HoonDoo brings Turkish songs to Korean audiences

South Korean music group HoonDoo, which adapts Turkish songs into Korean and performs them in videos that have attracted widespread attention on social media, is building a cultural bridge between the two countries.

The group, made up of Lee Seung Hoon and Doo Jin Soo, gave its first concert in Türkiye in Çanakkale as part of the Türkiye Culture Route Festival, organized in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Korean Cultural Center, CE Report quotes Anadolu Agency.

Before their concert at the İÇDAŞ Kara Yusuf Congress Center, the musicians explored the city and sampled local dishes including sardines, kelle paça soup, cheese halva and kokoreç.

The South Korean artists also shared moments from their visit to Çanakkale on their social media accounts.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency before the concert, Lee Seung Hoon said the group generally chooses Turkish songs based on suggestions from their fans on social media. He added that they also performed “Biz Atatürk Gençleriyiz” for Victory Day on August 30 following a recommendation from their followers.

Lee said they had also learned about Atatürk and Turkish history through their fans. He explained that they were impressed not only by the lyrics of the song but also by the energetic melody at the beginning.

After publishing the recording, Lee said the comments that affected them most were messages such as, “You have become Turkish now.”

Asked about similarities between Turkish and Korean music, Lee said the music of both countries shares emotions such as sadness and longing, as well as similar ways of expressing those feelings.

“Performing in Çanakkale is a great honor”

Lee Seung Hoon described performing their first concert in Türkiye in a historically significant city such as Çanakkale as a source of great pride.

“As a Korean, performing in a city with such a strong history as Çanakkale is a great honor for us, and we are very happy about it,” he said.

Lee said the city’s natural beauty, the happiness of its people and their kindness were among the things that impressed the group most.

“We live in Seoul, South Korea. People there are very busy and spend their days amid the chaos. When we look at this place, people are happy and the nature is beautiful in its own way. This difference made us feel peaceful,” he said.

Lee also spoke humorously about the food they tried during their stay in Çanakkale.

“We ate kelle paça soup, kokoreç and sardines. We also tried cheese halva, but there is a very dangerous issue with it: if you come here and taste these foods, there is a very high risk of gaining weight. We have gained two kilograms since we arrived,” he said.

Lee said that if Koreans were asked which country they considered their brother country, “10 out of 10” would answer Türkiye.

Discussing how the historical friendship between the two countries could be passed on to younger generations through music, Lee said the group wanted to continue strengthening the connection between the two cultures.

“We make music by performing Turkish songs with Korean lyrics. We see that many young people are interested in this. We want to continue sharing our work and maintaining the connections between the two countries,” he said.

“We look at the story behind the song”

The group’s other member, Doo Jin Soo, said HoonDoo also performs K-pop-oriented songs while drawing on their opera training when performing pop music.

Doo explained that they had sung songs in different languages during their opera training, which has helped them when performing in Turkish.

He said the group gives priority to song suggestions from its fans when selecting material.

“We research the suggested song, look at its background and story, and then perform it. I focus on the lyrics, while Lee focuses on the melody,” Doo said.

Doo identified “Sarı Gelin” as his favorite Turkish song, saying he believes it beautifully reflects the feelings of a Korean person.

The group is also scheduled to perform with Turkish singer Bayhan as part of the festival.

“We wanted to share the stage with him. Thanks to him, we started covering Turkish songs. It is an honor for us to perform on the same stage with him. We are making this performance possible thanks to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Korean Cultural Center. If we are invited to future projects, we would like to come,” Doo said.

Doo also highlighted the long-standing friendship between Türkiye and South Korea. He said people in Korea are familiar with the Korean War and the assistance provided by Turkish soldiers, and therefore widely regard Türkiye as a brother country.

Photo: Instagram/hoondoo_official