While trolling about the Internet, I just found a recording of “그때 그사람” (”That Person of That Time”), which was made famous in South Korea by the fact that the popular female singer Shim Soo-Bong (real name Shim Min-Kyung) sang it at a party for President Park Chung-Hee where the latter was assassinated by the then Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA) chief Kim Jae-Kyu on October 26, 1979.

The song can be found here (see the cover page at Radio Free Asia here). Note: the actual song follows a brief melody (which is not a part of the song) and a short explanation in Korean.

Some trivia about the song according to the recording:

1. It was, at one time, the fifth most popular South Korean song in North Korea (it was apparently used in a North korean film).

2. The song was banned after the 10.26 assassination. Later military stongman and President Chun Doo-Hwan banned another song by Shim Soo-Bong.

3. Shim Soo-Bong was an “undesirable” for (blacklisted by) Korean stations during the military rule.

4. After the assassination, Shim was interrogated multiple times by investigative and intelligence agencies and then was confined at a mental hospital against her will, and subsequently went through a “difficult time.”

I hope the readers give it a whirl, as the song is a memorable historical relic for those who lived through that tumultous time period in South Korea.

[Update] For those of you who can read Korean, here are the lyrics:

그때 그 사람

비가오면 생각나는 그 사람
언제나 말이 없던 그 사람
사랑의 괴로움을 몰래 감추고
떠난사람 못 잊어서 울던 그 사람
그 어느날 차 안에서 물어봤지
세상에서 제일 슬픈게 뭐냐고
사랑보다 더 슬픈건 정이라며
고개를 떨구던 그때 그 사람
외로운 병실에서 기타를 쳐주고
위로하며 다정했던 사랑한 사람
안녕이란 단한마디 말도 없이
지금은 어디에서 행복할까
어쩌다 한번쯤은 생각해줄까
지금도 보고 싶은 그때 그 사람
외로운 내가슴에 살며시 다가와서
언제라도 감싸주던 다정했던 사람
그러니까 미워하면 안되겠지
다시는 생각해서도 안되겠지
철없이 사랑인줄 알았었네
이제는 잊어야 할 그때 그 사람
음 그때 그 사람

When I have some time, I just might translate it.