Mixtapemotions

“Childhood” by The Rose (더 로즈), Thursday, August 8, 2024

The Rose is an indie rock band formed when two members, Park Dojoon and Lee Jaehyeong, started busking in Hongdae, a college area in Seoul famous for birthing Korean hip-hop and many indie groups. Dojoon, however, had signed with DSP Media, entering a trainee program. Because of his contract, Dojoon could not meet with Jaehyeong until they met when they were rehearsing in the same studio. Eventually, the group added Lee Hajoon and K-pop Star contestant Kim Woosung, who would become the band’s lead singer. Debuting in 2017 on J&Star Company, the band gained recognition in Korea and abroad, including in Woosung’s home country of the United States.  In 2020, the band sued their label for not paying the band since their debut and for keeping the band in a draining promotional and concert schedule.
 

DON’T LIVE YOUR LIFE LIKE YOU HAVE A THOUSAND YEARS. The Rose went on hiatus for nearly two years as three of the members were conscripted into the Korean military, a requirement for all male Korean citizens. Woosung, as an American citizen, was exempted from serving and focused on his solo career, releasing a solo album, Genre, on his own label Woolf Pack, and touring the U.S. with Epik High. At the end of 2021, The Rose released the song “Beauty and the Beast,” breaking their hiatus. In 2022, the band released the album Heal. Just as Woosung had formed his own label, the band formed their own label, Windfall, to release their post-hiatus record. The album was preceded by the single “Childhood,” a wistful piano and acoustic guitar-based ballad reminding listeners not to forget their dreams and not to live in regret for not chasing those dreams. The band also released a music video accompanying the single. LA-based Chinese director Curry Sicong Tian directed the conceptual music video in which interpretive dancers of multiple ethnicities dance in skin-toned underwear.

SHOULD’VE FOLLOWED MY OWN DREAMS. There certainly is an innocent eroticism in The Rose’s “Childhood” music video. Adult bodies appear nude; they dance around in a kind of Rite of Spring ballet style–a ballet that was controversial at its 1931 Parisian premiere. The Rose is a band composed of handsome young men who participated in K-pop training. The band does not appear in nude costumes but rather spends much of the music video shirtless and in white shorts or frolicking in a body of water. The song is mostly sung in English by Woosung, though Dojoon contributes a verse in Korean with a few Korean interjections throughout the song. Entire genres of literature, movies, and songs are based on missing one’s childhood, and this is no exception for Korean ballads as well. However, childhood looks very different in Korea and other parts of the world, with parents pressuring their kids from a young age to study at private academies late into the night in the hope of a financially stable future. “What do you want to do when you grow up?” I frequently ask my students. “I want to be a doctor.” “Why do you want to be a doctor?” “Because my mom wants me to be a doctor.” “What about you?” Another kid answers, “I want to be an office worker.” “What kind of work do you want to do at the company?” “Office work.” Of course, some kids have dreams; some kids have cultivated an imagination through reading, traveling, or just daydreaming, but unfortunately, Korean culture tries to stamp that out of the kids way too early. Parents, don’t give up on your dreams. Let your kids be their own people.