S.E.S’s Bada has wrapped up a 100-day musical journey in France, closing KBS 1TV’s two-part special ‘Song Camp: Arirang Across the Sea’ by bringing Korean folk songs and French chanson together across Paris. The finale aired on October 14, drawing a 3.0% nationwide rating (Nielsen Korea), following part one’s 2.9%, according to reports from iMBC and MHN Sports.
The final episode traced Bada’s last days in Paris. On the rooftop of Galeries Lafayette, overlooking the city, she sang the folk songs “Baet-norae” and “Jajin Baet-norae” before launching into S.E.S’s hit “Dreams Come True.” An overseas Korean fan in the crowd was moved to tears and sang along with her, creating an impromptu duet. Bada then visited La Manufacture Chanson, the French government-certified arts education institution, to learn chanson from a specialist — and at Notre Dame Cathedral, she reunited with Michael, the vocal trainer who coached her nearly two decades ago when she played Esmeralda in the musical ‘Notre Dame de Paris.’ Moved to tears, she sang “Arirang” for her old teacher, who recalled that she was “famous but human, and listened carefully to others to keep growing.”
As Sports Seoul reported, the program’s highlight was a rooftop performance near Fontainebleau Palace where French locals gathered as she sang “Arirang,” following along syllable by syllable despite not knowing Korean. At a Paris home-style restaurant where a professional chanson singer performs every Tuesday evening, Bada performed “Arirang” alongside Edith Piaf’s “Hymne a l’amour,” winning warm applause from the local audience. She also collaborated with French musician Marius Pivaro, whose name — like hers — means “sea.”
Reflecting on the journey, Bada said, “At first I felt great responsibility and worry, but I’m now sure that even if languages differ and we live in different countries, singing with sincerity connects hearts,” adding, “Our Arirang is global.”
Bada, the leader of the first-generation girl group S.E.S, crossed genres from K-pop to musicals throughout her career. As MHN Sports noted, her Paris performances carried extra weight amid reports of China designating Arirang and other Korean traditional culture as its own national cultural heritage. The two-part special, which aired October 13 and 14 at 7:40 p.m., framed her trip as proof that Korea’s traditional sounds can move audiences across any border.
