Jung’s Musical Promenade Through Paris

Such a lovely man. It was a fun interview; we got carried away talking about Paris, being multilingual (not us but the crazy multilingual people we know), and being fans of the composer Unsuk Chin.

Singer-songwriter Jung Jae-hyung has released a new album, ``Promenade,’’ under the Sony Classical label, and some may be surprised to realize that this is actually the soundtrack for the currently showing ``What Brings You to My House.’’

The former pop star has written scores for several movies including ``Addicted’’ (2002) and ``Love Now’’ (2007), but Promenade involved a different creative process. The tracks may have been inspired by the quirky love story starring Kang Hye-jung, but the movie’s postponed release gave Jung a good year to work on the music as if it were a solo project.

``It functions as a film soundtrack but I wanted it to have a life on its own,’’ the 37-year-old told The Korea Times in a recent interview in Seoul.

Creating music for Promenade was ``like a picnic,’’ he said, and ``happened piece by piece,’’ and this is reflected in the meandering ambiance of the tracks. Piano, cello, flute, oboe, horn and viola tunes conjure up images of warm sunbeams on a lazy afternoon and the sight of light spring rain outside the window of a quiet café.

Singer-songwriter Jung Jae-hyung. (Courtesy of SonyBMG)

The classical instruments, however, take on a more contemporary and edgy -- and at times slurred and discordant -- texture through Jung’s electronic sound designs. There’s also a touch of pop featuring vocals by Lucid Paul and actress-singer Uhm Jung-hwa. Uhm, Jung’s good friend of over 15 years and who has starred in three of the movies he composed scores for, stopped by the venue to say hello.

His music is ultimately modern in language but is simple, poetic and unimposing. Despite the electronic mixing, the result is something whimsical and natural, perhaps similar to the Ahn Trio’s ``Lullaby for My Favorite Insomniac.’’

``Electronic music often feels cold and mechanic, but I tried to draw out warmth,’’ he said. The artist intentionally added glitches to the melody by squishing together some of the rhythm even though it may not be immediately detectable by the naked ear -- perhaps like adding small rips to create fake vintage jeans? ``Yes,’’ he said.

It’s only natural that the album is impressionistic in color; like Impressionist painters who took the easel outside of the studio, the Paris-based artist went on an actual promenade through the city. He would settle down in an outdoor cafe and be inspired by the noise of passing breezes and pedestrians and the clinking of coffee cups.

Like the honored composer Chin Unsuk, of whom he is a big fan, Jung is a classically-trained pianist who speaks in electronic music. ``The beauty of electronic music is that it enables you to directly translate your intentions, to enliven the original ingredients and keep your color,’’ he said. ``Arranging sounds created with classical instruments is rather limited. Electronic sound design is actually easier for me.’’

Is it like working with a sharp pencil for drawing? ``Yes,’’ he smiled. ``Electronic sound mixing enables you to, if it were a drawing, draw a perfectly straight line using a fine-point pencil.’’ Electronic music, he said, is just a convenient tool that allows the artist more versatility in this multimedia age.

``What used to be one-way sourcing is now all open,’’ he said about today’s merging of genres. Jung, a prolific singer-songwriter, also writes prose and draws images such as the watercolor sketches featured in his album.

``It’s not that I’m multitalented or anything. They’re just different forms of self-expression, and these days I don’t think artists need to classify themselves. Ryuichi Sakamoto started out as an electronic musician but now writes music for movies,’’ he said. ``But at the same time, I’m scared. You can go so many ways, with video art and performance, etc,’’ he said.

When asked about his future plans, he already had the next two years mapped out, with a new film score and solo piano album, as well as publishing a book and getting involved with a musical.
``My dream is to simply live toward my dream, and to cherish it. I started out with the simple premise of wanting to do my own music and that’s the most important thing. I wish to become a good-hearted egoist,’’ he smiled.

'Insadong' Can Go That Extra Mile

When it comes to replicas, modern Koreans may be familiar with fake Louis Vuitton handbags; the immaculate craftsmanship baffles even experts. But not many people realize that ``Mongyu Dowondo'' (Paradise in a Dream, 1447), displayed at the National Museum of Korea, is a mock-up. The original landmark painting of the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910) remains in Japan.

For ``Insadong Scandal,'' first-time director Park Hee-gon may have been inspired by that tantalizing fact, which inevitably points to sensitive Korea-Japan relations, but he opts for something purely entertainment-driven rather than stoop to sappy ``nationalism marketing'' to tell the story of lost treasures and misdirected ambitions. Like George Clooney and others in the ``Ocean's'' franchise, popular actor Kim Rae-won (``Sunflower'') and a host of colorful characters bring a stylish and speedy crime story, which in this case is set against the exotic art hub of Seoul, Insa-dong.

It all came from a dream. Angyeon immortalized the reverie of prince Anpyeong in ``Mongyu Dowondo'' and captured his own fantasies in ``Byeokando.'' But the painting of the Changdeok Palace pond disappeared along with the crown prince, who was overthrown and killed by his brother-cum-king, and its existence became known only 60 years ago through a Joseon artist's written account.

``Insadong'' imagines what would happen if the painting resurfaced after 400 years of Holy Grail-like existence. The minimum auction-bidding price is 40 billion won, and naturally, notorious art mogul Bae Tae-jin grabs at the lucrative opportunity. Sex symbol Uhm Jung-hwa (``Love Now'') plays the part of a young Cruella De Vil who unabashedly lobbies politicians and engages in illicit art exchanges to fund her fancies. ``Byeokando'' would enable her to conquer Insa-dong once and for all, but first she must find someone to restore the tattered painting ― the one and only genius restorer Lee Gang-jun (Kim).

A few years back, Lee had proved his devilish talents with the paintbrush in restoring a priceless Joseon treasure, but his career perished as soon as it bloomed when he was framed for its disappearance. Bae beckons Lee back to the art scene with ``Byeokando,'' waving 1 billion won for the year-long project. Lee accepts, though he asks for a fancy sports car as a bonus, and settles comfortably in the state-of-the-art restoration lab situated in Bae's gallery. Meanwhile, Bae puts on a show for the press about donating the priceless work to the state while scheming with a Japanese buyer, but Lee has some elaborate plans of his own.

The movie is fast-paced and visually enticing throughout, but it doesn't completely lure the viewer until the latter half. In the beginning, it's more about style than substance. The very talented Kim had hitherto touched hearts with dramatic roles, but keeps cool in ``Insadong'' as the charming antiheroic hero that is aloof yet way too suave. Of course, such is what one expects in entertainment, the protagonist is not only very young and good-looking but also possesses a sharp tongue and encyclopedic knowledge to match his magic fingers.

Uhm's sex appeal is unquestionable but her screen persona doesn't melt into the frame as Kim Hye-soo did in ``Tazza: The High Rollers.'' She's ravishing in her form-fitting, structured outfits, which naturally include cleavage-baring keyhole evening gowns, but her kabuki makeup often seems out of place as she tries to mingle with politicians. She's stomping over men in her killer stilettos, but the film, quite commendably, refrains from making her a stereotypical femme fatale; while some may be disappointed by the lack of romantic chemistry between Bae and Lee, it is refreshing to see a heroine whose edgy fashion defines her ambitions rather than sexuality.

Things pick up nicely in the latter half with idiosyncratic supporting characters like Ko Chang-seok (``Rough Cut'') spicing up the intrigue and exploring the fine line between restoration and replication, and artistry and finely crafted con artistry.

The director said he didn't explain characters' history because he wanted to capture the relevance of Insa-dong. However, the film could have relied more on editing to introduce the past as ``Ocean's 11'' did, also propelled by characters that feed directly into the narrative ― the movie is, ultimately, about items from a bygone era and truncating the characters' attachment with them distances the viewer from the story.