WHY WAS YEONAN PIER SO FUNKY?

The opening line of “Yeonan Pier” makes many Korean listeners think first of Incheon and the baseball stands. Lower the vocal for a moment, though, and follow the bass, guitar and keyboards. Beneath the familiar trot melody, a remarkably tight disco band is moving.

Which Kim Trio are we hearing?

This Kim Trio is the sibling group Kim Pa, Kim Dan and Kim Sun, who released “Yeonan Pier” in 1979. Album and reissue credits identify Kim Pa on guitar, Kim Dan on drums and Kim Sun on keyboards. They are distinct from the earlier group of the same name associated with Cho Yong-pil and Kim Dae-hwan.

Reissue notes and several secondary sources describe the siblings as having grown up in the United States, absorbed disco and then returned to Korea. Accounts differ on the precise city, so we leave that detail open. Their first album appeared in 1979; Jo Woon-pa wrote the title track's words and Ahn Chi-haeng composed it.

We remembered trot.
The band was playing disco.

The hit hid the band's real face

“Yeonan Pier” became the great success, yet on the full album it almost sounds like the exception. “Scribble,” “To the End of the Sky,” “Let Me Tell You Quietly” and “Your Image” reveal a much clearer feel for soul, disco and AOR.

On the Kim Pa composition “Let Me Tell You Quietly,” guitar and rhythm section push forward with a light, assured touch. “Scribble” makes the trio's urban side audible in a way the famous title track alone never could.