'Digression', first written at 21, became a NONOL VOL 161 days later: four songs Junguk sang at the rabbit playground by the Han River

Junguk is a singer-songwriter who reinterprets soul music from the 1950s through the 1990s. As the 33rd musician on NONOL LIVE, Junguk stood at the rabbit playground in Gwangnaru Hangang Park in the summer of 2023, the first of the four musicians NONOL met at this playground. Junguk sang at the microphone in a boldly patterned shirt, and alongside, keyboardist Lee Jun-seop, a musical partner of nearly six years, played a red keyboard. Times follow the full version of the video on the NONOL channel.

0:00 STAY

A single Junguk released in December 2022, introduced as R&B carrying a sweet love story from the '90s. The singing starts at 0:10, and at the end, from 3:42, 'Stay with me' repeats four times.

6:16 Joyful !

A song released on February 9, 2023, and written for Junguk's parents, to thank them for always believing through every hard moment in music and for loving to hear Junguk sing. When the track was recorded, about twenty friends joined in as a choir. The description calls it 1950s–'60s doo-wop with gospel added. Doo-wop is an old American vocal-group style in which several voices back the lead with harmonies. At 7:20, the chorus begins with 'Joyful' sung four times over.

10:08 IDAB

The title is short for 'I'll Do Anything Brother'. It's a song cheering on, as an older brother, the road taken by a younger brother who isn't a musician. It carries the feeling of 'I'll do anything for you, so let's both give life our all', and Junguk said a lot of care went into the arrangement to give it strength. At 11:39, 'I'd do anything brother' is followed by 'Whenever you need me'.

16:07 여담 (Digression)

The first song Junguk ever wrote, at around 21. It's a first-love song that came to mind right after watching the film 'Architecture 101'. Junguk said it felt so different from the music Junguk makes now that releasing it seemed uncertain, until it came out together with NONOL. Unlike the first three songs, this one has no drums or bass, just Lee Jun-seop's keyboard and the voice. At 16:25 comes the lyric '난 삼수 끝에 대학생이 됐고' ("I made it to college on my third try at the entrance exam"), followed by '뒤척이던 밤 찾아본 영화' ("the movie I looked up on a sleepless night"). The lyrics and music are by Junguk, and the arrangement by Junguk and Moon Kyung-hoon (Bugs). After the song, Junguk laughed that the nerves only eased on the last song. It came out 161 days later, on December 13, 2023, as 'NONOL VOL 27', and it's listed on Apple Music under the English title 'Digression'. The same single also includes the playground recording from that day. Apple Music

The second stage at the rabbit playground was heyseunghey, featured on October 11, followed by Choi Jae Heum on October 12 and YeoReum on October 4, who also sang here.