Singer Bada Brings Korean Folk Songs to Paris

Singer Bada is heading back to Paris, this time with Korean folk songs in hand. The veteran vocalist has been cast as the main host and featured artist of KBS 1TV's new music special "Song Camp: Arirang Across the Sea," which airs across two nights on October 13 and 14 at 7:40 p.m. KST.

The program marks the 140th anniversary of diplomatic ties between South Korea and France. It was planned as a special tied to the 2026 World Broadcasting Unions General Assembly in Seoul, built around the assembly's theme of "tradition." Nineteen years after Bada first traveled to Paris to study music, she returns carrying minyo, the deep, resonant tradition of Korean folk song.

"Song Camp: Arirang Across the Sea" centers on a single idea: pairing the han and heung of Korean folk songs, the sorrow and joy at the form's heart, with the polished melodies of French chanson. Filmed around the Eiffel Tower, a chanson school, and Paris's quiet alleys, the show follows Bada and local French musicians as they work past the language barrier and communicate through music alone.

Bada wrapped filming during the Paris summer and shared her thoughts after returning home. "This shoot felt like a dream," she said. "Learning French chanson to share the beauty of our folk songs, and then unspooling those minyo melodies against the backdrop of Paris, was moving in a way that's hard to put into words." She added that she hopes to meet French fans before long through a collaboration between chanson and Korean folk songs.

The two-part special airs on KBS 1TV, with Part 1 on October 13 and Part 2 on October 14, both at 7:40 p.m. KST. For a singer long known as a K-diva, the project is a reminder that Korean music's global reach is no longer only about pop. The oldest sounds in the catalog are traveling, too.