South Korean R&B singer Min Jiwoon brings a breath of spring rain to the music industry with her soulful songs, enrapturing listeners with their metaphor and candor, starting with her new single, “If You Were the Rain.”
amNewYork got an inside look at Min Jiwoon’s journey, where she gave insight into her craft, expressed the inspirations and feelings she pours into each song she writes and sings, and her next big dreams.
Ever since Min Jiwoon was a little girl, she gravitated toward music. She recalls walking around her hometown of Seoul in South Korea, singing pop songs to herself and daydreaming of becoming an artist. A musical autodidact, Min Jiwoon cultivated her unique sound by repeatedly listening and singing to various songs, mimicking their vocal range. It was here, through music, where she found her voice.
“I pursue music that sincerely expresses human emotions and inner feelings. My goal is to create music that offers comfort in my own unique style,” Min Jiwoon said.
With a vivid imagination and empathetic personality, Min Jiwoon takes in her observations of the world and the vast emotions she experiences and puts pen to paper. Her songwriting has created what many fans herald as a lens into the soul.
Last month, Min Jiwoon released her single, “If You Were the Rain” featuring Crush, which compares the thought of missing someone with falling rain. Rather than simply glazing over this topic, Min Jiwoon offers a visceral image of the emotions and pain involved with longing with its lyrics and her low-mind vocal range.
“My new song, “If You Were the Rain,” expresses a longing for someone by comparing them to the spring rain. And I hope listeners can really erase the complex emotions that arise when reminiscing about someone feeling nostalgic,” Min Jiwoon shared.
The rainfall theme wasn’t what first inspired the song; initially, it concentrated on the feeling of loss and yearning for that person. However, the idea of spring rain emerged as she worked on it. The song compares rain to the unexpected spring shower that washes over a bright sunny day, with the sadness that comes when remembering someone who is no longer there. The love that Min Jiwoon imbued into her latest single is one that she says goes into each of her songs.
“I believe all of my songs have the same characteristics, and each song conveys a different story and atmosphere. And especially with this new song, I aim to connect more closely with Korean audiences since the lyrics are also in Korean,” Min Jiwoon said.
“I actively contribute ideas and strive to incorporate my unique style into my work because when I infuse my emotions into a song, the performances also feel more natural when I perform and when people see it as well. So, to my fans, I want to convey the message that it’s okay to express yourself just as you are and you are beautiful just the way you are,” Min Jiwoon added.
For Min Jiwoon, music is a part of her soul, and her fans are the heart that keeps beating, motivation and inspiration for her, especially when they express how her work has provided comfort to them in times of need.
“There’s no greater joy than hearing that [they find comfort in my music]. Recently, I held a listening session for my new song, where I had the chance to communicate with my fans for the first time. Hearing them share their emotions, saying that they received good energy through my music, after listening to my music, was incredibly heartwarming, and I found their sincere eyes and their true emotions truly beautiful,” Min Jiwoon said. “I want them to feel more comfortable, and their hardships in life and their uncomfortableness could be all taken away even while listening to my music.”
Min Jiwoon shared that she is currently living her dream and hopes to continue to share music with listeners around the globe, shedding light that they are not alone.
