Translator: Soyeon Park

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Jungheum Band sits across from me two Americanos in hand. In a small but noisy cafe just above their studio, where the cafe’s theme is music, decorated with Vinyls and signed CDs from all different East Asian artists. I look closely at the collection spying two familiar faces as Jungheum Band’s CD sits atop the rest. We discuss their most recent live show where I met them briefly before getting into the interview.

During the show, I remember being in awe of the duo’s incredible talent. Minkyung has unmatched powerful velvet-like vocals supported by Myeong’s exquisite guitar skills. They fuse superb vocals and acoustic harmonies breathing a new life into their music. The couple’s energetic performance and chemistry were the star of the show. Sitting in front of me at this very moment, their energy lights up the room as we continue our conversation into the interview. I ask the age-old question of how are they doing to which they respond with much excitement.

They are riding the success wave of their current original soundtrack (OST) release for the K-drama The Interest of Love. It has been a huge project for them from the drama’s start. Working with the drama’s director every step of the way to write and perform the perfect OST is something that makes them both very proud. They are happy to still be working with this director writing other OSTs for his current drama projects.

Outside of work and songwriting, I wanted to know what music the two enjoy. Minkung answers first, discussing her love for jazz. She specifically loves Ella Fitzgerald so much that her English name is Ella. Her love for jazz doesn’t stop there. When visiting her studio earlier we met her two cats respectively named Ella and Louis Armstrong after the two iconic Jazz musicians.

Minkung continues as her eyes light up talking about her favorite artists, including Harry Styles. She is a huge fan of his latest single “As it Was” but she actually prefers PREP’s cover of the song. It has a more jazz swing feel to it compared to the original mixed with electric pop. After giving it a listen, I think I might prefer it to the original also.

Next, Myeong talks about the evolution of his music taste over the years. He and our translator, Soyeon Park bonded over their love of rock music, specifically pertaining to AC/DC and the Clash. Myeong says he usually prefers listening to hard rock, but because of his baby, he has been listening to a lot of classical music for babies. Surprisingly, he has come to enjoy it.

Myeong says he is very open when it comes to different music tastes. Although, he doesn’t have a specific taste these days and listens to everything. The two also mention that they enjoy the K-pop girl group New Jean’s music, which leads us to the topic of Korean artists. Myeong loves a Korean artist named John Park. Minkung likes Kwon Jin Ah, who is a very popular musician in Korea, and who she strongly recommends everyone should listen. Soyeon nods in agreement.

Outside of their sheer love for music, I couldn’t help but wonder about the story behind how Jungheum Band came to be. The two met during their time at university. Myeong and Minkung were paired together for a Christmas Eve performance. After that performance, they knew they were meant to perform together. They harmonized well and captivated the audience that night as a duo. The rest is history.

Focusing on their more recent undertaking as a group, I wanted to discuss their work on the drama, The Interest of Love. How did they know the drama was the right fit for them? Jungheum Band explains that the music director had known the band previously, and had a few scenes from the drama for which he thought their style of music would mesh well. The process of writing music for a drama is a bit more difficult than anticipated.

Minkung explained when writing music for themselves it is easier to express how they feel, but when the two are writing for a drama, they must reflect in their music how the character feels in a specific scene. The demand for writing for dramas can be a tad overwhelming. Jungheum Band hints that they have two songs they are working on for personal release, but they have put the project on the back burner to focus on their OST work for their dramas.

Not only are they writing in Korean, but some of the tracks for The Interest of Love are also completely in English. I contemplate if there was a reason to write the songs solely in English versus Korean. One reason is to appeal to global fans, they explain, since K-dramas have become so popular on Netflix. The main reason for English lyrics is to shift a Korean viewer’s focus in pivotal scenes. They do this by using English lyrics so the Korean audience will focus more on the dialogue and the actors than the music.

Writing for this drama was not only different language-wise, but style-wise it was challenging. This is because the music director wanted a more pop sound, while Jungheum Band primarily works with a coffee house, acoustic-like style. Despite the challenge, they were able to execute all music for the OST beautifully. The duo was able to not only strike a perfect balance of expressing the character’s emotions but also stay true to their own personal musical expression. You can listen to the OST and watch ‘The Interest of Love’ Here!

Outside of The Interest of Love, Jungheum Band has been working on drama OSTs for a while, building a vast portfolio. I asked them if there was a favorite or most memorable drama to write for and why? They both quickly agree that The Interest of Love was their favorite.

Minkung explains she felt like this drama was more realistic and relatable than others they have written for, and because of this, they were able to connect and understand the characters’ emotions better. It was also just enjoyable for them to watch, as it was a good balance between reality and K-drama tropes.

I was lucky enough to attend one of Jungheum Band’s shows and hear these wonderful songs live. They played in a smaller venue which felt more intimate. As an audience member, I was able to connect with them. I asked them if they preferred playing smaller shows like that or if they like a bigger audience. They both prefer small audiences as it allows them to communicate more with the fans. They would like to do more shows in the future, but their main focus right now is their OST music.

Before their drama work, they were planning more concerts and even a full-length album release this year. It’s something they need to plan out before performing more live shows. They want everything to be perfect which takes a lot of time, Minkung explains time they don’t have nowadays. The time they do have is focused on making music, which prompted me to ask them to walk me through their songwriting and production process. I wanted to know what inspired them.

Their inspiration varies. Sometimes Minkung will hear Myeong playing guitar and it will inspire her to write lyrics to the melody. Myeong says when he plays guitar, he will try to tap into Minkung’s emotions to build a chord progression. They base their music heavily on their emotions. If they are feeling happy, they will write a happy song. For Minkung inspiration will spark when playing with her cats or walking around in nice weather.

Jungheum Band has clearly come a long way since they started. I asked about their personal music growth over the years and what their future hopes are for their music. Myeong explains at first he was very into metal and rock music before he attended university. At university, he got more into jazz and pop. Because they are doing so much work for drama currently, Myeong wants to learn all he can about drama music. He hopes to continue writing for dramas in the future.

Minkung says she’s always been into jazz, but she’s been waiting to try acapella and theater music. She also really wants to release a jazz album if Myeong agrees. At this, the couple exchanges looks and laughs. Myeong confesses he would be okay with a jazz album which makes Minkung seem content.

Things these days have seemed to be going smoothly for the couple but it hasn’t always been that way. We discussed the challenges they have faced and how they overcome those throughout their time as a band. Covid was a huge challenge for both of them. Their band relied heavily on live performances before that time, but when Covid hit they became worried about their finances. It caused stress and pressure on their ideas, creativity, and much second-guessing. Was it good enough?

Myeong explains that, before Covid, there was a time they were so busy with performances and radio shows, they had no time to make new music. Another challenge is the small size of the indie music industry in Korea, he notes. Compared to other countries’ indie music scenes, it is not as large and well-known. This has made living expenses over the years very hard for the couple. For the past decade that was the reality, but nowadays the future is bright for Jungheum Band. With exciting new music and aspirations on the horizon, I cannot wait to see what wonderful projects they embark on in the future.