[Sooji Jung's Digital Single ‘When Will’]


“Even if you take all of my body, you can’t take my heart.”

- The late Seo-woon Jeong (1924-2004), a victim of the Japanese military ‘comfort women’


‘When Will’ by pianist and composer Sooji Jung is inspired by Al Choi’s ‘Shattered Memory_A Girl of Peace (Acrylic on mirror 2022)'. The artist's painting is made of acryl on a mirror, reflecting the viewer's image.


Looking at the girl's tears in the work, Sooji felt the distant pain, sadness, and deep longing that the girl must have experienced. The girl's old appearance, the girl she would have grown up to now as a grandmother, and Sooji's own refelction in the mirror strangely overlapped.


Through this song, Sooji Jung wanted to express the pain, sorrow, and longing of the 'comfort women' at that time by reflecting herself in this era. In addition, she wanted to honor the souls of the girls who died horribly, and to convey the meaning of their spirit returning to hometown.


The title ‘When Will’ expresses the despair of a girl who has no promise when this heartrending pain will end. That pain is not over yet, It still flows into the hearts of all of us who are living now.


The first part of the song expresses the heart of a girl who goes on a long journey without knowing. To capture the feeling of innocence and immaturity of a girl, Sooji Jung sang the song herself.


The girl stumbles, drunk on memories. The hometown she can't go, nor she can reach. 


She calls it out loud, but it keeps moving away. She wants to cry, but there is no voice left.


Then, as the piano interlude comes out, the girl's memories get tangled, the memories of playing happily in the village when she was young. Is this a dream or a reality?


At the end, the piano, the girl's voice, and the grandmother's voice harmonize together.


Jazz vocal HailLove supports the girl with a low-pitched voice. It is as if a girl who became a grandmother looks at herself as a child and holds her hands still.


The girl turns into a butterfly and returns to the heaven, back to her hometown with everyone's wishes and blessings.


* Al Choi’s ‘Shattered Memory_A Girl of Peace (Acrylic on mirror 2022)' has been donated to the War and Women's Human Rights Museum in Korea and is on permanent display.


[Credit]


Composed & Arranged by Sooji Jung

Vocal & Piano Sooji Jung

Chorus HailLove

Produced, Mixed & Mastered by Jieun Park

Vocal Recorded by Yeon-soo Choi @Seogyeong University Recording Studio

Photograph Al Choi

Cover Artwork Do-wi Kim 

Music Video Jieun Park

A&R Eunjung Lee


ⓒ2022 SOUMmusic




Comments

Post a Comment