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 critical acclaim while steadily amassing a global fanbase. With their forthcoming album <NOW>, 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 <NOW>, the band—including
recently departed bassist Park Hyunjin—continues to evolve, with tracks 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, played festivals around Asia, and earned praise from international publications. After releasing her second solo album Episode1: Love in 2023, Soyoon—born Soyoon Hwang—felt anxious about the band’s next step.
“That uncertainty really sapped my creativity,” she says. “I’m a really creative person, but at that point,
I only liked drawing, taking photos, and writing poems. Music made me so depressed because I had a lot of pressure, and I didn’t have any creative energy.”
Looking for a change of scenery, Soyoon traveled to New York to work with old friends. Immersing herself in nearly 10-hour studio days proved invigorating and helped her rediscover the joy in making music.
“That’s why the album is called <NOW>,” she explains. “I had been thinking, ‘I’m done. I’m not going to do music anymore.’ But after that New York experience, I felt hope.”
Following that period, SE SO NEON toured briefly and showcased at SXSW in March 2024. Soyoon
later relocated to Los Angeles, where the terrain, light, and new collaborators sparked further inspiration.
“I love nature—sky, sunshine,” she says. “<NOW> is about nature, because I’m from nature.”
Soyoon grew up in the mountainous North Chungcheong Province of South Korea, often spending hours in solitude among the trees. That connection to nature—what she calls “always honest”—runs through <NOW>, making it a universally emotional experience, regardless of language.
“Even if I don’t use English, people will feel the energy and soul in the music,” she says.
While the February 2025 departure of bassist Park Hyunjin changed the band’s structure, Soyoon emphasizes that SE SO NEON is still a band—just one that doesn’t operate in “classical band territory” anymore.
Soyoon began music young, taking piano lessons at five. But, she laughs, “I thought, ‘Piano is not cool enough.’” A cousin introduced her to guitar greats like B.B. King and John Mayer, and she became obsessed—despite her mother’s initial resistance.
“I learned really fast,” she recalls.
Soyoon’s guitar playing is central to <NOW>, an album that defies genre and form to create something wholly unpredictable yet natural. Tracks like “New Romantic” capture “all the sunshine and
color of the Los Angeles sun,” while “3Revolution” evolves from storming rock into shoegazing
shimmer.