Will Bug: "You're beautiful"
Will Bug (Subin Kara Ahn) is a professional singer-songwriter who is known for being featured in K-drama soundtracks such as Rise Again from Mr. Sunshine and You’re beautiful from Romance Is a Bonus Book (both on Netflix). Switching between her signature dreamy, ethereal style and groovy, soulful style, she writes lyrics that are very unique, honest and original. She is also an actor, model, and director based in NYC.
We had the pleasure of checking in with her and she was kind enough to respond to a few interview questions:
SO GREAT TO HAVE YOU FOR OUR INTERVIEW TODAY. TELL US ABOUT YOUR LATEST SINGLE AND WHAT YOU'VE BEEN WORKING ON LATELY!
I recently directed a play called Taemong written by a wonderful Queerean (Queer + Korean) playwright Nina Ki for a virtual theatre festival. Because of COVID-19, I had to adapt to virtual theatre pretty much right after I graduated (I graduated in December 2019!), and I have been lucky enough to have met such wonderful people from all over the world. Taemong went up this past Saturday (October 24th), which will also be posted on YouTube soon.
DO YOU BELIEVE IN OVERNIGHT SUCCESS?
Depends on what one defines "success" as. To me, personally, I think overnight success is possible. However, I do not think that those necessarily last. I think it is important to be ready when chances like that come, so you can hold onto the opportunities.
HOW DID YOUR HOMETOWN SHAPE YOUR SOUND AND VIBE?
I am from Seoul, South Korea. The only songs I can think of that are influenced by my hometown are some of my psychedelic rock songs (which are yet to be released-). There is a very distinctive mood / vibe / feeling to Korean psychedelic rock songs. I love British psyche rock as well, but some of my very few Korean songs were more influenced by Korean psychedelic rock bands like Sanullim. There is a concept of Jeong in Korea (or I think it could originally be from Neo-Confucian philosophy), which is like the warm feeling between people, the attachment. There is so much Jeong in their music. Their songs remind people of nostalgic memories, something familiar, something relatable and something that feels like everyone's home.
WHAT CREATIVE RISKS HAVE YOU TAKE THAT PAID OFF?
I honestly do not think that I have ever consciously taken a risk. I usually simply read a piece, try to stay true to the text, and come up with the most appropriate ways to achieve the goal, which is to convey the playwright's message. I would say that the most experimental piece I have worked on was Somethings Last, written by incredibly talented Jackie Leon, which was inspired by Daniel Johntson's album 1990. I had always wanted to direct an absurdist piece, and this was that. Beautifully written. To me it was a challenge because that was my first time directing an absurdist piece and honestly I was not sure if I could pull it off- So I guess I can say that was a risk I took. I thought, it's gotta be very different from directing a realistic or magical realistic piece, right? But I did what I always do- I read the piece and tried to stay true to the text, and created what I pictured in mind when I was reading the play. And I ended up making something I have always wanted to make. Absurdism is definitely not mainstream, but the audience reception was very positive, and although most of the people were not 100% sure of what the scenes meant (which was intended!), everyone all got what we were trying to say, and trying to do. So that definitely paid off!
WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF IN YOUR CAREER?
For now at least, Somethings Last is one of my proudest accomplishments because although it is not perfect (everything including the casting process and the editing were done in two weeks!) it is very close to the art I want to make. I also feel extremely grateful that I was featured in K-dramas like Mr. Sunshine and Romance Is a Bonus Book, which are both on Netflix. Although those songs were written by someone else, it was an honor to sing such beautiful songs and be able to connect with K-drama fans from all over the world!
Have a listen and connect with Will Bug on social media:
