Yu Huiyeol's Sketchbook (You Hee-yeol's Sketchbook / 유희열의 스케치북)

Hello. It's nice to meet you.

Welcome to Sketchbook, everyone. I'm Yu Hui Yeol.

- Are you happy? - Yes.

I only asked because you were all smiling...

as I walked in right now.

No one was frowning and that made me so happy.

Now, some refer to Sketchbook...

as the textbook of music talk shows,

and I couldn't be more grateful.

It's an honour to say the least.

So...

performing on stage today are some of the artists...

that are like textbooks of their genres.

The first guest of today's show...

is also known as the textbook of pop music.

Before I say more, let me sit in front of the keyboard.

All right.

The first artist that'll sing today...

will blow you away...

with his performance.

I'm pretty sure you've never seen him sing with all his might before.

I'm very nervous right now,

but if you show him all the support you can give,

I'll sure he'll make your time worthwhile and blow you away.

I don't get why you're all laughing.

Anyway,

he's known as the textbook vocalist...

thanks to his perfect vocalisation and techniques.

Brace yourselves.

It's the legendary Kim Yeon Woo.

Hello, nice to meet you.

Please welcome the textbook vocalist,

Kim Yeon Woo.

Hello, I'm Kim Yeon Woo. It's nice to meet you.

You used to perform on Sketchbook quite often,

but you haven't in a while. How do you feel?

To me, this stage is always very realistic.

I get nervous performing on this show more...

than I do in my own shows.

Also, I can feel the spotlight intensely when I'm up here.

It's like everyone's eyes are on me,

which is why I get more nervous.

- I see. - Right.

For our last Christmas Special, we put together a segment...

where we elected the Balladeer of 2015.

You were one of the seven candidates,

- and one of the front-runners. - Right.

Due to health issues, you couldn't participate.

So Yoon Jong Shin, your boss, stepped in as your proxy.

That's right.

Did you watch that episode?

Jong Shin sang it beautifully.

He sang one of Yeon Woo's songs, "Farewell Taxi".

I don't know...

if Jong Shin was going through a rough time back then...

or if something was troubling him at home,

but the emotions he brought to that song...

were undeniably compelling.

It was incredible.

I was just as surprised, too. I've known him for 20 years,

and I've never heard him sing like that before.

Tell me about it.

If you participated that day, would you have won the election?

So many talented vocalists were a candidate that day...

which is why I can't say for sure,

but I guess I would've won.

My gosh.

You're able to talk and laugh about it now,

but back then, you were so sick that you had to cancel all of your shows.

There were even articles about it.

So tell us what exactly happened.

I still remember it vividly.

During rehearsals,

I couldn't sing the middle range notes at all,

and I couldn't sing the high notes, either.

Something like this had never happened to me before,

so I got myself checked out, but my condition didn't improve.

I couldn't sing, so I cancelled the show...

and said sorry to everyone in person...

- as they left. - I heard that...

he sang a few songs for the audience that day.

- Yes, I sang two. - Yes, two.

It was to show them the condition I was in.

They all heard that I was in no state to sing,

so I wrapped up the show and apologised...

to each person in the audience as they left.

Do you know how it feels...

to be too cautious...

to comfort a friend?

I didn't want to hurt him by saying...

the wrong thing so it took me a while to send a text.

How tough was it for you back then?

I honestly thought I had to find another line of work.

Singing has been my everything for over 20 years.

So if I couldn't sing,

then I wouldn't be able to teach students any more...

and have a music career of my own.

I seriously went over...

what my other options were.

What options does a man in his mid-forties have?

Thankfully enough, I got my voice back...

after a couple of months.

- What a relief. - I know.

So are you better now?

Yes, I'm 99.8 percent back to my normal self.

The 0.2 percent I still lack...

is due to my old age.

That's why I've been...

trying to stay in shape with boxing and...

- Really? - Yes, by working out.

I hit the gym just as much as I work at the studio.

We should applaud him for making a full recovery.

Thank you.

You mentioned that you do boxing these days. Tell us more about that.

I've been learning boxing for almost four months now.

I'm doing my best to learn it.

Are you good? I can't imagine you doing it.

Well, I'm not sure how this will sound,

but I've only learned it for about three months and the director...

already tells me to go on matches.

Who says that to a person who's been boxing for only three months?

"You'll definitely win the semi-pro matches."

He keeps telling me that.

Show us an example, then. What are some of the most basic moves?

We'd like to know.

I've only mastered the basic techniques so far.

This is how you do a jab.

A light punch, upper cut and hook.

An upper cut and hook. I learned things like these.

And here comes a side punch.

Like this.

Wait. Yeon Woo, hold on.

Calm down.

- Well, it's not really... - From what I heard,

those moves are important, but...

I don't know boxing very well. But from what I know,

skipping ropes is the very first thing you need to master.

- Yes, it's one of the basics. - Then can you skip ropes...

like those actors we see in films?

Yes, of course.

You're underestimating us since you haven't been here for a while.

- Skipping ropes is super easy. - Please pass me the jump ropes.

You didn't expect this, did you?

Show us the most basic technique. Prove yourself.

It's just the regular way. Just do this.

You can't do it!

I think I can do it, too.

My boxing shoes fit my feet perfectly.

These have the front that protrudes like this.

One of the audience members was like, "Yes, he's right."

- She must be your fan. - These also have heels.

- All right. - Usually,

I can keep going like this.

But I should jump higher because of my dress shoes.

Then...

Darn it.

Okay. This could be too much to ask,

but could you sing while you're skipping ropes?

Of course.

Then show us.

Did you change at all

Gosh.

Your smile which I used to love so much

Is it as beautiful as it used to be?

I have changed

I don't smile as much as I used to

And I've lost a bit of weight, too

Gosh, this is...

- making me want to keep trying. - Yeon Woo.

Please have a seat so that we can continue...

- our conversation. - I'll get going.

Let's get back to our conversation.

As you can see now,

it looks like Yeon Woo's health has been fully recovered.

He's back to being jolly, so I'm very much looking forward...

to his upcoming concert.

You're planning of doing something special again, aren't you?

Will you perform a medley of dance songs?

Some might say that I'm too old to do such things,

but I enjoy practising choreography for idol groups' songs.

- It uplifts my mood. - Which song did you pick, then?

I prepared a performance of "Cheer Up".

The dance moves aren't as difficult as I thought.

What's your favourite part? What's the key dance move?

My favourite part of the choreography is...

where you look like you're reeling in a fish.

- Oh, is there a part like that? - Yes.

It's this part. You cast the fishing rod,

reel it in and finish up with this.

There's a part like this, and I find it very fun.

We need to see it. Music, please.

Please start the music.

Isn't it fun?

That's precisely why I love it. It's so fun.

My goodness.

Gosh, I'm so embarrassed.

I'm humiliated for him.

- It's very fun. - I might have nightmares about it.

How long does it take for you to master a choreography for one song?

I usually memorise all the dance moves after the second time.