Events with SE SO NEON
SE SO NEON
Since their formation nearly a decade ago, SE SO NEON has become one of Korea’s most
loved and respected alternative bands, receiving awards and acclaim while steadily
amassing a global fanbase. With their forthcoming album , the band—led by singer,
songwriter, and multidisciplinary artist Soyoon—is ready to defy any expectations placed
upon them.
SE SO NEON have become well-known for their expansive definition of “rock,” with Pitchfork referring to them as “a versatile name in the Korean indie scene” in 2021. On the
band—including recently departed bassist Park Hyunjin—continues that growth, with cuts
like the feedback-shrouded mini-epic “Secret Police” and the R&B-tinged “Small Heart”
taking off in unexpected, thrilling directions.
Since forming in 2016, SE SO NEON has won two Korean Music Awards and played festivals around Asia while receiving critical acclaim from publications in the U.S. After releasing her second solo album, Episode1: Love, in 2023, Soyoon—born Soyoon Hwang —felt anxiety about the band’s next move.
That uncertainty, she says, sapped her artistic side. “I’m a really creative person, but at that point, I only liked drawing, taking photos, and writing poems,” she says. “Music made me so depressed, because I had a lot of pressure, and I didn’t have any creative energy.” She decided she needed a change of scenery, so she traveled to New York to work on the next phase of SE SO NEON’s music with old friends who lived there. Being in different surroundings and spending almost 10 hours a day in the studio proved invigorating, and it also made her realize that she needed to worry about the future less and live in the present more.
“That’s why the album title is,” Soyoon says. “I had been thinking, ‘I’m done. I’m not
going to do music anymore.’ But after that New York experience, I felt hope.”
SE SO NEON toured a bit after, and after being showcased at the Austin industry gathering
SXSW in March 2024, Soyoon decided to stay in Los Angeles and continue working there.
The stunning terrains and vistas of Southern California, along with the fresh collaborators
she brought into her circle while working on music there, inspired Soyoon to remain
constantly present.
“I love nature—sky, sunshine,” she says. “ is about nature, because I’m from nature.”
She grew up in South Korea’s mountainous North Chungcheong Province, and when she
wasn’t in classes, she’d take time to appreciate the natural beauty surrounding her. “I’d go to
the mountains and just sit, and watch the trees alone,” she recalls.
Nature, says Soyoon, inspires her in part because it is “always honest,” and being so rooted
in the natural world, Soyoon says, will make relatable even to people who might not
be fluent in Korean. “Even if I don’t use English, people will feel energy and soul in the
music,” she says.
SE SO NEON is a band, says Soyoon, although the February 2025 exit of Park Hyunjin means that it doesn’t operate in “classical band territory anymore.” Looking at norms and tweaking them to better suit her ambitions is normal for Soyoon, who began studying music when she first took piano lessons at age five. “But I thought, ‘Piano is not cool enough,’” she laughs.
A cousin introduced her to videos of electric guitarists—B.B. King, John Mayer—and she quickly became obsessed, although her mother tried to dissuade her. Her passion never waned, and she was eventually allowed to take on the guitar. “I learned really fast,” she recalls.
Soyoon’s guitar playing is key to, which defies idea of genre and form to create a
wholly unpredictable, yet utterly natural landscape, much like the ones she marveled at as a
child in Korea and as a young adult in Los Angeles. “New Romantic” is a light-stepping
funk-pop song that captures “all the sunshine and color of the Los Angeles sun” before being
punctuated by a blown-out solo, while “3Revolution” starts out as a storming rock cut before
shape-shifting into a shoe-gazing shimmy.
As a teenager, Soyoon threw herself into every aspect of making music, recording and arranging songs inspired by the blues tracks that had stoked her interest in taking on the guitar. That led to her pursuing music in Seoul. At 14, she recorded and self-released her first demo album, and in the following years she immersed herself even more fully in her art, overseeing cover designs and putting together music videos while performing solo at clubs. Bringing her various disciplines together again—the way she did when she was just starting out—by helming the band’s videos is part of Soyoon’s quest to show how SE SO NEON won’t conform to anyone’s ideals. Instead, Soyoon is leading SE SO NEON into a place where the present is free of constraints and only full of possibility.
“I’m a rocker—I have a strong ‘rock attitude,’” she says. “But I don’t want to categorize myself. I’m a singer. I’m a director. I’m a writer. I’m a ‘professional musician.’ I want to work in some random café here in Los Angeles, because I’ve never had an experience like that. “I don’t want to define myself,” she continues. “I don’t want to define anything about my life.”
SE SO NEON have become well-known for their expansive definition of “rock,” with Pitchfork referring to them as “a versatile name in the Korean indie scene” in 2021. On
Since forming in 2016, SE SO NEON has won two Korean Music Awards and played festivals around Asia while receiving critical acclaim from publications in the U.S. After releasing her second solo album, Episode1: Love, in 2023, Soyoon—born Soyoon Hwang —felt anxiety about the band’s next move.
That uncertainty, she says, sapped her artistic side. “I’m a really creative person, but at that point, I only liked drawing, taking photos, and writing poems,” she says. “Music made me so depressed, because I had a lot of pressure, and I didn’t have any creative energy.” She decided she needed a change of scenery, so she traveled to New York to work on the next phase of SE SO NEON’s music with old friends who lived there. Being in different surroundings and spending almost 10 hours a day in the studio proved invigorating, and it also made her realize that she needed to worry about the future less and live in the present more.
“That’s why the album title is
“I love nature—sky, sunshine,” she says. “
SE SO NEON is a band, says Soyoon, although the February 2025 exit of Park Hyunjin means that it doesn’t operate in “classical band territory anymore.” Looking at norms and tweaking them to better suit her ambitions is normal for Soyoon, who began studying music when she first took piano lessons at age five. “But I thought, ‘Piano is not cool enough,’” she laughs.
A cousin introduced her to videos of electric guitarists—B.B. King, John Mayer—and she quickly became obsessed, although her mother tried to dissuade her. Her passion never waned, and she was eventually allowed to take on the guitar. “I learned really fast,” she recalls.
Soyoon’s guitar playing is key to
As a teenager, Soyoon threw herself into every aspect of making music, recording and arranging songs inspired by the blues tracks that had stoked her interest in taking on the guitar. That led to her pursuing music in Seoul. At 14, she recorded and self-released her first demo album, and in the following years she immersed herself even more fully in her art, overseeing cover designs and putting together music videos while performing solo at clubs. Bringing her various disciplines together again—the way she did when she was just starting out—by helming the band’s videos is part of Soyoon’s quest to show how SE SO NEON won’t conform to anyone’s ideals. Instead, Soyoon is leading SE SO NEON into a place where the present is free of constraints and only full of possibility.
“I’m a rocker—I have a strong ‘rock attitude,’” she says. “But I don’t want to categorize myself. I’m a singer. I’m a director. I’m a writer. I’m a ‘professional musician.’ I want to work in some random café here in Los Angeles, because I’ve never had an experience like that. “I don’t want to define myself,” she continues. “I don’t want to define anything about my life.”
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