Pop Music Critic and Korea Arts Education Promotion Agency Chairman Kang Heon Passes Away

▲ Kang Heon, Chairman of the Korea Arts Education Promotion Agency and pop music critic

Critic Kang Heon, who broadened the horizons of South Korean pop music criticism, has passed away at the age of 64.

He passed away on the afternoon of yesterday (October 20), and the specific cause of death has not been disclosed.

Born in Busan in 1962, the late critic graduated from Seoul National University's Department of Korean Language and Literature and went on to major in music theory at the same university's Graduate School of Music. He also participated in the independent film collective "Jangsangotmae," taking part in the production of works such as "The Night Before the Strike" and "Opening the Closed School Gates."

Starting his music criticism activities in the early 1990s, he made a name for himself with critiques on artists such as Kim Hyun-sik, Seo Taiji, Shin Hae-chul, and Kim Min-ki, and taught the history of pop music at universities for 20 years.

He also planned and produced concerts such as "Freedom" and the "Folk 30th Anniversary Festival," as well as musical plays like "The Song That Never Ends" and "Cheonbyeon Salon."

Additionally, he published books such as "Moments of Subversion and Reversal" and "Kang Heon's History of South Korean Pop Culture," which interpreted eras and history through pop culture.

At the age of 42, his aorta ruptured, and after waking up from a 23-day coma, he studied Myeongrihak (Korean traditional divination/astrology) and also worked as a Myeongrihak practitioner.

The late chairman served as the CEO of the Gyeonggi Cultural Foundation and the 5th president of the Korea Metropolitan and Provincial Cultural Foundations Association, and had been serving as the chairman of the Korea Arts Education Promotion Agency since December of last year.

(Photo provided by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Yonhap News)

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