Lee Seok-won Returns to the Stage After 10 Years... Choked Up During 'Sandul Sandul,' Audience Takes Over the Singing

People who had waited a long time remained by the lakeside, where heavy rain had poured for quite some time. At around 8:30 p.m. on the 18th, Lee Seok-won took the stage for the final slot at the "Loving Forest Garden" on the 88 Lake Waterside Stage on the second day of the "Grand Mint Festival 2026." This marks his first time singing in front of an audience in 10 years, following his appearance with Sister's Barbershop at the GMF in 2016.

On this day, heavy rain of nearly 20 to 30 millimeters per hour poured over Olympic Park, leading to the cancellation of most outdoor performances. The waterside stage also temporarily halted before resuming at around 5:30 p.m. as the rain subsided. Lee Seok-won took the final spot of the day at the waterside stage, following Shin Ji-hoon, Kkachisan, and Sunwoo Jung-a.

The stage was cautious from the start. Sound check dragged on for a long time, and Lee Seok-won's side had requested from the initial performance announcement that people refrain from taking photos or videos. The same notice was repeated about 10 times right up until the performance. When he finally stepped onto the stage, he was dressed in a black hat, black glasses, a black T-shirt and pants, and a black mask half-hanging from his chin. The lighting was directed not at him on stage, but toward the audience.

"Hello. It's been a while," Lee Seok-won greeted, adding, "I'm sorry about the inclement weather today," expressing his gratitude to the audience who carved out precious time to attend. A chair was placed on the stage. He asked the audience not to worry, explaining that even if he ended up sitting down during performances more often than expected, it did not mean he was hurt or struggling, and asked them to focus on the performance.

The set opened with "Admiration." "You Probably Can't Show It," "Times of 2002," and "Some Day" followed. He introduced "A Chase After the End of a Walk" as a song he wrote while waiting for absent members in a practice room in Cheonggyecheon 8-ga. This was followed in order by "Fan Club," "Glass," and "Shooting Star We Met Yesterday."

Between songs, Lee Seok-won did not hold back his words. He shared, "Hesitant because celebrating the 30th anniversary felt somehow a bit embarrassing, once I finally made up my mind, meeting the me of 30 years ago is both heartwarming and sad." He also mentioned that "it took 1 year and 10 months from declaring at the beginning of last year that I would make music again until standing on this stage." On a website launched in late March of last year, he had announced a "two-year project of creating new music and releasing a brand new first album, just like I did back then." He explained that a demo album from 30 years ago marked the beginning of everything, and he plans to release newly crafted demo tracks.

He also shared that he wrote a ballad for the very first time. He remarked that it had been a lingering regret that his setlists lacked ballads. Fearing he might lose interest in music if he restricted himself, he wrote freely, and this single song turned out to be a ballad. Lee Seok-won playfully played a rough demo track stored on his smartphone for the audience, revealing its title to be "Sung Si-kyung." He explained, "Because you'll understand once you hear it." After playing just the first verse, he said, "It probably won't see the light of day." Laughter erupted from the audience.

As the laughter subsided, "Sandul Sandul" began. Lee Seok-won choked up and turned away at the lines reflecting on his self-perception as an ordinary person and his determination to still walk his own path. When the singing broke off as he wiped away tears streaming from under his glasses, the audience filled the space. The fans chose to sing along instead of waiting for a singer unable to perform due to tears. Many in the audience were shedding tears as well. Lee Seok-won shouted to the crowd, "Shout out as much as you want to love, as much as you want to live." He wrapped up the main set with "Beautiful Things."

During the encore, he sang "Life is Prohibited" and "Did You Forget Me." Lee Seok-won led a mass sing-along, telling the audience, "Because I'm so afraid of getting my picture taken, there are no photos of me with the audience like other singers have. Instead, let's prove just how much music makes us happy." He then proposed dancing, saying, "To make this moment memorable, let's immerse ourselves in a conversation of the body." The audience said a passionate goodbye. On a stage where they decided to leave no single photograph, the people remembered the moment with their bodies.

Lee Seok-won concluded Sister's Barbershop's activities following their 6th studio album "People Staying Alone" in 2017, and declared his retirement from music in August of that year. At the time, he left a message saying, "Someday in the future... I will look for you again then." Having debuted in 1996 with their 1st album "Pigeons are Rats of the Sky," he won three awards including Album of the Year at the Korean Music Awards the following year with their 5th album "The Most Ordinary Existence," released in 2008. Following his retirement, he focused on writing. Mint Paper explained that this stage marks Lee Seok-won's official reunion with audiences 9 years after his retirement declaration.

The wait was long, and the promise was kept on an evening when the rain stopped. A single line of a song sung in stead by the audience remained like the reason for his return.



(Reported by Kang Kyung-yoon, SBS Entertainment News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.