Who is Yang Joon Il?

As Valentine’s Day approaches, let’s talk about love. More specifically, I’ve been thinking about the strange and passionate world of FAN love.

Have you ever been a fan of a singer or group? What did you do to show your support? 

I joined the Abba fan club. Had posters involving high spangly platform boots on my bedroom wall. Looked forward to newsletter updates from the postman. Bought their albums on vinyl. And still know all the lyrics to Thank you for the Music without having to read the screen in karaoke.

I thought that was pretty good. But it’s just so ordinary! Some fans are really full on.

When K-pop group Exo lead singer announced in January 2020 that he was getting married, there were demands for him to quit the band for breaking the ‘trust between band and fans’! 

BTS are recreating Beatlemania around the world and one British man has been having plastic surgery to look like his favourite member of the group. He’s even ‘married’ a cardboard cutout of him…

Now there’s a new kid on the block who’s gaining a loyal fan following. Actually he’s not a kid, he’s 50 years old. Ancient in K-pop years… But he’s made a comeback after a brief spot in the limelight years ago.

SUGAR MAN 슈가맨 

Korean-American Yang Joon Il appeared on a JTBC show which introduces one-hit wonders from the past. He was living in the USA when the show found him and he came back to Korea to sing his song Rebecca which he first performed 30 years ago.

A MOVING BACKSTORY 

He was brought up in the USA but came back to Korea when he was younger to try to make it in the music industry. On the show, he explains how he failed and gave up his dream and went back to the States and got a job as a waiter living pay check to pay check. 

But still, his appearance triggered a lot of support and now he’s enjoying quite a comeback – he’s particularly popular with ladies over 40.

He had a sell-out fan meeting on New Year’s Eve and has a book (already a best seller thanks to preorders) coming out on Valentine’s Day!

Now his fans want to help him get back on his feet. They send presents to him directly and give donations to their fan clubs to buy him the equipment he needs as a musician. They even donate to charities on his behalf.

He recently started on youtube and Instagram where he has over 60,000 followers.

I know one of his fans. So I asked her, What’s the deal with Yang Joon Il? Why is he popular now and failed before?

LANGUAGE

Times are different now. These days, using English words in Korean songs is very common (and cool?)

But back in the 90s he used a lot of English in his songs which was a new thing – and this was not embraced by all!

There was also a problem with the actual lyrics of his songs.

Apparently they were too DIRECT for a 1991 Korean audience. Too suggestive. This was a time before the internet when it was all about poetic expressions of love through hand-written letters. His songs didn’t fit in with the innocent mood of the times.

SEXUALITY

His androgynous look could arouse a very negative – even violent – reaction.

His unusual appearance and personality are charismatic to his fans. He has long curly hair and a Michael Jackson influence to his look and dance moves. And a quirky playfulness that’s not typically masculine.

But back in 1991 there were more haters than fans. And sometimes members of the audience threw things at him – like stones!

He could be described as Marmite: You either love him or you hate him.

QUIRKY VULNERABILITY 

His humble and positive attitude has found him fans.

He says that he doesn’t make plans anymore. Just lives in the moment and wants to be a good father and husband. 

Perhaps this is why his fans seem to want to ‘mother’ him. Even though they are a similar age to him! Their fan clubs proactively collect money to financially support him too since he’s not well off!

A REFRESHING CHANGE 

Another reason for his popularity is that he is different.

The K-pop industry is a huge professional machine with perfectly styled and choreographed young idols in perfect makeup.

Meanwhile, Yang Joon il admits to not planning his choreography before he goes on stage and it changes as the spirit moves him. 

And he’s not afraid to upload pictures of himself without his performer’s makeup. So he can look very different – from very ordinary to a star. And this is part of his charm. 

Timing is certainly important for fame and success. And for him, attitude has been important too. The early 90s was not the time, but he didn’t become bitter. Now thanks to his positive outlook and the support of his fans he’s seeing success.

Fans can be notoriously loyal, not accepting any negative opinions about their idols! So I’m not going to say anything here about his voice, because, well, the birds are listening in the day and the rats are listening at night. 👀

But this is not really about his abilities as a singer. It’s his personality and mood and attitude to life.

He’s not your typical middle-aged man weighed down by grey suits and responsibilities. But chatting with the enthusiastic fan, we agreed that age is just a number.

Being his fan has made her happy. And opened her mind to all sorts of possibilities for herself too. And I think that’s what being a fan should be about.