Ahead of his concert at Seoul’s Sejong Center, the Korean musician shares why he can’t be defined by genres and what led him to believe in the unique power of the human voice
When acclaimed South Korean musician Jung Jae-il performed with the London Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican Centre, London, as part of the K-Music Festival in October 2023, most people recognised his music score from the Netflix series Squid Game (2021) and the Oscar-winning film Parasite (2019). But very few—including the conductor Richard Ziegler—knew of his other compositions. In South Korea, however, he’s already made quite a name for himself as a prodigious talent who began playing piano at the age of three, composing music at ten and joining a jazz band by the time he was 13.
Working in a band in his teens and 20s gave him a deep understanding and appreciation for the power of human voice. “[Listening to] Korean artist Kim Min-ki’s songs made me realise an unpretentious song with an honest human voice can touch people as much as [European composer] Gustav Mahler’s symphony.” Watching acclaimed choreographer Pina Bausch’s dance performance Nelken in Seoul in 2000 opened his eyes to other powerful forms of art and led him to be interested in collaborating with artists in the fields of dancing, films and plays.
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At his performance at Barbican Centre in October this year, he received standing ovation not only from the audience but also from the London Symphony Orchestra themselves during the rehearsals. Conductor Ziegler and the orchestra were particularly enthralled by two songs deeply rooted in traditional Korean music, A Prayer and On This Road from his album Listen.
Listen was born when Decca Records, a British music label, approached him to make a solo album. It came about while the pandemic was unfolding. Deeply affected by the state of the world and human tragedies, he felt that the important thing that could connect people with each other was the simple act of listening—and that is why he chose the name Listen for his first album.
Speaking about the creative process behind the album, Jung says, “I had always worked for clients [to make music] for films, plays or dance. So, for me, [the record label’s] proposal was a chance to bring back my forgotten dream to write my own songs. After much deliberation, I decided to do what’s most humble and honest as my first step. That’s why I chose piano and traditional Korean music. I chose to express intimate and profound music rather than [something] flashy and ornamental.”
