Park Junhee, a.k.a JUNHEE, carries a confidence that comes through in conversation and in his music. It’s the same instinct that colours his first solo mini-album, The First Day & Night, with warmth and a touch of mischief. When he remembers the first time he heard the demo for Umbrella (10:00), the album’s opening track, he breaks into a grin. “It was fantastic. You just instinctively know whether a song is good as soon as you hit play. I just knew this was the one. The song was so well-made. I still can’t forget that moment. I couldn’t help but laugh out loud while listening to it.”

That flash of certainty defined the direction for a project he’d been imagining for years. Each song on the album carries a specific time stamp – 10:00, 12:30, 21:00 – like a diary of a single day. JUNHEE smiles thoughtfully when asked if there’s a grand concept behind it. “Whenever I listen to music, I take a lot of things into consideration, such as my mood, the weather, what time it is, and whether it’s day or night,” he says. “The times I assigned to each track are because personally, I felt each song fit best at that time of day.” The idea sounds casual, but it perfectly suits the singer who has always trusted feel over fuss.

READ MORE: JUNHEE ON HIS SOLO CAREER

That intuition carries through the record. Tattoo (12:30), a collaboration with his fellow A.C.E members Jiham, WoW, BK, and Yuchan, is something far deeper than a simple reunion. “The meaning of Tattoo is, literally, that we will carve into our hearts the love and gratitude we feel for our fans and the time we’ve spent together, like a tattoo, so we’ll never forget and always remember it,” JUNHEE explains.

Whenever I listen to music, I take a lot of things into consideration, such as my mood, the weather, what time it is, and whether it’s day or night, The times I assigned to each track are because personally, I felt each song fit best at that time of day.

Elsewhere, he lets different influences creep in. Too Bad (15:00) strums like a brisk afternoon drive through the British countryside. “Yes, you’re right,” he says when I mention Ed Sheeran. “I also get the feeling of a rock song with Western country vibes from this track. It speaks of someone feeling stressed and conflicted because of their relationship with a partner they’re not sure about. The highlight is how those emotions are expressed through the vocals, like letting out all the built-up stress.”

Then there’s Sugar (18:00), a retro 1980s synth cut with an unexpectedly sharp lyrical edge. “I sang it from the perspective of a guy fed up with the other person’s two-faced behaviour, feeling slightly sarcastic toward them,” he says, clearly enjoying the memory. “That was really fun for me during the process, and I think if fans think of that perspective while listening, they’ll enjoy the song even more.”

JUNHEE’s voice is the album’s real through-line, nowhere more so than on You Should Come (21:00). He slips easily between chest voice and falsetto, but he insists the choice was instinctive. “The lyrics make you want to sing this song to someone you truly love. I worked on it, staying true to those feelings, thinking, ‘How can I express these lyrics so the listener will feel excited and happy?’ I focused on the rhythm and conveying the lyrics. And this is a little TMI, but the demo version was originally made for a female singer. I liked it so much that I just recorded it in the original female key and released it. That’s why I think the song has a kind of unique charm.”

I’m steadily working on projects I think you’ll really like, so don’t miss them! And on top of that, I’m planning and preparing lots of things like the next album and event tours.

The most intimate moment arrives with Night (02:00), which begins as a whisper of guitar and voice before swelling into something almost orchestral. “This song is my personal story as well,” he says quietly. “At first, I thought about releasing it with just the vocals over the guitar, without any other instruments. But after discussing with the producers, we concluded it would be better to show a buildup of emotions. As you go through verses one, two, and three, you can actually feel the tension of the instruments and vocals rising and the emotional expression intensifying. I wanted to portray how a man’s heart breaks down the more he talks about a reality he can’t accept and his inner feelings.”

Even the playful Korean version of Umbrella (10:00) shows his knack for turning small details into stories. He retitled it The Time Tiger Gets Married (10:00), a phrase for the rare moment when rain falls and sun shines together. “The main storyline of the English version is about someone who only comes to me on rainy days,” JUNHEE explains, then continues, “and for the Korean version, I kept that basic story but added a layer of the thought ‘If the strange day comes when it’s raining and the sun is shining at the same time, will you finally stay by my side and not leave?’

“In the English version of the song, the person comes to me whenever it rains, but always ends up leaving. So I imagined, what if something rare happens, like rain and sun at the same time, would a miracle happen, and you stay? In Korean, a day when the sun comes out while it’s raining is called 호랑이 장가 가는 날 (the day the tiger gets married). It’s a phrase that describes an unusual, extraordinary day.”

The meaning of “Tattoo” is, literally, that we will carve into our hearts the love and gratitude we feel for our fans and the time we’ve spent together, like a tattoo, so we’ll never forget and always remember it.

The album’s title, The First Day & Night, reflects perfectly what this release means to him. “It represents the first day of my solo debut, the day and night of that special day,” he says. “This album is a personal dream that I’ve only imagined for a long time. So when the album was completed and released to the world, I wanted to make that first day meaningful.”

That first day is only the beginning. “I’m already planning some collaborations, but I’m not really sure when they’ll be released,” he adds with a conspiratorial smile. “I’m steadily working on projects I think you’ll really like, so don’t miss them! And on top of that, I’m planning and preparing lots of things like the next album and event tours. Over time, I think everything will start happening one by one! Just hang in there a little bit!”

After years of persistence, JUNHEE is finally on his own clock. The First Day & Night brings that freedom: playful, polished, vibrant, and above all, personal. And watching him work so hard and make his dreams come true only reinforces just how far his talent and tenacity can take him.

Written and interviewed by Maggie Gogler

Featured image courtesy of H&P Entertainment

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