Pukyong National University

"If my alma mater calls me, I will run and sing anytime."
Kim Jun-hui from the class of '95 at Department of Industrial Design ... Introduced his new song, 'Beautiful as today'

Kim Jun-hui, 'SingAgain #10 Singer' is an alumnus from the Class '95 of Department of Industrial Design at Pukyong National University.

He recently released a new song on the 5th, who deeply impress people with his original husky voice.

That is the 3rd single album, 'Beautiful as Today'.

We had a telephone interview with him on March 17th, who has been living in Seoul ever since graduating from Pukyong National University. The voice over the phone was as raspy and thick as when he was singing. Sometimes his accent had a Busan dialect.

"The moment I saw the word 'Pukyong National University' in the text, I was so glad and delighted."

That was what he said after seeing the message sent to him by the reporters of Pukyong Today, and we felt a strong sense of identity.

How can we describe his campus life at Pukyong National University in the past?

He was a youth who lived more addicted to music than his original major, design. In his campus life, he played the keyboard and sang in the band 'Auraji'.

It is said that he enjoyed singing and playing in front of his juniors during lectures, hiding the keyboard at his place, under the computer in the laboratory of the Department of Industrial Design. I come up with his wonderful keyboard playing scene that I saw on the air.

How did Kim come to have his own unique husky voice?

It is said that he began singing in earnest in his early 20s, before and after enlisting in the military.

Around that time, he encounters James Ingram (1952~2019), which is like his musical base camp.

Kim said that the soul singer's 'tone of voice' was so nice. He said he was fascinated by R&B and sang the song countless times. "I could not help myself but to sang and sang again," he said.

It was not a reason that he sang that he would become a singer later. After graduating from Pukyong National University, he got a job at a company that makes advertising music. His interest was composition things. Still, he said that he just liked the soul music, so he shouted from time to time and studied by repeating songs.

He said that after 10 years of doing so, he has come to have his own husky voice and singing skills today. The background he was introduced as ‘the hidden master’ in the broadcast can be guessed.

Now, he ended the life of having no name and has become a singer who is loved by many people.

How has he been after the public appearance?

"I was pretty busy preparing a new album." He is mentioning of his new song, 'Beautiful as Today'. "I also filmed a video for sound recording, and I also responded to interviews with media companies."

The song was composed by Lee Sang-gyu (ROZ), Park Joon-sik, and Baek Hyeon-soo, who made theme songs for KBS2 drama <Descendants of the Sun>.

Kim participated in the lyrics of this ballad song. The lyrics contain the autobiographical story of him through a difficult underground life.

What kind of song is 'Beautiful as Today'?

He said, "I received a lot of love unexpectedly through the broadcast program. Everyone is having a hard time these days, but I wanted to express my gratitude to everyone who gave me their love. With this song, I wanted to touch their hearts, comfort and support them."

Let's savor the lyric.

The road is faraway, seems there is no end in sight/ faint expectations and days without promises/ The clock is ticking

I try to hold my mind saying start again.

The sun that screams loud the wind that blows cold/ I ain't got an answer but the sad memories are beautiful as today'

As you can see, Kim writes poetry well and sings well. Since he majored in design, he paints well.
 
When I asked him a word for pukyong students who are looking for their dreams, he laughed and said, "If they do like me, it would take more than 20 years to achieve their dreams, oh my gosh, what should I say?"

He said, "Isn't it possible that you are majoring in design only to do design things for your entire life? I think any study is a process of finding one's dream. I hope there are many pukyong students who don't decide what they want to do at once, who don't wander by the stories of the people around them, and have various experiences."

He said he would come over anytime if his alma mater calls him. By the time the cherry blossoms bloomed, I thought it would be nice if his husky voice echoed on campus. <Pukyong Today>