header image for the website. It is a dark green box with a photo of a pink rose on the left side, and a white rose on the right. Large purple text says 'Index Me At Your Peril' surrounded by curvy lines.

Kim Yong-im (김용임) Fan Shrine

*chanting* trot! trot! trot!

About Korean Trot Music and Kim Yong-im

It's the best genre of music, and Kim Yong-im is one of the best Trot singers. No notes.

Read about it on Wikipedia if you'd like. (This link, and all links, open in a new tab!)

Being a Trot fan when you don't speak Korean is much harder than listening to idol pop. Very little is translated, and the stuff that is doesn't have standard romanization or translations, so the same song can have 3 different names. I find it's better to search Youtube in Korean, even if I'm just piecing together the search from Google Translate and Naver Dictionary.


I actually know very little about Kim Yong-im as a person. According to her Korean Wikipedia page (she doesn't have one in English, sad!), she tried to start her singing career in the 80s but didn't really gain popularity until the early 2000s. I found this old interview that doesn't have subtitles (rip me) where I think she talks about her career beginnings; it's the only time I've seen her with long hair! She is a well-known "Queen" of trot; trot competition shows are popular in South Korea again, and she has been a judge on Miss Trot 2 and Burning Trot Man. Also, she posts REALLY cute pictures of her granddaughter on Instagram. One of the many things that's better about trot than idol pop is that aging is not a death sentence for your career.

She seems like a fun person to hang out with. I think I would get a drink with Kim Yong-im. And then cry, tell her how much I love her, and get security called on me.

I have a few other trot singers I'd like to make fan pages of, but this is my first one. I chose Kim Yong-im because she doesn't get as much foreign recognition as, say, Jang Yoon-jeong, who's probably my REAL favorite. Kim Yong-im has an incredible voice and fun vibe; she always encourages the crowd to sing along and they have fun together. I always feel happy listening to her music and watching her videos, and maybe you'll feel happy too!

Kim Yong-im is a singer, so let's listen to her sing:

열두줄 (가야금 소리), Twelve Strings (Gayageum Sound). The outfit? Unparalleled. Her zither (gayageum) skills? Unmatched. Vocals? Impeccable. Also, honorable mention to the guy going ham on the flute at the beginning. This was one of her first songs to get really popular, and it's obvious why.


사랑의 밧줄, Love's Rope. This is probably my favorite song by her and one of my top trot songs of all time. Her voice is so strong and powerful! Seol Hayoon did a really interesting modern rendition of it on Immortal Songs, and Queen Yong-im seemed to enjoy it.


This video is actually of two of her most popular songs performed back to back; 오늘이 젊은날, Today is a Young Day, and 부초 같은 인생, a song I can't get a good title translation of. I think it's an idiomatic phrase about life being hard, something about "Life is Like Weeds", and as you can see the crowd LOOOVES it. This is such a fun performance, she looks cute in the yellow with the shiny purple eyeliner! Today is a Young Day is also commonly known by its iconic opening line, 나이야 가라, age go away/time fly away.A very cute little boy did a cover billed as 나이야 가라 on Mister Trot 2 last year, and you can see that everyone knows and loves the song. Iconic song about aging for a little boy to perform.


내 사랑 그대여, You! My Beloved. This is an old video of low quality, but 1. the song is a banger and 2. you can see what she was like when she was young, and what trot shows looked like back then.


내 나이가 어때서, What's Wrong With My Age? This song is technically a cover but I don't care, I've watched the original and she has a way better voice than that guy. And, her cover is better than Jang Yoon-jeong's cover, a rare opinion for me to have. This song is so easy and fun to sing along to! Also old, low quality.


양산에서 맺은 첫사랑, First Love in Yangsan. This song is so iconic that the city of Yangsan had her do a special video!


If you made it this far please let me know what you think (my Neocities profile is finally old enough for comments!). I'm happy to recommend more trot singers, shows, etc.


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