Trivia

He was a South Korean television host and singer.

In April 2022, he was recognized as the world's "oldest TV music talent show host" by Guinness World Records.

In 1986, his son, Chang-jin was killed in a car accident.

Celebrities, whether they are singers, actors, emcees or comedians, have paid tribute to him, with many calling him "father.

He worked as a comedian, actor and radio DJ throughout his career, but it was "National Singing Contest," which he joined as a host at age 60 that marked a watershed in his life.

The 95-year-old's name has been synonymous with KBS' outdoor national singing competition, which has been hosted by Song for 34 years since 1988.

In 1953, Song married his wife, Suk Ok-ee. On January 20, 2018, his wife, passed away.

The television host's life was turned into a movie, "Song Hae 1927," in 2021.

He got separated from his family during the 1950-1953 Korean War as he fled to the South.

Song served as a military signaller for the South, and claimed to have transmitted the message for the ceasefire of the Korean War.

The veteran entertainer's lifelong achievements have been commemorated in movies, shows and even in a lakeside park and a lively downtown street.

During the Korean War, he fled via boat to the south, arriving in the port of Busan. He later used the stage name, Hae (meaning sea), as a memory of this voyage.

He studied singing at music school and once hostilities broke out, he regularly stayed away from home to avoid being conscripted into the North's forces.

In 1988 he took over as the "National Singing Contest" host. Song has since hosted almost 1,500 episodes of the show from every part of the South, and one installment in Pyongyang, during the "Sunshine Policy" rapprochement of the early 2000s. But he was unable to visit his home town, pay his respects at his presumably long-dead parents' graves, nor meet the sister he had left behind, and cried throughout the journey back to Seoul.

He had been admitted to a hospital for medical treatment and released several times this year. He tested positive for COVID-19 in March 2022.

He was found collapsed in the bathroom of his home in Dogok-dong, Seoul by his daughter, who lived nearby.

He made his debut in showbiz in 1955.

He started his entertainment career in his 20s and worked as a comedian, singer, actor and radio DJ throughout his career.

At the age of 25, he joined the Changgong musical troupe, where he learned how to sing, act and emcee and launched his career as a versatile entertainer.