Q&A: JUNHEE Is Finding the Beauty in Not Knowing — The Artist on Love, Life and LOVE METHOD
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY ALICIA ZAMORA ☆
Photo by H&P Entertainment, PAN Entertainment
JUNHEE IS STILL FIGURING IT OUT—For JUNHEE, the road to becoming an artist has never been as simple as chasing a dream and reaching the finish line. Growing up in a small village in the countryside, becoming a singer once felt like something that might never happen. Years later, he’s made it much further than his younger self could have imagined, but that doesn’t mean the questions have stopped. If anything, they’ve changed.
That reflection comes through on LOVE METHOD, where JUNHEE explores the different sides of love, growth and everything that comes with them. The album is personal without trying to have all the answers, touching on moments of doubt, change and the pressure of constantly trying to move forward. It also gave JUNHEE the chance to look at his own journey a little differently and think about what he wants to carry with him into the next chapter.
Maybe that’s what makes this chapter feel so real. JUNHEE isn’t presenting himself as someone who has everything figured out. He’s simply someone who kept going, even when it was difficult, and is now learning to trust where that has taken him. With LOVE METHOD, he opens up about the journey so far—and the person he’s becoming along the way.
Read below to get to know more about JUNHEE.
LUNA: Every new chapter reveals a different side of an artist. As you sit here today, what do you think this version of JUNHEE understands about himself that he couldn't have understood even a few years ago?
JUNHEE: Ultimately, I learned that if I really set my mind to something, I can achieve the goals I’ve set for myself. Of course, it’s also true that the process can be incredibly difficult, sometimes to the point where it feels unbearable. But I think as long as you don’t give up, you can eventually make it happen.
LUNA: If you could sit down with the version of yourself who was just beginning this album, what's one thing you think he'd be surprised to learn about where the journey would take him?
JUNHEE: I think he’d probably say, “Wow, you still haven’t run away?” (Laughs) Honestly, I think I’d probably think I was crazy. That’s how hard I pushed myself throughout the process of making this album.
LUNA: When you're creating, do you usually begin with a specific emotion you want people to feel, or do you discover what you're trying to say somewhere in the middle of the process?
JUNHEE: First of all, I always start by setting what I want to say through the song and what the main message I want to convey is. After that, I think I build the situations and the different elements around it. These days, I find things that are extremely personal to me more interesting, especially from a storytelling perspective.
LUNA: If you could remove one fear from the creative process forever, what would it be—and how do you think your music would change without it?
JUNHEE: I do have some fear that my creative work might not resonate with people or that it might be overlooked. I think that’s because, ultimately, art has meaning when you can share and enjoy it with other people. If I could let go of that fear, I think I’d be able to put many more things out into the world, completely freely and without feeling that pressure.
LUNA: Throughout the album, it feels like you're observing love from several different versions of yourself. Did writing these songs ever make you revisit memories with a completely different perspective than when you first lived them?
JUNHEE: I think “Forever Young” is probably the song that comes to mind the most. When I was young, I grew up in a really small, quiet village in the countryside. I had this vague dream of becoming a singer, but there were a lot of days when it felt almost impossible to achieve that dream because of the environment I grew up in.
LUNA: "GET OUT" feels almost like a conversation with doubt itself. When you were writing it, were you speaking more to outside criticism or to your own inner voice?
JUNHEE: I think it’s something I say to myself to protect who I am without being shaken by all the negative voices coming from the outside. It could be an inner conversation with myself, or it could also be an answer to the voices I hear from the outside.
LUNA: "Medicine" is one of the most personal songs on the album because it's dedicated to your fans. Was there a specific moment with C.C. that made you realize just how deeply that connection had become part of your life?
JUNHEE: I think I felt the most appreciation for the things I have during my time in the Korean mandatory military service. Living a life that was completely disconnected from society made me realize all at once just how much unconditional love I had received from so many people and how special the life I had been living was.
I was also sincerely grateful to my fans, who continued to support me throughout my military service. I think that's when I started to realize that my fans had naturally become such an important part of my life. No matter what I’m doing or where I am, they’re always somewhere in the back of my mind.
LUNA: If someone listens to "Wonder why" on one of their hardest days, what do you hope they hear between the lyrics?
JUNHEE: I hope they don’t feel like they’re alone, because there’s definitely someone somewhere in the world who feels the same way they do. I hope they can feel that they’re not alone, and that we’re all in this together.
LUNA: Rather than focusing on blame, "At least, I tried" feels rooted in acceptance. Do you think there's a quiet kind of strength in knowing when it's time to let go?
JUNHEE: Yes, exactly. “At least, I tried” is definitely a song about a breakup, but if you look beyond that, I think there’s also this idea of trying to maintain the last bit of respect and courtesy toward someone you once loved—to handle it maturely.
When you already know how things are going to end, there’s no point in blaming anyone, holding on to lingering feelings, or having regrets. None of it changes anything. So it’s about accepting the situation and trying to let that person go calmly, with respect for them until the very end.
Of course, that’s probably not how you truly feel inside. But I think the song captures the heart of someone who is trying to do that anyway.
LUNA: "Forever Young" speaks to anyone who's afraid they've fallen behind. Was there a conversation with yourself that inspired this message?
JUNHEE: Yes! I’ve also lived a life of intense competition from a young age until now. As many people know, South Korea, where I live, has an especially intense competitive atmosphere, and many industries are highly competitive.
But at some point, I realized that there’s actually no end to it. And that’s why I wanted to say, “Don’t be too impatient. Just naturally follow tomorrow’s sun.” Because ultimately, the only person I need to compete with and overcome is myself.
LUNA: If your younger self could hear "Forever Young" today, what do you think he'd need to hear most?
JUNHEE: ”If the younger me could see me now / See I made it out of this small town / With the spotlights on, I know /I’d make me proud.”
I think if I had heard these lyrics when I was younger, I would have felt happy, with a strange sense of certainty about the future and an even greater sense of hope.
LUNA: Every chapter of life leaves something behind and takes something with it. What do you think LOVE METHOD helped you let go of, and what did it help you hold onto?
JUNHEE: Actually, one of the things I struggled with while making this album was wondering, “Am I forcing myself in a direction that isn’t right for me right now? Am I pushing myself toward something that isn’t really where I’m supposed to be going?” For example, it felt like maybe this was a time in my life when I was supposed to turn right, but I chose to turn left because of my own free will, and that was making everything feel really out of place and confusing.
I struggled a lot throughout that process. There were times when I wondered, “Is it really right to make an album while pushing myself this hard?” At the same time, seeing the staff go through so much because of my own ambitions made me feel a bit sorry and gave me a lot to think about.
I started thinking that maybe I should let go of some of my own ambitions and just let myself flow in the direction the wind is blowing. I kept thinking that maybe things became harder because I was trying so hard to go against the natural flow of things.
LUNA: After experiencing love, loss, growth, and change through this album, what is the one thing you hope people understand about your heart as an artist?
JUNHEE: I’m also just an ordinary human being, no different from any of you. As a singer, I want to sing about these feelings and become an artist who can bring comfort to your souls.
