The 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea will see more than a dozen South Korean music stars and acts perform at the nightly medal ceremonies. These ceremonies will be part of a wider cultural celebration, and on Feb. 11, DJ Doc performed their signature blend of Korean hip-hop and pop.
1. There are three members of DJ Doc. DJ Doc was one of the earlier groups that introduced hip-hop music to the South Korean audiences, according to All K-Pop. Originally consisting of Lee Haneul, Kim Chang Ryul, and Park Jung Hwan, the trip released their first album, Superman’s Woe, back in November 1994. Though it wasn’t a commercial success at first, it was just the beginning of a group whose career would last more than twenty years. Sadly, Park Jung Hwan’s tenure with the group came to an end before the release of their second album. He left, and was replaced by Jung Jae Young.
2. There is no single performer named DJ DOC. When someone hears the name “DJ Doc,” they may think of a medical professional with a pair of turntables. As it turns out, DOC stands for “Dream Of Children.” That’s a very inspirational name, isn’t it?
3. DJ Doc became popular with their second album. Murphy’s Law gave the band its first major taste of success, as the title song became the #1 song for three straight weeks. They quickly followed up Murphy’s Law with a pair of albums, releasing two records in 1996. Singles from the album – “Winter Story, “Summer Story,” and “Beauty and the Beast” – topped the charts for weeks. The group developed a harder edge in their fourth and fifth albums, which led to varying levels of success. Ultimately, they took a break in 2004, returning six years later in 2010.
4. They’ve gotten in trouble for some of their songs. While they’re not near Rage Against The Machine or Public Enemy when it comes to political rage, DJ Doc did criticize the government in their song, “Bbi Guk Bbi Guk,” saying that those in power “spent more time bickering with each other” than helping those in need. They also criticized reporters in “L.I.E.,” blasting those who they thought wrote defaming articles about them.
DJ Doc got in trouble in 2016 over a song title in Korean “Addressee Well-Known,” according to The Korean Times. The song criticized then-president Park Geun-hye in a way that some called misogynistic. Why? The song lyrics, such as “Miss Park” and “Seniorita” were considered rude because in Korea, referring to a young woman as “Miss someone” is offensive. DJ DOC and their company said that the “Miss” in the song means “mistake” and they used the word “Senorita” to criticize the Saenuri Party (which, when pronounced in Korea, “Saenuri-dang,” sounds similar.) DJ Doc’s 2016 performance in downtown Seoul was cancelled over the controversy.
5. Their former band member once sued them. Park Jung Hwan filed a lawsuit against DJ Doc after the band appeared on KBS’s “Happy Together Season 3,” the Hip Hop special. While talking, DJ Doc joked that Park Jung Hwan left because he was “rhythmically impaired.” The ex-DJ Doc member sued his bandmates, but they were found not guilty.
“After examining the context of the comments made by the two, it is impossible to say that defamation took place. Due to insufficient evidence, we have come to the decision that the two defendants were innocent of the charges brought to them,” the Seoul Southern District Prosecutor’s Office announced in Feb. 2012, per the Korea Joongang Daily.
HollywoodLifers, what is your favorite DJ DOC song? Are you excited to see them perform at the Winter Olympics?