The Cartoon Theme That Crowned Forestella: “Lazenca, Save Us”

Part 10 of 11 in Shin Hae-chul: The Demon King K-pop Keeps Bringing Back

No. 2, “Lazenca, Save Us,” was the battle theme of a 1997 Korean robot cartoon that never really took off, and today it is the heaviest high-note test in Korean singing contests. This one song changed the champion on King of Mask Singer and decided the champion of champions on Immortal Songs.

N.EX.T – “Lazenca, Save Us” + “From the Sun to the Boy” (Inkigayo, SBS) — 1.45 million views

Its combined views come to about 42.4 million, nearly four times No. 3. Every time the first high note hits, I get goosebumps. Pouring this much heart into a cartoon theme nobody expected much from: that’s Shin Hae-chul. It appeared on N.EX.T’s fourth album, Lazenca: A Space Rock Opera, released Nov. 30, 1997, with words, music and arrangement by Shin (Melon).

The song that played when the robot launched

N.EX.T’s fourth album was both a rock band’s studio album and the soundtrack of Lazenca, a Korean TV animation. It was a 13-episode series made for 2.6 billion won (about $2.7 million at the time) and aired on MBC from November 1997. “From the Sun to the Boy” (Part 4) was the opening, and “Lazenca, Save Us” played when the robot weapon launched into battle (Sports Kyunghyang, Feb. 1, 2016). It was a story about boys piloting robots on an Earth destroyed by nuclear war. Critics called the album a fine piece of work, but it faded along with the cartoon, which never found an audience.

강철의 심장 천둥의 날개 펴고 / 결단의 칼을 높이 든 자여

You with the heart of steel, spreading wings of thunder, / you who raise high the sword of resolve

(Words and music by Shin Hae-chul; key lines quoted)

The first half of the song is a land crushed by a disaster it brought on itself. Lament blots out the sky, the earth is stained with death, and only a black sun sheds tears. It asks whether, after the last river has dried up, all that’s left is to give up, and the chorus above is the answer. The song begs that hero to bring back our spring. With percussion and choir pushing the intro, the crowd is on its feet before it even ends, and the Samsung Lions’ closer Oh Seung-hwan once took the mound to it (Sports Kyunghyang, Feb. 1, 2016).

Also read: Two Months After He Died, BEAST Sang His Love Song With His Band

The night the Music Captain took the crown

On Jan. 31, 2016, in a title match on MBC’s King of Mask Singer, “Music Captain of Our Town” sang “Dream of a Freshwater Eel” and then this song as his final stage. The whole panel stood up, and he beat the five-time champion 77 to 22 (Sports Kyunghyang, Feb. 1, 2016). He went on to nine straight wins, and behind the mask was Ha Hyun-woo of Guckkasten (Part 9). His encore of this song at the show’s sixth-anniversary special has 5.49 million views.

Ha Hyun-woo – “Lazenca, Save Us” (King of Mask Singer 6th-anniversary special, MBC, 2021) — 5.49 million views

Forestella’s fourth straight win

On Dec. 25, 2021, in the champion-of-champions round of KBS’s Immortal Songs, the crossover group Forestella sang this song with a choir for the first time and won. They had won all three of their earlier appearances too, so it was their fourth straight win (News1, Dec. 25, 2021). The clip now has 5.82 million views, the most of any cover of the song. Forestella sang it again at the MBC Gayo Daejejeon the next year.

Forestella – “Lazenca, Save Us” (Immortal Songs 2, KBS, 2021) — 5.82 million views

BTOB’s Eunkwang, Shinhwa’s Kim Dong-wan

For idol vocalists, this song is a certificate of skill. BTOB’s Seo Eun-kwang sang it on KBS’s The Seasons: 10CM’s Sseudam Sseudam in December 2025.

Seo Eun-kwang (BTOB) – “Lazenca, Save Us” (The Seasons, KBS, 2025) — 30,000 views

Shinhwa’s Kim Dong-wan was close to Shin. At the 10th-anniversary tribute concert he asked the crowd to “call out his name three times” (Hankyoreh, Oct. 28, 2024), and that same month he sang this song with Hong Kyung-min on the 10th-anniversary special of Immortal Songs.

Hong Kyung-min and Kim Dong-wan (Shinhwa) – “Lazenca, Save Us” (Immortal Songs 2, KBS, 2024) — 60,000 views

On SBS’s Fantastic Duo 2, an ordinary contestant nicknamed “High-Note Captain” took over the stage with this song (1.89 million views). The cartoon flopped, but its battle theme became the song Korean singers choose for their biggest stage 29 years later. As a fan, I couldn’t be prouder of that.

“High-Note Captain” – “Lazenca, Save Us” (Fantastic Duo 2, SBS) — 1.89 million views

Next, No. 1: “To You.” A 20-year-old college student wrote it on a melodica under a blanket, and it ended up in Squid Game.

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Sources: Melon (Lazenca: A Space Rock Opera, Nov. 30, 1997; credits and lyrics); Sports Kyunghyang (Feb. 1, 2016); News1 (Dec. 25, 2021); Hankyoreh (Oct. 28, 2024). View counts as shown on YouTube, Oct. 25, 2026. Exchange rate: 1997, $1 ≈ 950 won.