdong Cathedral in Jung-gu, Seoul to collect funds for children with heart disease. The next year, they released their debut album and their title song “Daybreak and Morning” ranked first on the Korean pop charts. They gained popularity and their second album “Pacho” was a hit, too. However, Ahn Sang-jin was beaten by gang members around the Han River on January 1, 1989 and stopped singing in April 1990.

Ahn Sang-soo said, “At first, I thought that my brother had a fight during the day. I scolded him many times as a brother because he lived like a dead person for three years after that.”

The younger brother went on nightclub stages for a living, but he could not manage it due to his weakened physical strength. He tried to run a restaurant in 2000, but he reached the point of death because of aftereffects such as hepatocirrhosis and pleurisy after having brain surgery. The older brother released his solo album “Forever With Me” and became popular. But his life did not get better either since his event business went bankrupt.

Ahn Sang-soo said, “We just like to sing songs which are comfortable and the 386 generation loves, rather than ranking first. Now, we are back. So, we want to release an album every year.”

The new album’s title song, written and composed by Chu Ga-yeol, a folk singer, is “Have to Love.” It contains words like “Life has not turned the way I planned,” which signifies their past 17 years.

A stubborn older brother and an outgoing and short-tempered younger brother became fathers of two and of three, but they still have arguments. When asked to make some closing remarks, the younger brother said, “I want to sing as a main vocalist from now on.” The older brother said, “Now that we are back, don’t make me worried.”

In the end, they raised their voices, saying, “Hey, Don’t interrupt when I talk.” Ah, twins.

bsism@donga.com