Joung Tae-choon performs during a press conference at Roh Moo-Hyun Civic Center in Jongno District, Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of The Broad

Singer-songwriter Joung Tae-choon and his musical partner and wife Park Eun-ohk, widely recognized as symbols of Korean resistance folk music, are set to return with their first new studio album in 13 years, titled "Between Torrential Rain."

The album, slated for digital release in April, marks their first since their 2012 project "City Bus to the Sea." Accompanying the album is their literary project "Songs, Break the Wall," which emphasizes the inherent connection between songs and poetry. Joung declared a creative hiatus and entered seclusion in 2019 but has once again stepped into the world of creative work.

The 71-year-old Joung has frequently expressed that he owes a debt to Korean literature, reflecting on the profound impact it has had on him as an artistically refined language.

"Through literature, I was moved and felt a sense of awareness about various issues," Joung said during a press conference Tuesday at Roh Moo-Hyun Civic Center in Jongno District, Seoul, to celebrate the couple's 45th anniversary in the music industry.

"I should have withdrawn (from music) as I declared before, but I ended up writing new songs. Songs came from within me and I wanted to share them," Joung said. "In the process of making songs, I really want to create good ones. That was my only thought."

Joung Tae-choon, right, and Park Eun-ohk perform during a press conference for their project "Songs, Break the Wall" at Roh Moo-Hyun Civic Center in Jongno District, Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of The Broad

Joung revealed his recent creative inspiration came from discovering Bob Dylan's extensive body of work at a local library. After encountering a book compiling all of Dylan's songs, over 1,000 pages long, the sheer volume of work from the American singer-songwriter and the first musician to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2016 was enough to stimulate him.

"After reading that, I felt inspired to write songs again. I looked through my old notes, calligraphy and my old photographs, extracting stories from them, and wrote a series of songs," he said.

Joung debuted in 1978 with "Poet's Village" and became a prominent activist artist in the 1990s, releasing a series of songs that inspired social resistance and embodied the contradictions and protests of Korean society. During the "Poet's Village" era, he had to change lyrics from "friend of loneliness, friend of wandering" to "friend of life, friend of nature" because of censorship. Some of his works were not released after they failed to pass the Performance Ethics Committee's review.

Joung Tae-choon's calligraphy in Korean / Courtesy of The Broad

Shift from social issues to humanity

The Korean modern folk genre, which emerged in the late 1960s and reached its peak popularity in the 1970s, was influenced by American modern folk and characterized by acoustic guitar accompaniment. While Korean folk rock often featured translated foreign melodies that carried a hint of unfamiliarity, Joung distinguished himself by embracing the Korean sensibilities that would become his hallmark. The lyrics of songs such as "Poet's Village," "I Want to Love," and "Candlelight" drew considerable acclaim.

His 1990 album "Ah, Korea..." was the first to be released while completely rejecting the Performance Ethics Committee's demands for lyric modifications, becoming a symbol of the movement to abolish censorship of popular music. With support from other cultural figures and public backing, the 60-year-old pre-censorship system was finally abolished in 1996.

He also actively participated in protests against the expansion of U.S. military bases in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, and was detained by police while carrying his guitar to the protest site.

In recent years, however, his thematic focus has shifted from social criticism toward introspective explorations of humanity and civilization.

Compared to his socially critical works from the 1990s, the duo's 12th album emphasizes literary quality and lyricism. The couple expressed scenes from the Dori River in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province, where they lived together, and landscapes after heavy rain.

In his new song "Between Torrential Rain," he writes, "In residential areas flowing with war-like torrential rain / When distant gunfire and flashes cease, and suddenly everything becomes desolate / In that tidal flat, small reeds and young red-legged crabs / Will wait for the tickling sunlight in their own muddy trenches."

"I think songs that are socially critical, resistant or created to stand in solidarity with those who resist are instrumental songs. If I were to go back to that time, I would still write those instrumental songs. There are times when such songs are necessary, and if I cannot avoid the fight and need to stand in solidarity with them, then I must create songs for them," Joung said.

"My focus has changed from being concerned about my life within a small community to asking 'What am I within the universe?' Even in today's circumstances, I hope people think about the power of intelligence and conscience to break through the wall of barbarism. That is why I named the project 'Songs, Break the Wall,'"

Poster for Joung Tae-choon and Park Eun-ohk's concert tour titled "My Poem, My Song" / Courtesy of The Broad

Timeless music resonates beyond generation

His wife Park, 68, collaborated closely with Joung for over four decades since 1979, broadening their artistic horizons beyond music, publishing poetry collections and holding photography exhibitions.

Park reflected on their audience and generational appeal during the press conference, adding that the Netflix drama "When The Life Gives You Tangerines" moved her deeply and prompted her to ponder why songs today often fail to resonate broadly across age groups like dramas do.

"While BTS songs naturally resonate more with certain generations, we do occasionally have high school and college students join our fan club. Even if our music appeals to a minority, I hope it can offer support and friendship to those individuals," she said.

Kim Chang-nam, an honorary professor at Sungkonghoe University and former chairperson of the Korean Music Awards selection committee, said the essence of folk music lies in the story it contains.

"Looking at the general landscape of today's popular music, rather than reading a message or sharing a story within it, it's dominated by highly sensory reactions and stimulations. The songs in Joung and Park's new album absolutely cannot be understood in that way," he said.

"I think these are songs that can only be fully understood by listening to them repeatedly, continuously reading the lyrics, picturing the scenery in your mind and feeling the stories contained within. In that aspect, they hold extremely significant meaning."

From May to July, the duo will hold a nationwide concert tour titled "My Poem, My Song" and in June, there will be a calligraphy exhibition called "Song, Song." Joung's song poetry collection "Between Torrential Rain" and calligraphy collection "Song, Song" will also be published.