Meet Juhwan: A street musician, singer/songwriter and music lover on a special journey to carry music to people around the world. He believes in the magic of music and its power to bring people together.
Naturally, our conversation first started with music. More specifically his love of it. Juhwan shared with me that he grew up listening to “western music and British Bands such as Coldplay, Beatles, Muse but also blues” which he commented “unfortunately are not necessarily the most popular here in Korea.”
One thing was for sure: Juhwan always wanted to be a musician. “I spent,” he shared, “my twenties struggling to break into the music industry and making it as a musician. The trouble, in my experience at least, has been that the Korean music industry here is focused on creating idols rather than the music I really wanted to pursue.” Juhwan shared that for those who dream to succeed as a musician in South Korea, they need to be part of a company label, appear on TV shows, etc. In comparison to other countries, there are less places that play live music for example. “I was also told,” he continued, “that my voice was not so unique as to make me successful and that in order to make it, I would need to get surgery.” He described this as quite disheartening and had an impact on his self-esteem, which afterwards was quite low for a while. After a few years of working with a company and writing songs, he was struggling to make money and feeling a bit lost.
However that is where Juhwan’s positive outlook on life helped him and approximately two years ago, “I began to think that if I wanted the world to see me as I am then I had to start over and find my own way. That was the catalyst for me towards being a street musician. “Initially,” he shared, “I was so nervous to start. Initially he was a bit nervous about how Korean people might perceive busking.” However those nerves weren’t going to hold him back and after deciding to make his first attempt abroad, Juhwan packed up all his equipment: guitar, amplifier, “everything” and travelled to Japan with a friend. He described playing there in April as “magic. I didn’t expect so many people would love street music.” Interestingly, despite his apprehensions, Juhwan met a lot of Korean people travelling in Japan and “got a lot of energy from them, which was really special.”
After that positive experience, Juhwan shared with me that he felt he really had to try his hand at being a street musician in Korea, so he returned home and started to play in Myeongdong and Dongdaemun Plaza. “I thought, ‘why not? I knew the area well and being somewhere lots of tourists visit, it was a great place for me to start.” As it transpired, Juhwan was really surprised by how many Korean people love music and Street music and “I need not to have been so worried about how I was perceived.”
Juhwan shared with me that the term busking originates from a Spanish phrase to find work (on the street). Busking nowadays can be anything: magic, dancing, fire displays for example, and any of the street performances you might see if you visit Covent Garden. Juhwan describes his experiences thus far as “amazing. There’s a really great busking community and I’ve been very lucky to meet some incredible people on my travels.” He’s been able to visit different places such as London, Paris & Amsterdam and a few other places across Europe. The thing Juhwan likes the most about busking is how music connects strangers. “Today”, he shared, “people are very used to digital connections and engaging with people through music and human interactions is magical, I think. The power of music is wonderful.”
We spoke about the two months he spent in Okinawa, Japan. This trip was meaningful for several reasons. We spoke about the history of Okinawa and I learned it was once an independent country and as such, has its own unique culture, music and history. Here, Juhwan stayed with a friend and spent time learning about the history, traditions and songs. Sometimes he will play these songs here in Korea and thinks it is “great how people are intrigued to learn about the history of other places they might not otherwise know. That I get to share stories like that is a privilege. When you know the history of a place, it feels more authentic and meaningful to play there.”
His favourite place to sing is Myeongdong because it was “the first place I performed in Korea. As a Korean I’m really happy to welcome people to my country and to Myeongdong, which is a place lots of people visit (travellers or otherwise). Whenever I play there I find the audience exudes good energy and are really happy.” Juhwan said his favourite song to sing depends on where he is and how he is feeling. People always love ‘Yellow’ by Coldplay, so he plays that often. Whilst he may not have a specific best song, he enjoys playing anything that encourages the audience to sing along. “It’s really wonderful when that happens,” he added.
I was interested to know more about some of the challenges he has faced over the fifteen months since he started performing as a street musician. Happily, Juhwan shared that even though he has faced difficulties, these have been more life challenges than related to being a street musician. “Sometimes,” he said, pausing for a while, “I get lonely. When that happens I just picture the next city I’m planning on visiting. For the most part, it’s been really wonderful and I’m so grateful. At some point I will settle down in one city, but for now I’m enjoying my life and want to busk and play as much as I can. I love being able to chase opportunities and the chances that present themselves to me.”
“I believe that in modern society people struggle with opposites and want to feel free from the constraints of society and expectation. Korea in some respects focuses a lot on structure: company, jobs, marriage, children, you know, hard work, focus, drive. For me, whilst I do not wish to avoid any of that, I want to live my life in my own way. I think it’s important for people to see that life does not have to be like we’re told it should be. There’s a different way. I’m really proud and happy for myself, and being able to find my own way. I believe that there are lots of diverse cultures, experiences and viewpoints in the world and understanding each other is possible. I’m glad I get to play my own part in that through music.”
Looking to the future, Juhwan talked of his plans to create and release an album of his own and hopes that a studio or someone will be interested in working on them with him. He’s written a few songs about his experiences of travelling and busking, and what they meant to him which he hopes people will listen to and like. You can visit his YouTube Channel here.
Later on in the year, Juhwan has plans to visit Ireland, something he describes as “very exciting. In preparation I’ve been working hard at reinforcing my setlist as well as learning about Irish Music and reading up on Irish history. I’m passionate about a lot of things but I love learning about different cultures, different histories, and of course, music.”
Juhwan told me that he loves not knowing what is going to happen but added that he is, of course, always careful. He happily shared that he has had many beautiful encounters over the last year and a half and these are things that carry him forward and keep him going. His experience thus far has been full of support and the finding of a great community that helps him carry on. “I am,” he said, “really grateful to be able to pursue my dreams and to have found my path in life. It’s really special.”
Juhwan’s whole face lights up when he talks about his passions for music. You can tell he sincerely loves what he does and he is being genuine about the things he’s grateful for. He is one of those rare people full of positivity and good energy that affects those people around him. He said he feels really excited about the future and where life will take him, and having spent time interviewing him, I too am excited for what the future holds for him.
Juhwan’s advice to fellow buskers/street musicians: I think it’s important for people to figure things out themselves but my more general advice for people who want to be a busker is to be kind. I feel that if you want to be a busker you have to love people. If you don’t, it’s not necessarily going to work for you because busking survives on energy and people. But if you have that energy then you can count on lots of beautiful experiences.
