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Veteran singer Patty Kim says goodbye to fans

October 28, 2013
Veteran singer Patty Kim, right, sings live at her farewell concert at the Olympic Park Gymnastics Stadium in southern Seoul, Saturday. Kim went on a retirement tour, holding concerts titled “Goodbye, Patty” in 22 cities around the country. / Yonhap

Veteran singer Patty Kim, right, sings live at her farewell concert at the Olympic Park Gymnastics Stadium in southern Seoul, Saturday. Kim went on a retirement tour, holding concerts titled “Goodbye, Patty” in 22 cities around the country. / Yonhap

Patty Kim, a veteran Korean singer, left the stage with the words “Goodbye” and “Thank you.”

After announcing her retirement in February, Kim went on a retirement tour, holding concerts in 22 cities. Her last, “Goodbye, Patty,” was on Saturday in Seoul.

“I was nervous and scared ahead of this concert. I’m also feeling sad,” she told her audience. “But now I don’t have to worry about gaining weight, pondering what to wear and saving my voice, and I can eat as much as I want. I’m free!”

Fans sang along as she crooned hit song after another, accompanied by a 25-member orchestra and 50-member choir. She later expressed intense gratitude to her devoted fans who have loved her music for the past 55 years.

Kim debuted in 1958, on a stage of the Eight U.S. Army stationed in Korea. She steadily gained popularity for her charisma, vocal tone and performance.

Kim was the first popular singer to perform at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in 1978. She also performed at Carnegie Hall in 1989. She was conferred the Hwagwan Cultural Merit in 1996.