INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY ALICIA ZAMORA ☆
PAUL KIM BELIEVES THERE'S SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL IN EVERY MOMENT—Over the past decade, Paul Kim has built a career around songs that put feelings into words, especially the ones that come with falling in love and letting someone go. But as he's gotten older, the way he looks back on those experiences has changed.
What once felt like sadness over things he couldn't take back has become something he's learned to appreciate. With “Love Me Hard,” he revisits a kind of love that feels a little more reckless, bringing back the passion he had when he was first chasing his dream of becoming a singer. It's a feeling that takes him back to a time when he wasn't so afraid of failing or not knowing what would happen next. More than anything, it's a reminder of how much can change with time, even when the feelings behind a song still feel familiar.
Since making his debut in 2014, Paul has also seen firsthand how a song can take on a life of its own. “Every Day, Every Moment” continues to reach listeners years after its release, something he admits he never expected. What started as a song he had no idea would be so loved has become one he looks forward to performing, especially when he gets to hear the audience sing it back. That connection has stayed with him, even as he begins exploring new sounds and stepping into English-pop. Rather than trying to leave behind the music that brought him here, Paul is interested in seeing how he can take what he already knows and bring it somewhere new. It's another way of discovering what he's capable of, both as a songwriter and as an artist.
After more than ten years in music, Paul isn't looking to have everything figured out. He's still thinking about the songs he hasn't written yet, the artists he'd like to work with, and the listeners he hopes to meet in places he hasn't had the chance to visit. While there's plenty he wants to explore, one thing remains important to him: making music without losing sight of why he started in the first place.
Read Luna's conversation with Paul Kim belo
LUNA:You’ve spent over a decade writing songs about love, heartbreak and everything in between. Has the way you write about love changed as you’ve gotten older? Are there things you would have written about differently when you first started out?
Paul Kim: I do think the way I write about love has changed. Not just love, but my whole process of telling a story around any theme. To put it nicely, it’s matured. To put it another way, I’ve found a kind of efficiency in it. We feel things differently in our teens, our twenties and our thirties. Looking back, in my twenties I thought I already knew everything, and in my thirties there was a certain sadness and loneliness about the things I couldn’t take back. Now I’ve come to feel that there was never a moment that wasn’t beautiful, and that the moments still ahead of me will all feel beautiful in the end, too. That’s why I try not to dwell on sadness or loneliness. I write with the belief that what matters most is remembering each moment and fully feeling it.
LUNA: “Love Me Hard” is about wanting someone to love you with the same intensity you’re willing to give them. I’m curious whether you relate to that feeling personally, or if the song came from observing the way people approach relationships today.
Paul Kim: It’s not a song I wrote by observing how people date today. Honestly, I don’t really know how people date these days, and I can’t say I know others well enough to write about them. But when I think back to the passion and desperation I had when I first dreamed of becoming a singer, the overall mood of society today feels a little different. Technology has advanced and social media is everywhere, so I think we live in a time when you can save time and get what you want more efficiently. Back then, you’d take a leap without knowing where you’d land, fail, and learn from it. It felt like a time when you didn’t have to be so afraid of failing. These days, I feel there’s a lot of, “the answer’s already out there, so why would you fail?” I put into this song the feeling that the way I loved and wanted things back then was a bit braver, and a bit more reckless.
LUNA: “Every Day, Every Moment” has continued to find new listeners years after its release. When you first wrote that song, did you ever imagine it would have the kind of life it has now? How does it feel knowing people are still discovering it and making it part of their own stories?
Paul Kim: I had no idea “Every Day, Every Moment” would be loved this much. It made me wonder if I just don’t have an ear for what the public likes! Year after year, singing it in front of audiences and watching them sing along, my feelings for this song have grown so much. Every time I sing it, I picture the audience smiling as they listen. Just like the title, I naturally found myself hoping that every day and every moment would be filled with good things for everyone.
LUNA: As a singer-songwriter, you're often the person putting feelings into words for everyone else. Do you ever find it difficult to explain your own feelings outside of music, especially when you're so used to expressing them through songs?
Paul Kim: Since I write songs, I don’t find it hard to express my feelings. I’m actually so used to it that I really struggle when I can’t express myself, or when there are limits on how I can (laughs). Expressing myself has never been the problem. What’s changed over time is how I express things. I think that’s matured a bit.
LUNA: Looking back at the person you were when you debuted in 2014, what's changed the most about you? And is there anything about the younger version of yourself that you wish you could tell him now?
Paul Kim: When I debuted in 2014, I think I was anxious about everything. The future felt so uncertain, and I didn’t really know if I was doing well or what my strengths were. There were even times I kept trying to imitate things that seemed good. But in the end, you always end up doing what you love and what you’re good at. So I wish I had believed in myself, been more confident, and put a little more energy into my music. I’d tell him, “Don’t be scared. Go for it. Dive right in!”
LUNA: Now that you're stepping into English-pop, is there a version of yourself as an artist that you're excited to discover?
Paul Kim: When the language changes, what you can express changes too. Personally, I also feel that the music you listen to changes a lot depending on where you are. Music you hear in a city and music you hear in nature can’t help but be different. The character of the places where people live and listen to music matters, and I think I can learn more from all of that. I’m hoping that through it, I’ll discover a broader musical world.
LUNA: What would you like to try musically that might surprise the people who've followed you throughout your career?
Paul Kim: Rather than putting on some shockingly unexpected performance, I want to keep doing what I’m good at, what I love and what I’m confident in, and develop it into new forms. Me suddenly becoming a rock star might be a stretch, right? (laughs) Instead of trying to surprise people, I think they’ll be surprised to see me grow and develop as I take on different challenges—which means I’ll have to work even harder.
LUNA: When you think about the songs you haven't written yet, is there a feeling or an experience you really want to capture in a song someday?
Paul Kim: Someday, I’d love to make an album about the negative emotions that sit deepest inside us, like a sense of lack, weakness or inferiority. I don’t know when that will be, but it’s something I really want to try.
LUNA: You've seen songs you released years ago continue to reach people in ways you couldn't have predicted. Is there something you understand about your own music now that you didn't when you first started making it?
Paul Kim: Definitely. Not just with music, but with everything, things don’t always go the way you want. I’ve also realized that just because a song happened to reach people, expecting my next album to reach them too is asking for a lot. I sometimes feel pressure to keep creating something new. But in the end, music is for the people who listen to it, and I believe whoever makes it makes it for themselves. I think it’s important not to lose sight of what music is really about. Music made just to get attention can be good too, but I think we have to keep asking ourselves what the heart of music really is.
LUNA: If you could choose what the next few years of your career look like, beyond the success of any particular song, what would you want to be different from the last ten?
Paul Kim: Going forward, I’d love to meet people who enjoy my music in many different countries and regions, and in many different languages. I’d also love to collaborate with a wide range of artists. In the end, I want to create lots of joyful moments for my fans. And through creating those moments, I hope to become someone with a stronger sense of achievement, more confidence and higher self-esteem. I hope I’ll have more chances to share my story in more places, in front of more people.
