Analog Scent in the AI Era… Park Hak-gi Launches a Talk Concert, “Filling in the Blanks,” With Audience Members

Amid an onslaught of digital, ‘solid comfort’ delivered by analog

In today’s era, when artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced digital technology have encroached on everyday life, a distinctive YouTube content series that brings back the warm sensibilities of the 1980s and 1990s is finding its way to the public. Audience-participation talk concert ‘Filling in the Blanks’, with folk music legend and singer-songwriter ‘Park Hak-gi’ serving as the main host, will unveil itself next month through YouTube on July 7.

At the press conference held in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, on the 16th, ‘Park Hak-gi’ said, “In a sterile digital flood where even love letters are written by AI, I want to spread the true value of rest and happiness that analog offers,” laying out his weighty concept. He added that he hopes viewers can have a time of reflection in which he fully faces the pure self of the past through hit songs from memories they have let slip away.

‘Park Hak-gi’, who created timeless classics such as ‘Fragrant Memories’ and ‘Vitamin’ since his debut in 1988, has served as a steady cornerstone of the folk music scene for nearly 40 years. In particular, because he has led major projects honoring the late Kim Kwang-seok and Kim Min-ki and has proven close solidarity with fellow musicians, expectations are high that this concert will become the ultimate haven that soothes the emptiness inside modern people.

Breaking down the lines between stage and seats… ‘A Record of Temperature’ crafted through co-direction

‘Filling in the Blanks’ kicks off its journey under the poetic slogan ‘That Song Back Then, A Record of the Temperature We Loved’. A key differentiator of this program is that it features ‘co-directors’ who do not remain passive audience members of a small group of 50; instead, they directly project their own stories to complete the narrative.

For the historic first episode, legendary folk duo ‘Yurisangja’ (‘Park Seung-hwa’, ‘Lee Se-jun’), which has built up a golden record of 30 years since its formation this year, will take the stage. ‘Lee Se-jun’ said, “When a sidecar is triggered in the stock market and you get extremely excited or fall into a sense of emptiness, what’s most urgent in all those moments is music,” laying out his philosophical view. He also revealed an ambitious plan to maximize the dense emotional impact unique to a small venue through the global platform of YouTube. ‘Park Seung-hwa’ likewise stressed the noble happiness that comes from sharing memories through music across generations.

The megaphone for this program will be held by composer ‘Oh Jun-sung’, the maestro who produced mega-hit OSTs for dramas such as ‘Boys Over Flowers’ and ‘The Sun of Ours’. Through ‘Oh Jun-sung’’s direction, the value of popular music from the 1980s and 1990s—an essential foundation for the history of the K-pop syndrome—will be reexamined. At the same time, the plan is to present a new paradigm for pop culture through high-quality live performances and an authentic narrative that can resonate not only with the 40s-60s generation but with all generations.