After more than five decades of enthralling audiences, Korea’s legendary diva Patti Kim said she will retire as a singer and pursue an ordinary live as a mother and grandmother.

“I wanted to retire from the stage while I can sing well and look fabulous. I’m still healthy enough to perform on the stage. But I wanted to say farewell to my fans while I can show them my best,” Kim told reporters at a press conference in Seoul. “That’s Patti Kim’s style of saying goodbye.”

Kim, who ruled the country’s entertainment scene in the 1960s and ‘70s, used to say that she would never leave the stage.

Her hit songs include “Hymn of Seoul,” “Parting” and “Love that Left Autumn Behind.” The news of her retirement came as surprise to her fans of 53 years as she continued to hold concerts around the country and sometimes abroad.

The 74-year-old star confessed that she has been thinking about retiring for the last 10 years. She has also been suffering from enormous pressure from her fans who wanted her and her voice to be as young as they were years ago.

“I’ve been singing more than three quarters of my life. But honestly, it is nearly impossible to keep my voice and body young forever.

“When I was young, I was never afraid of singing on stage. As I got older and older, however, I felt more pressure because my fans would expect my voice to remain the same as before.”

The gray-haired singer will hold farewell concerts titled “Parting” starting in June and will travel overseas to say farewell to her fans abroad.

On June 2, Kim will hold the first of a year-long series of farewell concerts at Olympic Park Gymnasium, PK Entertainment, her agency said.

Born in 1938 as Kim Hye-ja, the singer took the stage name Patti after U.S. singer Patti Page and debuted at a local U.S. military base.

Kim was the first Korean singer to perform in Japan in 1960 and in Las Vegas in 1963. During her years in the U.S., she appeared on “The Tonight Show” with Johnny Carson eight times. Kim was also the first pop singer to perform at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in 1989. In the same year, she also held a solo concert at the prestigious Carnegie Hall in New York.

Kim, the first generation of Korean singers who made inroads to the overseas market, said she is very proud of K-pop artists drawing interest from all over the world.

“But honestly, I envy them because now young artists are travelling around the world in fancy cars and planes. When I was performing in the U.S., and in Japan, I had to take trucks, not even a bus, to move around. I did my hair and makeup by myself,” she laughed.

Kim added that she wants to sing with young hallyu artists before she officially retires like Tony Bennett who released albums featuring young and innovative artists like Lady Gaga and the late Amy Winehouse.

When asked whether she might take back her decision to retire, Kim in her trademark confident voice said she would probably want to sing again but not in front of an audience.

“I won’t perform again on paid stages, but perhaps for charity events. But no, this is my last concert

“I will then sing in front of the mirror whenever I want to,” she said.

By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)