[Video] South Korean man goes viral with pitch-perfect Swiss yodelling
By Jan de Boer
It’s a stereotypical soundtrack to the Swiss mountains, but it's safe to say that yodelling won’t make it into the Spotify top 10 for Switzerland anytime soon. Nevertheless, one man from South Korea has truly perfected the art, going viral on TikTok with his pitch-perfect renditions of traditional Swiss yodelling songs.
Sancherry Park performs pitch-perfect Swiss yodelling
Decked out in lederhosen, vest and hat, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Sancherry Park was a resident of Canton Bern, not of Daegu City in South Korea. The 48-year-old has risen to stardom on the internet, especially on TikTok, by performing his renditions of traditional German, Austrian and Swiss yodelling music.
Video: Sancherry Park / YouTube
Speaking to 20 Minuten, Park said that "when I yodelled for the first time, my mother thought I would cry." Having started yodelling in his sophomore year of high school, after seeing a TV show that featured yodelling, he would perfect his craft through books and watching videos by Korean yodel icon Kim Hong-Chul.
Yodelling gives me self-confidence, says Park
"As a rather introverted person, yodelling has given me a lot of courage, hope and self-confidence," Park explained. After around 30 years of singing, "a few years ago I uploaded a video to YouTube, it was a great success. I got many views and every broadcaster in Korea requested it. As a result, I started appearing on a lot of shows," he noted.
Video: Sancherry Park / YouTube
To hone his craft further, Park had originally planned to visit Swiss cities and ski resorts, but a certain pandemic got in the way. "I still want to visit the places where yodelling originally came from," he confirmed.
South Korean yodeller to learn German (but not Swiss)
Finally, the man has also been learning German so that he can improve his tone. When asked by one commenter whether his near-perfect singing meant he was able to speak in Swiss German, Park replied: "I don't speak Swiss German, I only sing, but I can yodel in Swiss German…It feels so good to be recognised by a Swiss person. Thanks very much."
Video: Sancherry Park / YouTube
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Jan studied History at the University of York and Broadcast Journalism at the University of Sheffield. Though born in York, Jan has lived most of his life in Zurich and has worked as a journalist, writer and editor since 2016.
While he has plunged head-first back into life in Switzerland since returning to the country in 2020, he still enjoys a taste of home at pub quizzes and karaoke nights.Read more