Song So-hee (; born 20 October 1997), widely known as the "Traditional Music Girl" (), is a South Korean Gyeonggi minyo () or traditional folk singer. She rose to fame after winning the KBS National Singing Contest in 2008 at the age of 11, earning her a reputation as a gugak prodigy. The South Korean government honored Song with the title "Best Korean of the Year" in 2010.
Early life and education Song was born in Yesan, Chungcheongnam-do on 20 October 1997. She is the eldest daughter of Song Geun-yeong and Yang Bok-rye. She has one younger sister, Song So-yeong.
Song displayed her talent for music at a very young age, which she later attributed to her father's habit of singing minyo, a genre of Korean folk songs, to her. When she was five years old, her parents enrolled her in a gugak academy to develop her singing skills. She studied under Gyeonggi folk singers Park Seok-sun and Lee Ho-yeon, the latter of whom is classified as a "Living National Treasure" by the South Korean government. She learned to play traditional Korean percussion instruments under samul nori master Lee Gwang-su.
Song attended Deoksan Elementary School, Imseong Middle School, and Hoseo High School, all in Chungcheongnam-do. In 2016, she enrolled in Dankook University's School of Music to study traditional music.
Career Song became famous nationwide after she performed "Changbu Taryeong" at the 2008 KBS National Singing Contest. Her performance left a deep impression upon the viewers. She won the grand prize in the contest and became the youngest grand prize winner in the 29 years of the contest's history.
Since then she performed on several popular Korean TV programs such as Star King, KBS , and . She sang songs such as "Changbu Taryeong", "Taepyongga", "Arirang", "Batnori", "Gunbam Taryeong", and "Battuiwara" on these programs and became more famous.
Her appearance on Star King in 2008 led her to another important training opportunity from Master Lee Ho-yeon, who is a specialist in Gyeonggi minyo. Having been impressed by So-hee's talent, Master Lee volunteered to provide training for her on a regular basis. Minyo (Korean folk song) literally means "song of folklore" and is the traditional music sung most frequently by Koreans. Minyo is broadly classified into five styles according to region: Gyeonggi, Namdo, Seodo, Dongbu and Jeju Minyo. Gyeonggi Minyo is traditionally popular in the central area around Seoul.
"She was born with a gift for singing Minyo. She has high-pitched voice tone and it's a clear, ringing voice (which is essential for singing minyo). She also has an extraordinary sense of pitch which enables her to learn new songs with ease. Also, her Bangulmok, a singing technique of Korean traditional music is exquisite"
Since 2008, she has been invited to perform at various events, both at home and abroad. Her main domestic events are Celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Republic of Korea in 2008, Baekje International Cultural Festival in 2010, Jeonju International Sori Festival in 2010, and Public Broadcasters International Seoul Meeting in 2011.
Song's popularity rapidly spread around the world due to her online videos and also the online replay services of South Korean TV programs she performed at, allowing people around the world to watch her performances. Many of them were stunned by her performances and fell in love with her and minyo.
Such international recognition provided her with opportunities to perform abroad. Since 2009, she has been invited to perform at official events and a variety of culture exchange events in various countries including Japan, Russia, and the United States. Some of those are the Korea-Japan Culture Exchange in 2009, the celebration of the twentieth anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Korea and Russia in 2010, the Korean Festival in 2011, and the opening events of the Korean Cultural Center India in 2012. In 2010, the government chose her as "Best Korean of the Year", a yearly award for someone who has graced and enriched the nation.
In 2014, Song sang "Arirang" at the closing ceremony of the Sochi Winter Paralympics on 10 March, and also won first place on the 26 July installment of "Immortal Song 2".
In 2014, she prematurely terminated her exclusive contract with Deokin Media following the sexual assault of a fellow singer under the label by the CEO's brother. The following lawsuit for breach of contract concluded after 6 years in 2019, setting a legal precedent for entertainers terminating their contracts ahead of time.
After signing with Warner Music Korea, Song So-hee has released two mini-albums and one single: 2015's New Song, 2016's "Love, Seasons" single, and 2018's Modern Folk Songs (a collaboration with traditional fusion band Second Moon).
She signed an exclusive contract with Magic Strawberry Sound in 2022 and released the single album Journey to Utopia in 2022 and the single Infodemics in collaboration with Jambinai's Lee Ilwoo in 2023.
On December 31, 2025, Song left Magic Strawberry Sound, after the end of her contract with the label.
Discography Extended plays Title EP details Peak chart positions Sales KOR New SongReleased: 23 April 2015 Label: SH Foundation, Warner Music Korea Formats: CD, digital download, streaming 8KOR: 1,461 Modern Minyo (모던민요)Released: 21 March 2018 Label: SH Foundation, Warner Music Korea Formats: CD, digital download, streaming 65 GangGangSullaeReleased: 4 April 2024 Label: Magic Strawberry Sound Formats: digital download, streaming — Re:5Released: 21 October 2025 Label: Magic Strawberry Sound Formats: CD, digital download, streaming —
Singles Title Details Peak chart positions KOR "Love, Seasons"Released: 25 July 2016 Label: SH Foundation, Warner Music Korea Formats: Digital download, streaming —"Odolttogi"(with Second Moon)Released: 24 December 2017 Label: SH Foundation, Warner Music Korea Formats: Digital download, streaming —"Arirari"Released: 18 November 2019 Label: SH Foundation, Warner Music Korea Formats: Digital download, streaming —"Miryang Arirang: A Precious Flower"Released: 12 December 2019 Label: SH Foundation, Miryang Cultural Foundation Formats: Digital download, streaming —"Moon Halo"Released: 29 February 2020 Label: SH Foundation, Warner Music Korea Formats: Digital download, streaming —"My Country, Korea"Released: 6 June 2021 Label: SH Foundation, Warner Music Korea Formats: Digital download, streaming —"구름곶 여행 : Journey to Utopia"Released: 25 November 2023 Label: Magic Strawberry Sound, Kakao Entertainment Formats: Digital download, streaming —"Infodemics"With: Ilwoo Lee from Jambinai Released: 27 May 2023 Label: Magic Strawberry Sound, Kakao Entertainment Formats: Digital download, streaming —"Asurajang" Released: 9 October 2023 Label: Magic Strawberry Sound, Kakao Entertainment Formats: Digital download, streaming —"Not a Dream" Released: 21 March 2025 Label: Magic Strawberry Sound, Kakao Entertainment Formats: Digital download, streaming 146"Dreamy walk (The Haunted Palace : Original Television Soundtrack)"Released: 30 May 2025 Label: Magic Strawberry Sound, Kakao Entertainment Formats: digital download, streaming —"SUZUME"Released: 28 August 2025 Label: Magic Strawberry Sound Formats: Digital download, streaming —
Compilation appearances Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales KOR Immortal Songs: Singing the Legend - Jo Young-nam (Part 1)Released: 26 July 2014 Label: KBS Media, LOEN Entertainment Formats: CD, digital download 98KOR: 18,289
Filmography
Variety shows DateShowEpisodeNotesSong15 February 2010Golden Oldies1163Lunar New Year Special"Binari"16 August 2010Golden Oldies1184Arirang Special"Gangwon-do Arirang"20 September 2010Golden Oldies1189Hangawi Special"Roasted Chestnuts & Changbu Taryeong"25 October 2010Golden Oldies1194Golden Oldies 25th anniversary Special "Nulilririya"3 January 2011Golden Oldies1203Happy New Year"Song of Peace"7 March 2011Golden Oldies1212Spring Welcome"Nodeul Riverside"17 October 2011Golden Oldies1244Favorite Songs 3"Camellia Girl"16 September 2013Golden Oldies1340Hangawi Special"Harvest Song & Song of Peace"7 October 2013Golden Oldies1343Mokpo Song Festival Special"A Boatman's Song"1 March 2014Immortal Songs: Singing the Legend142Independence Movement Day Special "Arirang Alone" (Hong Kyung-min feat. Song So-hee)26 July 2014 2 August 2014Immortal Songs: Singing the Legend158-159Jo Young-nam "I Can't Live Without Love"1 September 2014Golden Oldies1383Songs of my Heart"Song of Youth"13 September 2014 20 September 2014Immortal Songs: Singing the Legend165-166Saturday NightHeat "Tomorrow"21 February 2015Immortal Songs: Singing the Legend187Traditional Folk Songs"A Boatman's Song"25 April 2015Immortal Songs: Singing the Legend196Seo Yoo-seok "Sky"11 July 2015 18 July 2015Immortal Songs: Singing the Legend207-208Goo Chang-mo "Lost"3 October 2015Immortal Songs: Singing the Legend219Jo Su-mi "If I Leave"4 January 2016Golden Oldies1448Wishes for the New Year"Arirang Alone"16 April 2016Immortal Songs: Singing the Legend247Lyricist Kim Dong-chan "Love and Seasons"28 May 2016Immortal Songs: Singing the Legend253Composer Baek Yeong-ho "Haeundae Elegy"3 September 2016Immortal Songs: Singing the Legend267Drama Soundtrack Special "Onara & I Can't Say Goodbye"15 October 2016Immortal Songs: Singing the Legend273Arirang Special "Gangwon-do Arirang"25 February 2017Immortal Songs: Singing the Legend292Songwriter Choi Jong-hyeok "This is Goodbye" (with Ko Youngyeol)9 September 2017Immortal Songs: Singing the Legend320Songwriter Kim Ki-pyo "Seoul Woman" (With Ko Young-yeol)16 December 2017Immortal Songs: Singing the Legend333Songwriter Shin Jung-hyeon "I Will Forget You"3 March 2018Immortal Songs: Singing The Legend344KBS 45th Anniversary Special "You Say It's Over" (with Ko Young-yeol)24 March 2018Immortal Songs: Singing The Legend347Legendary Songs In Textbooks "Face" (with Second Moon)12 April 2018All That Music29525 August 2018Immortal Songs: Singing The Legend368Gayo Stage Special "Tearful Dooman River"23 March 2019Immortal Songs: Singing The Legend397Cheong Tae Choon & Park Eun Ohk"Garden Balsam"11 May 2019Immortal Songs: Singing The Legend403Han Dong Jun & Yurisangja"Only You" (with Son Tae-Jin)4 January 2020Immortal Songs: Singing The Legend437New Year Special"In the Wilderness" (with Ahn Ye-Eun)29 February 2020Immortal Songs: Singing The Legend445Jung Su-ra"Have You Seen My Love"20 March 2020All That Music378"Magic Lily" (with Ahn Ye-Eun)13 June 2020Immortal Songs: Singing The Legend46020th Anniversary of the June 15th North–South Joint Declaration, Here Comes Peace"As I Live & Song of Peace"24 October 2020Immortal Songs: Singing The Legend4792020 Korean Traditional Music Special"Pollack"14 November 2020Immortal Songs: Singing The Legend482BTS X Pdogg Special"Spring Day"2 August 2021Chosun Pop, Drop the Beat 2"Odolttogi & Gangwon-do Arirang" (with Second Moon)4 September 2021Immortal Songs: Singing The Legend521Jeon In-kwon"Everyday With You"30 January 2022Thank You Everyone, Song HaeN/ACommemorative musical for Singer and Television host Song Hae"Odolttogi"11 November 2022Music Bank"Journey to Utopia"4 March 2023Immortal Songs: Singing The Legend596KBS 50th Anniversary Special"Monggempo Taryeong & Journey to Utopia"
Television shows Year Title Role Notes 5 May 2018Knowing BrosGuestNational Talent Show2021–present Chosun Pop Drop the Beat Host 2021–2022 Goal Girl Cast Member Season 2 4 April 2025The Seasons: Cantabile of Park Bo GumGuestEpisode 4
Ambassadorship Korean hanbok ambassador (2022)
References
External links
Official website (in Korean)