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[Lily's Take] Lee Ji-eun's News Interview About her Lyrics and Jonghyun

On the 17th, Lee Ji-eun appeared as a guest speaker in JTBC Newsroom culture section, sharing her feelings about her 10-year career, life, and music.

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The president of JTBC and a famous South Korean anchor, Sohn Suk-hee, greeted Lee Ji-eun saying, "It's been 6 years since I've done an interview with Lee Ji-eun. Since it's January 2018, I put together this interview sort of like a New Year's present. A lot has changed in 6 years". To this friendly greeting, Lee Ji-eun said, "It sure did. A lot has changed. I was 19 years old back then, and now I'm 26". Son replied, "I've become old and Lee Ji-eun has grown".

The two started the interview with 'Lee Ji-eun"s most recent achievement: The Grand Award for Golden Disc Awards on January 10th. Here are some of the Q and A's from the interview.

Q. Was 2017 your best year in life? I'm thinking it could be the year you sang "Good Day" for that is when you first received such love from the audience.

A. Last year sure was a good year for me. Since I was loved for an album I produced myself, it was more satisfying. It's been 10 years since my debut, so I feel like I became closer to the audience as if they are greeted me back saying, "You are here again!".

 

Q. You mentioned SHINee's Jonghyun a lot in your Grand Award acceptance speech. You even asked if you could speak more, spending additional five minutes about him. It was very touching. Is there more you'd like to say that you weren't able to at the time?

A. Rather than more comments, I just hope that my message was conveyed well. I was very baffled and felt like I was going all over the place with my comments.

He was a friend who debuted in the same year as me. We dreamt of the same dreams, faced similar trials, and grew together. I had heavy regrets thinking I wasn't there for him. It's not just me. Many other artists carried the same regrets. There were a lot of end-of-the-year stages and award ceremonies we had to perform. It was concerning for me as I thought of the others standing on the stage with such heavy hearts. I just wished that no one suffers from such deep pain. That's why I shared the message, hoping to convey that sincerity.

 

Q. I know you've written a lot of songs in your recent album, and out of all the songs you wrote, which is the most special?

A. I think it would be the 'Through the Night'. This song is written as I was suffering through my insomnia. 'Through the Night' was made from my thought that for someone I love, the best way to express my love would be to wish that person a good night sleep. I feel happiest when people tell me they can sleep well whilst listening to this song.

I've been suffering through insomnia for a while now. I think a lot of celebrities suffer with insomnia since we have an inconsistent sleeping pattern due to our busy schedules.

 

In this 15 minute interview, Lee Ji-eun answered every question with such clear and respectful manner, receiving high praise from the viewers. There have been many stars who've gone through these interviews with anchor Sohn Suk-hee, but Lee Ji-eun was one of the few who were completely honest, yet intelligent and firm in her speech.

Many of the viewers also commented on anchor Sohn Suk-hee's warm smiles all the way through the interview saying everyone in Korea can't help but be 'Lee Ji-eun"s fan and Sohn Suk-hee's not an exception. Others commented that it was such an honorable moment as Korea's most respected anchor and most loved artist came together for this short discussion. After the interview, Sohn Suk-hee swiftly left the usual social media live video he does after the news saying he needs to go take a picture with Lee Ji-eun before she leaves. The photo was later posted on the official JTBC Newsroom Facebook account, receiving many likes and comments from the fans.

By: Lily Lee

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