Kim Heon-sik, Columnist and Pop Culture Critic
May is often called the season of roses because the flowers peak in May. Maybe that’s why May 14 has become “Rose Day,” a day when lovers confess by giving roses. There was a time when a man was considered especially thoughtful for giving red roses on Wednesdays — a trend sparked by the hit song “Red Roses on Wednesday” by the band Daseot Sonjagak (Five Fingers). But that song carries the sting of unrequited love. Lee Du-heon entered Dongguk University’s economics department in 1983 and soon developed a crush on a classmate. He finally confessed, only to be rejected. Heartbroken, Lee walked from the school’s back gate through Chungmuro to Myeongdong and then boarded a bus. On the bus he overheard a group of high school girls in the back seat say, “What day is it? Wednesday. Maybe it’s raining because it’s Wednesday.” The phrase sparked a cascade of images — a grandmother selling roses on a Myeongdong corner, the Chungmuro street that once housed the Daehan Theater, and coats with upturned collars — and a melody and lyrics came to him. He tore foil from a cigarette pack and started writing; that song became “Red Roses on Wednesday.” He recorded it within days, and the school radio station was the first to play it. A junior DJ who spun the record even announced that Lee had written the song for a particular female student from a specific department and year — in effect confessing again. The tactic seemed to work: the student contacted him through the station and asked to meet.
She later said the attention was too much and asked the station not to broadcast such details, effectively rejecting him a second time. The song wasn’t on Five Fingers’ 1985 debut album at first, but the record producer wanted additional tracks and asked for more material, so “Red Roses on Wednesday” and “Dawn Train” were added and released. Vocalist Lim Hyung-sun turned the song down, saying it wasn’t his style, so the producer had the songwriter Lee Du-heon perform it himself. Though Lee failed to win his love, his song went on to bring many couples together.
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