[Edaily Starin KIM HYUNSIK Reporter] Lee Baek-cheon, a popular music critic who dedicated his life to the development of Korean folk music, has passed away.

According to the music industry on the 21st,

Mr. Lee passed away that day at the age of 93. The funeral hall has been set up in Room 4 of the Seoul National University Hospital Funeral Home. The funeral service is scheduled for 7:00 a.m. on the 23rd.
Born in Hwanghae Province, North Korea, in 1933, the late Mr. Lee joined TBC (Dongyang Broadcasting) as a producer in 1964 and later expanded his professional scope to include roles as a planner and performance director.
In particular, the late Mr. Lee was known as the “mentor of the acoustic guitar group” for supporting the careers of numerous singers from the very beginning of Korean folk music. In the 1960s, he also worked as a DJ at “C’est Si Bon,” a music listening room in Mugeo-dong, Seoul, which was dubbed the “cradle of folk music.” In 1970, he organized performances by folk singers such as Kim Min-ki, Yang Hee-eun, and Seo Yu-seok at the “Cheonggaeguri House,” a music listening room located at the Seoul Myeongdong YWCA.
Subsequently, the late Mr. Lee served as a specialist advisor for the 1988 Seoul Olympics and Daejeon Expo Cultural Festival, a KBS Viewers’ Committee member, and a standing advisor to the Korean Folk Singers’ Association. In 2014, he published the book *Lee Baek-cheon’s Musical Journey*, which contained his reflections on folk music and stories about the music scene of the 1960s and 1970s.
His surviving family includes his daughter, Lee So-yeon, former Director of the National Archives of Korea under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, and his son-in-law, Jung Jun-young, a professor at the Korea National Open University.