Sung at the playground first, released later: 10 songs that took 29 to 279 days to become a NONOL VOL

NONOL LIVE is a show of 20 minutes or so in which a musician sings about four songs at a playground. One of the songs from that day often comes out a few months later as its own release in NONOL's music series, 'NONOL VOL'. We matched the NONOL VOL albums listed on Bugs against the full playground videos one by one and found 35 cases where a song appeared in a video first and came out as a VOL later. Line up the number of days from each video upload to the release, and the middle value is 192 days, a little over six months. It was quick at first. VOL 02–08, whose videos went up in the fall and winter of 2022, came out within 29 to 61 days, while VOL 65–67, released in 2025, all took more than 270 days. We picked ten of them, ordered from the shortest wait to the longest.

29 days · Ja Jung 'Fly Again'

The second musician on NONOL LIVE. Ja Jung is a vocal duo whose name joins the 'Ja' of member 자현 and the 'Jung' of member 민정, and the two sang four songs at a children's playground in Yeonnam-dong. The video description says the set was made up of "songs due for release, songs we love, and covers of hits." 'Fly Again', which starts at 8:19, is described as "a song that gives comfort and hope in hard times." The video went up on October 19, 2022, and 29 days later, on November 17, the song came out as 'NONOL VOL 02'. It's the quickest of the ten. Apple Music

61 days · Lee Inkyu 'Rewind'

The tenth musician. Lee Inkyu majored in guitar in college, worked as a session guitarist for a number of singers, and started out as a singer-songwriter with the EP '그럼에도' ("even so") in May 2022. On an autumn morning when the whole neighborhood had turned yellow, Lee stood in the playground with a band. 'Rewind', sung from 10:29, holds the moments when you treat a past relationship like a film that has already ended and replay it in your mind now and then. The video came out on December 21, 2022, and the song on February 20, 2023, as 'VOL 08'. Apple Music · Playground video

110 days · n@di '별아'

The 17th musician, n@di, sang on a weekday morning as commuters hurried past, an acoustic guitar over one shoulder, as if reading a letter aloud. The first song, '별아', was written for someone as precious as a twinkling star. The video went up on February 8, 2023, and the song came out on May 29 as 'VOL 14'. Its English title on Apple Music is 'dear my star'. Apple Music · Playground video

120 days · LeeYuKa '물들어버린 이들'

The 18th musician, LeeYuKa, introduced this song at a snow-covered playground in Chang-dong as "my new song that will be released through NONOL," then sang it. The video went up on February 15, 2023, and the song came out on June 15 as 'VOL 15'. Exactly four months. The English title is 'Turn Out', and the story of '시나브로' and '야상곡', sung the same day, is in our October 9 playground story. Apple Music

133 days · Scon '짝사랑'

The 21st musician, Scon, picked up the guitar on an afternoon when the sun was slipping between apartment blocks, shivering in the cold. Before filming, Scon had a great time playing around the playground with band friends who had come along. The first song, '짝사랑', is about having feelings for a close friend. The description says it was made to record the moments "you'd like them to notice, but can't tell them." Video on March 8, 2023; 'VOL 18' on July 19. The English title is 'Crush'. Apple Music

183 days · Shim Ga ul '왜 그땐'

The last song Shim Ga ul, the 23rd musician, sang at a forest playground covered in fallen leaves. A keyboard player who stayed off screen for the first three songs takes the seat alongside for the first time in this one. It's a song about aching, too late, for time you didn't know was precious while you were in love. The video went up on March 22, 2023, and the song came out on September 21 as 'VOL 20'. Almost exactly six months. The story of the performance is in our October 8 playground story. Apple Music

197 days · HwA '좋아하지 말라고 말하지 말아요'

The last song HwA sang under the big tree at a children's park in Beon-dong. HwA began by saying, "I'm so honored to be able to share this song through NONOL," and the description adds a single line: "If only I could, I'd just hate you." Video on February 7, 2024; 'VOL 44' on August 22. The English title is worth a look, too. The video title spelled it 'Don't tell me not to like you', but on Apple Music it's listed as 'Don't tell me not to love you anymore'. In six months, "like" became "love." Our October 6 playground story · Apple Music

217 days · sucozy 'Snow on the trees'

The first song sucozy sang at a children's park in Juyeop-dong, Ilsan. It was written on the morning after a night of heavy snow, while watching snow scatter over the trees and suddenly feeling how fleeting it all is. Over a repetitive, simple sound, English lyrics are murmured in a low voice. The video went up in spring, on April 17, 2024, and the song came out on the edge of winter, November 20, as 'VOL 49'. Our October 7 playground story · Apple Music

270 days · Purple Whale 'Moon'

Purple Whale, a four-piece indie band, played not at a playground but at Monoplex, a small private cinema near Hongdae. The last song, 'Moon', was written "the way you'd write a letter of self-reflection," after the moon at the end of a hectic day looked just like that person's eyes. The video went up on February 18, 2025, and the song came out on November 15 as 'VOL 66'. Along with the studio recording of 'Moon', the EP includes live recordings of all four songs from that day, labeled 'NONOL Live Version'. At the time of the show, the description said the band was "working and recording every day to release a full album," and that album, 'All the hearts', came out on September 22 as two discs and 21 tracks. The last track on the first disc is called 'Another Moon'. Apple Music · Live version

279 days · Subok '결혼을 축하해'

The last song, starting at 18:45, from Subok, a singer-songwriter who studied at Seoul National University and Berklee College of Music and now teaches as a professor of popular music. It was made as a gift for a beloved younger sibling's wedding day, and Subok sang it after writing in the description, "Now I've decided to send this song out into the world." The video went up on February 5, 2025, and a little over nine months later, on November 11, the song came out as 'VOL 65'. It took the longest of the ten. The English title is 'Best wishes'. Apple Music

NONOL VOL has run from VOL 01 in November 2022 to HAINA MAIKA PUANA's 'Coconut juice' (VOL 89) on June 3 this year. In September, two singles came out under the name 'NONOL ANTHOLOGY VOL 01·02': according to Apple Music, TARIN's 'Our Fleeting Moments' on September 16 and MIO LANE's 'Half a Beat' on September 28.