Out of Jail, He Came Back Singing About Friendship. MAMAMOO Sang It 28 Years Later

Part 5 of 13 in The Man Who Hit No. 1 After He Died: Kim Hyun-sik

No. 9, “Always by Your Side,” was Kim Hyun-sik’s title track in the year he came back from his lowest point. Out of jail, he put a song that says “I’ll be your friend” up front instead of a love song, and the album won an award judged mainly on sales. A man who sang about friendship instead of love in his hardest season: I love that tenderness in Kim Hyun-sik.

MAMAMOO – “Always by Your Side” (Immortal Songs, KBS, 2016) — 240,000 views

The original, remakes and covers add up to about 2.18 million views, just 30,000 behind No. 8, “Dreams in Summer Night.”

Head shaved, on stage at the 63 Building

In November 1987, Kim was arrested again on a marijuana charge. On the first of that month, Yoo Jae-ha, the younger musician he adored, had died in a car crash (Dong-A Ilbo, Oct. 31, 2017). His band Spring Summer Fall Winter broke up around the same time.

In February 1988, he shaved his head and held a comeback concert at the 63 Building in Yeouido (Weekly Kyunghyang, Nov. 8, 2005). His fourth album came out on Sept. 30 that year, with “Always by Your Side” as the title track (Melon). The album won that year’s Ilgan Sports Golden Disc Award, which Weekly Kyunghyang noted was decided “mainly by record sales.” Within a year of hitting bottom, he was back to selling records.

Also read: Kim Hyun-sik Recorded It to Say Goodbye: "In My Arms"

I’ll be your friend

세상은 외롭고 쓸쓸해 / 때로는 친구도 필요해

The world is lonely and bleak; / sometimes you need a friend.

— Title track of Kim Hyun-sik’s fourth album (1988), excerpt

When clouds hide the sun and you’re alone, when the sun goes down and you stay up all night by yourself, tell me, the singer says. I’ll comfort you, I’ll be your friend. Even if you go far away, I’ll always run to your side. Most of Kim’s signature songs are about holding on to someone who is leaving. This one runs the other way: he promises to run to someone. Read as the title track chosen by a man who had just lost a friend and been locked up, the words sound different.

The songwriting credit differs by source. TenAsia says Kim wrote the words, while Wikipedia lists Song Byung-joon as the writer and composer (TenAsia, Nov. 1, 2013).

MAMAMOO brings back 1988

In November 2016, on the Kim Hyun-sik episode of KBS’s Immortal Songs, MAMAMOO sang this song in four-part harmony. Add the 240,000 views on the KBS Kpop channel to the 330,000 on KBS WORLD TV, and it’s the most-watched cover of the song. It was also used in tvN’s 2015 drama Reply 1988 (Melon).

In the Sing Again 3 final in January 2024, Chu Seung-yeop picked this song for his last stage.

Chu Seung-yeop – “Always by Your Side” (Sing Again 3, JTBC) — 37,000 views

On the Kim Hyun-sik episode of Hidden Singer 7 in 2022, singer SOLE re-sang it in her own tone.

SOLE – “Always by Your Side” (Hidden Singer 7, JTBC) — 32,000 views

In 1988 he sang that he would run to a friend’s side. Two years later he was gone, and now younger singers keep that promise for him. Listening to that promise, I want to be the friend by his side today, too.

Next, Part 6: No. 8, “Dreams in Summer Night.” A demo tape made by a high school student ended up on this album. The student’s name was Yoon Sang.

Previous: Part 4 — The 1986 Rain Song Lim Jae-beom Wanted to Hear Again

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Sources: Dong-A Ilbo (Oct. 31, 2017); Wikipedia “Kim Hyun-sik” (November 1987 arrest; fourth album tracks); Weekly Kyunghyang (Nov. 8, 2005); Melon (“Always by Your Side (Reply 1988 OST),” fourth album, Sept. 30, 1988); TenAsia (Nov. 1, 2013). View counts as shown on YouTube, Oct. 25, 2026. MAMAMOO on KBS WORLD TV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2IPhV_QMWE