Jinsop

Jinsop Ho (Seoul, South Korea, 1959 – Santa Elena, Ecuador, June 24, 2012) was an Ecuadorian singer of Korean and American heritage who sang romantic music, ballads, pop, and rock. He reached fame in the 70's and 80's. The name "Jinsop" in Korean means "Fire Star".

Personal Life

Jinsop was born in Seoul, South Korea, during the South Korean War. His father was an American diplomat named Fred Odirling, and his mother was was a Korean woman named Myomghui. When he was a child in South Korea he was discriminated against for being the product of an interracial relationship. He then moved to the United States because his father got work as an electrical engineer at NASA. When he was 15 years old he moved to Quito, Ecuador where his father began work at the research station as a diplomat. His parents returned to the United States, but he ramained in Ecuador because he liked the country and at sixteen he studied at the Academia Cotopaxi and Anderson College where he met his wife Silvia Jarrin, who taught him Spanish with beginning language books, and with whom he had three children; Jinsop Junior, Alexander and David.

Beginning of singing career

He learned to sing in Spanish before learning to talk it, since he had no knowledge of the language before arriving in Ecuador. Soon after, in 1972 , Jinsop and his mother organized a music festival where they sang for a rock band called "Las Hormigas" (The Ants). At the conclusion of the festival, they won first prize, but people were angry because another band called The Apostles (who received greater applause) did not win, and so the crowd lit the dais on fire in defiance. The prize was then taken from Jinsop and awarded to The Apostles. Jinsop fled the festival, but was arrested a few days later. He then became a member of The Apostles, and one of the judges of the festival, Héctor Napolitano, who was a famed singer at the time, took him to the recording studio of the label Ifesa to interpret the songs of Paul Anka and other artists, and that is how he released his first album called Popy Love, which reached major airplay throughout Ecuador, and that is how he became a solo artist.

Years of Popularity

Jinsop was most popular between 1973-1978, considered the time of "modern music" in Ecuador. At this time he sang songs written by Luis Padilla, Gustavo Pacheco, and covered the songs of James Brown, Simon and Garfunkel, Paul Anka, etc.

At eighteen he moved to Guayaquil at the home of the composer and musician Gustavo Pacheco, a member of the group Boddega, who composed the following songs for him to sing: "Ven chiquilla ven" (Come see, girl), "Rosas y claveles" (Roses and carnations), "Volvamos a empezar" (Let's start over), "Extraño" (Strange), "Hay un motivo por vivir" (There's a reason for living), and "Silvy" which was dedicated to his wife. The song-writer Luis Padilla wrote the song "Estrellita solitaria" (Lonely star) for Jinsop. Even though Jinsop sang Spanish songs with an accent, the producer Efrén Avilés explained to him that people liked his sound, and so they recorded these songs at the Ifesa studio, and Jinsop was widely accepted and praised.

In 1973 he recorded, in the Ifesa and Orion studios, his first album "Mi Oraciòn" (My Prayer) (with music by the orchestra of Hector "Manito" Bonilla), which included hits such as: "Los campos verdes" (Green Fields), "Ven chiquilla ven" (Come see, girl), "Mi bella niña" (My beautiful girl), "Yo pienso que tu eres la mujer" (I think you're the woman), "Silvy", and "Atar un lazo arriba de un rosal" (Tying a rope above a rose).

In his second album appeared the songs: "Estrellita solitaria" (Lonely start), "Iron horse", "Rosas y Claveles" (Roses and carnations), "Volvamos a empezar" (Let's start over) among others.

In the 1980's he gave up music for several years. In 1986 he became an Ecuadorian citizen under the government of President León Febres Cordero. He moved to the United States to work for several year, but returned to Ecuador where he said he wanted to spend the last years of his life. He divorced his wife who stayed in the U.S. with two of his sons.

He continued to make music, and in 2011 on the advice of his doctors about his lung problems, he moved to the hot springs of Ayangue, in the peninsula of Santa Elena, in the neighborhood of María Auxiliadora, with his youngest son Alexander, his home was a beachside inn. He also had a heart condition, and moved there in hopes that the salty air of the beach would help him breathe better.

His last performances were in Guayaquil on March 8, 2012 at the Simon Bolivar Convention Center alongside the Spanish singer Jeanette and Argentine singer Elio Roca. He also performed on June 9, 2012 for Father's Day in Machala with the Uruguayan band Los Iracundos, Los Golpes, and the Chilean singer Leonardo Favio at the Hotel Oro Verde.

Death

Hi friend Arturo Cisneros said he got a missed call from Jinsop on early Sunday, June 24, 2012 at 3:50 AM. He said he would forever wonder what Jinsop wanted to talk to him about at that hour. Later that morning, upon returning home from shopping his son Alexander found his father Jinsop dead of a heart attack. Three weeks earlier his former wife Silvia Jarrin had died.

The Guayaquilean songwriter and musician Gustavo Pacheco said that only three days before Jinsop's death, that they had spoke about organizing a tour in August in New York, Los Angeles, Washington, and Chicago. The tour would now never happen.

Jinsop's body was buried on Tuesday June 26, 2012 at 5:00 PM, at the General Cemetery of Guayaquil.

List of songs

• La casa del sol naciente de Jinsop
• Silvy de Jinsop
• Yo Pienso Que Tu Eres La Mujer de Jinsop
• Mi Bella Niña de Jinsop
• Rosas y Claveles de Jinsop
• Papá de Jinsop
• Dulzura Mia de Jinsop
• Mi Oración de Jinsop
• Tu Huella de Jinsop
• Tú me provocas de Jinsop
• Atar un Lazo Arriba de un Rosal de Jinsop
• Dulzura Mía de Jinsop
• Ven Chiquilla Ven de Jinsop
• Puppy Love Son Tus Besos La Razón de Jinsop
• Atar Lazos Arriba De Un Rosal de Jinsop
• Un León Se Escapo De Su Jaula de Jinsop
• Pasaje de Ida de Jinsop
• Caballo de Acero de Jinsop
• Cuando Estas Conmigo de Jinsop
• Reflexiones de Jinsop
• Las Doncellas de Jinsop
• Volvamos a Empezar de Jinsop
• Estrellita Solitaria de Jinsop
• Campos Verdes de Jinsop