"Rookie Girl Group" with a 70-Year-Old Youngest Member Makes Surprise Debut... The Story Behind the Lyrics

Eight Gijang Fishing Village Residents Form the "Munoseong Trot Girls"
Lyrics Capture Memories of Fishing Village Scenery and Life

Grandmothers with an average age of 73, who have spent their lives as fishers and farmers in Busan, have debuted as a trot group.

The Munoseong Trot Girls, made up of fishing village residents from Gijang-gun, Busan, perform. Screenshot from the Instagram account of the Mundong Living Area Fishing Village Revitalization Project.

Yonhap News Agency reported on November 8 that the field office for the Mundong Living Area Fishing Village Vitality Enhancement Project in Gijang-gun, Busan, announced that the “Munoseong Trot Girls” had officially released their original song, “The Story of Munoseong,” and released its music video on YouTube.

The Munoseong Trot Girls are a trot group made up of eight grandmothers from the Munoseong area who took part in the “Become a Singer” program, one of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries’ Fishing Village Vitality Enhancement Projects, which aim to stem population outflows and increase the number of people with ties to the area. The eldest member was born in 1950 and the youngest in 1956. Most have lived in Munoseong for their entire lives, making their living either by diving for seafood as haenyeo or by growing green onions, a local specialty of Gijang.

Munoseong is a collective name for five areas in Ilgwang-eup, Gijang-gun: Mundong, Munseo, Munsang, Munjung and Munha. The field office, which wanted to document the lives of fishing village women before they disappeared from memory, initially planned a poetry-writing class. But after seeing older residents spend five or six hours singing with a karaoke machine, it changed course and began offering trot lessons.

“Munoseong Trot Girls,” made up of fishing village residents in Gijang-gun, Busan. Screenshot from the Instagram account for the Mundong Living Area Fishing Village New Vitality Project.

The Munoseong Trot Girls’ debut song, “The Story of Munoseong,” was written and composed by musician Cho Taejun. The members also contributed to the lyrics. Although they loved singing, they had never received professional instruction and struggled to memorize the lyrics and keep to the rhythm. Even so, the song’s lyrics offer a heartfelt portrayal of life in a fishing village and the women who live there.

“The Story of Munoseong” was first performed at a night market festival on August 1, ahead of its official release. With their families cheering them on, the members also successfully completed their first performance.

Starting with the song, the field office plans to document the lives of fishing village women before they disappear from memory. It is currently producing a documentary on the “History of Munoseong Women,” focusing on the Munoseong Trot Girls’ journey to their debut. The goal is to complete the documentary by the first half of 2027 and submit it to film festivals in Korea and abroad.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.