Song So-hee begins singing songs of her own

The name Song So-hee often brings a familiar image to mind: a young singer in hanbok, performing folk songs with a remarkably steady voice. However, when you play ‘GANGGANGSULLAE’ or ‘Not a Dream’, her familiar voice creates a completely different scene. The singer is recognizable, but the music is harder to place in a familiar category.

That unfamiliarity is the fun of listening to Song Sohee’s new music. As the long-trained voice meets the song she created with her own hands, a side of Song So-hee that never existed before begins to be heard.

A feeling that cannot be relieved just by singing well

Song So-hee made her name known by winning the grand prize at the year-end finals of the 2008 ‘National Singing Contest’. She learned Gyeonggi folk singing as a child and continued performing it professionally. Yet she has spoken of feelings that years of singing did not resolve. Studying Western music and composing on a computer gave her another way to express them.

As she made new music, her pride in Gyeonggi folk songs grew too. Trying something different helped her hear the beauty of her original practice again. Composing became another way to express what had accumulated inside her.

For someone who is already good at something, trying something new is a bit complicated. Some people like a familiar look, and there are expectations that they should do better within it. Song So-hee started singing songs she had written, using that same voice.

Creating settings for her voice

The first mini album ‘GANGGANGSULLAE’ released in 2024 contains four songs. In the album introduction, Song So-hee explains that she used nature as the background because she thought it resembled her voice. Different images of love were placed in fields, deserts, seas, and forests.

She also described imagining a time and place before writing each song. ‘Dear My Lover’ is a field during the day, ‘GANGGANGSULLAE’ is a desert at sunset, ‘Against the Dark Ocean’ is a dark sea, and ‘Forest Spirit’ is a forest passing into dawn. Rather than reducing an emotion to one word, she gave it a setting.

If you know this setting and listen to it, the title will look different. ‘GANGGANGSULLAE’ is a song about loving herself as she faces a new path. The images of desert and dance give movement to the change. If you continue listening to ‘Forest Spirit’, the same voice connects different places in the album.

Beyond the name “gugak prodigy”

Song So-hee's official channel also includes 'Not a Dream' after 'GANGGANGSULLAE' and her second mini album 'Re:5' in 2025. ‘Re:5’ introduces five songs as a journey of life and a ritual of recovery. The work of creating one's own world by connecting nature and emotions did not end with one album.

The term ‘gugak prodigy’ explains how good young Song So-hee was. Listening to the song now requires asking different questions. What settings did she imagine, and what feelings did she turn into songs?

If you continue listening to the songs below, the change becomes a little closer. A voice listeners have known since her childhood now carries stories Song So-hee has chosen herself.

Six songs for hearing Song So-hee anew

01. NANSEN · Official video
We start with the recently released song and continue with Not a Dream and GANGGANGSULLAE.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWakHDd-Tgk

02. Not a Dream · Official Live
Next comes a live performance, showing how the voice heard on record carries a song on stage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOEOe_2C6ZQ

03. GANGGANGSULLAE · Official music video
An introduction to what her familiar voice can do within new music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r53kfcRT-oQ

04. Dear My Lover · Official album audio 00:00
A song set against the backdrop of a daytime field and long-accumulated love. Listen to the title song and go back to the first scene of the album.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPQ6GBrpOts&t=0s

05. Against the Dark Ocean · Official album audio 07:27
The background changes to a dark sea. Listen to how the landscape of love changes within the same album.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPQ6GBrpOts&t=447s

06. Forest Spirit · Official album audio 11:07
The song that closes the first mini album with a forest in the background. If you listen to it in conjunction with the previous three songs, you can see the spatial composition of the album better.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPQ6GBrpOts&t=667s

Representative image: This is a video preview of Song Sohee’s official YouTube ‘Not a Dream’ live. You can watch it through the official playback window and video link below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOEOe_2C6ZQ

Song Sohee's official YouTube channel · See more music and live
https://www.youtube.com/@SongSohee_Official