The Debut Single That Hit No. 1 After He Died: “Past Days”

Part 5 of 10 in The One Album K-pop Learned From: Yoo Jae-ha

No. 6, “Past Days,” is the song Yoo Jae-ha introduced as a new singer on KBS radio in 1987. Five months after he died, it was No. 1.

Its combined YouTube views come to about 4.3 million. Of all Yoo Jae-ha’s songs, this is the one whose first line makes my heart tremble most. I can hear the 25-year-old on the radio confessing he was nervous.

“I tried something a little odd. Nobody else had done it.”

KBS Radio, Gayo Gwangjang, 1987. The host introduces him: “He’s already debuted as a songwriter, and now, for the first time, he’s released his own record as a singer. Yoo Jae-ha, who’s meeting you with a song called ‘Past Days.'” Yoo’s voice shakes a little. “I’m a bit nervous right now.” He described his album this way: “It’s not much, but it’s the first solo record I’ve put out… so I tried something a little odd. Nobody else had done it” (Hankyoreh 21, Sept. 14, 2018, quoting the broadcast).

He died on Nov. 1 that year.

다시 못 올 지난 날을 / 난 꾸밈없이 영원히 간직하리

Those days that won’t come back, / I’ll keep them forever, just as they were.

— Lyrics and music by Yoo Jae-ha (1987), excerpt

The song asks why, if every past day was a joy, he keeps searching out the painful memories, and why, if nothing can be undone, he still catches himself smiling. His own answer is that good or bad, each day meant something in its own way. He wrote lyrics like a memoir at 25 and left them without time to look back. Lee Moon-sae sang the backing vocals on the chorus (OhmyNews, Nov. 1, 2017).

Also read: He Lost His Brother to the Army. Then He Sang Korea's Enlistment Song.

April 1988: No. 1 and No. 2

On Apr. 9, 1988, the Chosun Ilbo wrote: “The songs of singer Yoo Jae-ha, who died in a car accident last November, are belatedly winning huge popularity. ‘Past Days’ and ‘Because I Love You,’ from his debut album that became his last, have lately been trading the top two spots on charts including the Music Box DJ Association chart” (quoted in Chosun Ilbo, Nov. 1, 2025). While he was alive, MBC’s screening panel had rejected him as a singer who couldn’t keep time (Part 1).

The song’s troubles didn’t end there. The CDs released in 1994 and 2012 were transferred from the master tape at the wrong speed, so everything plays slightly low. On those versions “Past Days” runs about 5:14; on the 2001 and 2014 remasters it’s 4:58 (OhmyNews, 2017). For decades, a “Past Days” stretched by 16 seconds was what people bought.

2018: a hologram sang it

In 2018, Genie Music and KT put Yoo back on stage as a hologram. All they had were a few faded photos and one TV clip. They filmed Rubin, a singer from the Yoo Jae-ha Music Contest, playing guitar and singing, and laid Yoo’s face over him (Hankyoreh, Aug. 30, 2018; News1, Oct. 31, 2018). The song they picked was “Past Days.”

His old bandmates Kim Jong-jin (guitar), Song Hong-seop (bass) and Jung Won-young (keys) came back almost for free. Contest alumni Sweet Sorrow sang backup and Lee Jun played drums. “Past Days Rebirth,” which lifted Yoo’s voice out of the original and set it over a new band track, became his first-ever music video. Kim Jong-jin said, “In the past my heart would have hurt too much to take part.” Song Hong-seop said, “After hearing the song so many times, it felt like Jae-ha was singing right next to me.”

Yong Jun-hyung, BTOB and VOISPER

The biggest K-pop version came from Mnet’s 2013 drama Monstar. “Past Days” by Beast’s Yong Jun-hyung, BTOB and Ha Yeon-soo was the drama’s first OST release. The music video has 910,000 views, and the scene from Episode 1 has 820,000.

Yong Jun-hyung, BTOB, Ha Yeon-soo – “Past Days” (Monstar OST M/V) — 910,000 views

Monstar Ep. 1 – “Past Days” (Mnet, 2013) — 820,000 views

Vocal group VOISPER released a remake as a single, and Jukjae sang it on a KBS stage. On the 2017 30th-anniversary album, it went to Kim Jo-han and rapper Killagramz (Munhwa Ilbo, Dec. 11, 2017).

VOISPER – “Past Days” (1theK) — 340,000 views

Jukjae – “Past Days” (KBS) — 99,000 views

The debut single he introduced in a shaky voice on the radio became his first music video and his last stage. It took 31 years. Thanks to everyone who waited those 31 years, I still get to hear his voice today as if for the first time.

Previous: Part 4 — The Love Song a Killer Requested on the Radio: “Gloomy Letter”

Next, No. 5: “Forever With You,” the only song in the countdown Yoo never recorded himself. Lee Moon-sae calls it “the song that came over for a bottle of soju.”

---

Sources: Hankyoreh 21 (Sept. 14, 2018, quoting a 1987 KBS radio broadcast); OhmyNews (Nov. 1, 2017); Chosun Ilbo (Nov. 1, 2025, quoting its Apr. 9, 1988 edition); Hankyoreh (Aug. 30, 2018); News1 (Oct. 31, 2018); Munhwa Ilbo (Dec. 11, 2017). Lyrics checked against Bugs. View counts as shown on YouTube, Oct. 25, 2026.