Miss Kim Ranks 4th in TV Chosun’s ‘Miss Trot 3’ and Reflects on Journey to Success

Miss Kim ranked 4th in TV Chosun’s ‘Miss Trot 3’. / Reporter Taekyung Lee

“Chon Ae-gi came to Seoul and achieved success. “I feel like the frog in the well finally became an adult after coming to Miss Trot 3.”

A loud(?) voice with a thick dialect rang out in the waiting room, announcing the appearance of the ‘Haenam Virgin Farmer’. Miss Kim (23, real name Kim Chae-rin), who came in 4th place in TV Chosun’s ‘Miss Trot 3’, which ended on the 7th, said, “I feel very dazed as I watch my video playing on TV and mobile phones.” She added, “There are so many more people than I thought. “I feel like I’m living on a cloud these days because I’m loved and loved,” he said with a laugh.

He was born and raised in Hwangsan-myeon, Haenam-gun, Jeollanam-do, a village at the end of the land, and lived through song. His parents, who worked as beekeepers across the country, played cassette tapes to soothe the young child who did not want to be separated from his mother. A child who, even after crying, would laugh whenever a song came on. “When I was four years old, while watching me sing along to Joo Hyun-mi’s ‘Ssangssang Party,’ the elders in the neighborhood said, ‘Haenam has become famous.’” When her aunt Kim Yeon-ok, who was called Haenam’s ‘Silver Drop Sister’, went to volunteer singing, young Miss Kim also followed her and performed tricks.

When I was young, my only hope for the future was to become a singer. However, as she entered school, her family continued to dissuade her, saying, “It will be difficult among Seoul kids.” According to her parents’ wishes, she entered the smart horticulture department at Yeonam University in Chungcheongnam-do. But as time passed, her dream of becoming a singer grew bigger. She couldn’t give up. She sang at the top of her voice whenever she felt like it, in the bathroom, in the fields, or on the hills alone. It was her parents who raised her hand first. She even built a singing practice room for her daughter, saying, “I saved the money to get her married.” In June of last year, she took a step forward by receiving the Excellence Award for the Haenam County section of the National Song Contest.

“When I saw the announcement for ‘Miss Trot 3,’ I thought it was fate. “I thought that even if I passed the first round, I would have no wish.” She also gave herself the stage name Miss Kim. “Even if I was dropped right away, I wanted at least my name to be easily remembered. These days, I’m more used to being called ‘Seukim’ (Miss Kim minus the ‘mi’) rather than her real name, Chaerin (laughs).” The Haenam local newspaper reported Miss Kim’s continued success, saying, “Residents only watch ‘TV Chosun'” and “They changed their toasts to ‘Miss Kim’.”

“In the meantime, I didn’t do anything when I thought, ‘I can’t do it.’ When I came to Miss Trot 3, I realized that every round I had to challenge myself with something I had never tried before, whether it was dancing or singing. I realized, ‘Even the things I thought couldn’t be done can be done if I really work hard.’ ‘I just avoided doing it because I didn’t want to do it, but I could do it if I made it happen.’ It was a really great learning experience. “I think I’ve grown up a bit these days (laughs).”

Maybe it’s because she sings every day while looking at the open golden fields and blue sea, but Miss Kim has vocal cords of steel that even her colleagues recognize. “My parents sent me everything that was good for my body. When you feel like your throat is a bit sore, if you think to yourself, ‘I’m feeling fine today,’ you won’t even know it hurts. My mind overcame my body. “I didn’t even talk to my parents on the phone during the competition because I was afraid I would lose my temper.”

He said that he had chosen a heavy song that would showcase his singing skills as his life song for the finals, but had no choice but to change it. “I chose ‘Broken Wall Clock’ (original songwriter Na Hoon-ah) so that my parents could dance on their shoulders. “I deliberately tried not to look at the audience out of fear of crying, but as I sang ‘I was chasing a floating cloud and then I looked back, my youth had gone by before I knew it,’ I suddenly found myself thinking so much about my parents.” He said that no matter how hard he tried to look away, the faces of his parents in the audience, hiding their tears, appeared as big as if they were put through a magnifying glass.

“My role models are my parents. He worked 24 hours a day without being able to straighten his back properly, and made it through hard work even though he had nothing. My parents look at me these days and say they don’t know how hard it is for me. Thanks to Miss Trot 3, I am able to show filial piety in a way that I have never been able to do before in my life.”