Touring sparked Woosung’s travel bug
While Kim Woo-sung’s bandmates in South Korea are serving their mandatory military duty, the Korean American guitarist/vocalist/songwriter for the pop-rock group The Rose is back in Los Angeles — not far from where he grew up.
For our Zoom interview, the musician wore a simple black T-shirt and could easily pass as a college student, rather than someone who recently celebrated his 29th birthday. His aesthetics reflect his global travels. One of his favorite purchases for his LA home is a limited-edition sofa designed by France’s Mojow Yomi NEP, which is visible in the background.
Known professionally as Woosung, the artist is on a North American tour with the hip-hop trio Epik High and said he’s looking forward to performing songs from his solo album “GENRE.” (For tour dates, check out epikhigh.com.)
Woosung stays in touch with fans on Twitter @ woosungofficial and Instagram @iwoosung.
Q: Many children dream about becoming a rock star. Was that your dream as well?
A:
No, when I was younger, my dream was to do something with sports. But when I was really young —5or6—Iwantedto be a Pokemon Master. I believed that Pokemon was going to be real in the near future and that I could travel around the world and have a little Pikachu with me and catch Pokemon. I am still doing
half of it. I get to travel around the world.
Q: I know that you split your time between homes in Seoul and LA. Where else have you lived?
A:
When I was younger, I traveled a lot because I moved a lot. So I lived in Canada, the Philippines, South Korea, America. I went back and forth a lot. But other than that, I didn’t really travel travel until The Rose started touring.
Q: Where were some of those places?
A:
When we started touring, Europe was the first place we got to go. And it was amazing because, first of all, I’d never been to Europe before. I didn’t know what to expect. I remember Brussels, because (our show) was the first K-pop concert they had in that city. It was us. That’s how we started the first tour with The Rose. Brussels is really beautiful. We’ve been to Japan, the Philippines, Brazil, Mexico, a bunch of cities in America. I also really like Paris, London and Amsterdam.
Q: Does living in both Seoul and LA feel chaotic? A:
No, they both feel like
home to me. LA feels like home from my younger age. This is where I grew up. Korea is home for me as a young adult. They’re different vibes and my goal is to spend half a year in each place. Ideally, I’d like to live three months in Korea, then three months in the U.S. and continue like that.
Q: If you had unlimited time off, where would you want to visit?
A:
Hmmm, I want to fly to somewhere that I’ve never been before like Greece. The pictures (I’ve seen) are beautiful. I like nature. I don’t like hiking, but I like the fresh air. Greece has a lot of cool architecture. Yeah, I want to go there.
Q: You mentioned not liking hiking, but do you enjoy camping?
A:
(Laughs) You know what? I used to be so active in my teenage days. I loved camping, fishing, playing basketball, football, skateboarding, mountain biking — I did all that. But after 10 years of being a young adult in Korea living my life mostly indoors doing music, I like being inside.