[ti:South Korean Grandmas Rap about Farm Life]
[by:www.21voa.com]
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[00:00.04]A group of South Korean rappers in their eighties
[00:05.16]has become popular in their hometown and beyond.
[00:10.72]The group raps about farm life
[00:13.36]and bringing energy to a quiet rural area
[00:18.36]threatened by shrinking population.
[00:22.72]The group is called Suni and the Seven princesses.
[00:29.08]They have become famous in their local area
[00:32.76]since starting out at a community center
[00:36.52]last August in Chilgok County.
[00:40.92]The area is southeast of the capital, Seoul.
[00:46.16]"It feels like I'm getting younger...Even if I'm old,
[00:50.40]I'm excited," said 81-year-old Park Jeom-sun
[00:56.16]of a recent performance at a school.
[01:00.84]She is the leader of the group and known as Suni.
[01:06.60]At first, they had a small fan group of 150 people,
[01:13.00]but the group's popularity spread.
[01:16.08]They have been asked to perform in nearby towns
[01:20.24]and to appear on TV shows.
[01:24.24]Their videos have gained
[01:26.04]more than 77,000 views on YouTube.
[01:31.24]Their success comes as South Korea
[01:34.32]is about to become a "super-ageing" country
[01:38.04]as early as next year.
[01:41.52]One fifth of the country's population
[01:45.12]is over the age of 65.
[01:49.32]Rural areas like Chilgok are shrinking
[01:53.28]as young people move away to the cities
[01:56.68]and fewer of them have children.
[02:00.64]Park said, "In the past, it felt like I'm living
[02:04.56]in a really busy town, but now it's not good.
[02:09.36]There are no people here anymore."
[02:13.36]Park said she and the group
[02:15.88]feel like they are reliving their youth
[02:18.52]when they perform in clothes like funny hats
[02:22.00]and baggy pants and wear metal jewelry.
[02:27.64]Their songs tell about rural life with lines like:
[02:31.88]"Picking chili from a chili farm...
[02:34.96]Picking watermelon from a watermelon farm.
[02:38.76]So happy to be back home!"
[02:42.40]Watermelon and chili are popular crops in the area.
[02:48.20]The group members have known each other
[02:50.60]since they were young.
[02:53.20]They could not receive an education
[02:55.88]during the years after the Korean War.
[02:59.96]In 2016, they all took an adult education class
[03:05.40]to learn how to read and write
[03:07.80]the Korean alphabet, Hangul.
[03:11.76]Last year, Park came across
[03:14.68]a rap performance on the internet
[03:17.40]and the group decided to learn rap
[03:20.84]from their Hangul teacher.
[03:23.88]They wanted to form a senior group,
[03:26.60]rapping about rural life.
[03:30.56]Their first performance came at a school play
[03:34.16]at the same community center
[03:36.24]where they met for their Hangul classes.
[03:40.56]Inspired by the success of Suni
[03:43.96]and the Seven Princesses,
[03:46.76]four other rap groups of older South Koreans
[03:51.16]have appeared in Chilgok.
[03:53.40]Some formed with the idea
[03:56.68]of keeping their minds strong and to not feel alone.
[04:02.04]Park's proud 27-year-old granddaughter, Kang Hye-eun,
[04:07.56]believes her grandmother
[04:09.44]is the most famous person of Chilgok.
[04:14.00]She said, "I thought only celebrities
[04:17.28]become popular on social media,
[04:19.96]but my grandmother is there now."
[04:23.64]I'm Gregory Stachel. 更多听力请访问21VOA.COM