Kim Jae Joong is very happy these days. It’s easy to guess that much from the songs on his new album Flower Garden, an album that honors his 20 years of making music. The actor and singer, who performed with mega k-pop groups TVXQ and JYJ before launching a successful solo career, titled his latest album Flower Garden, because it represents his journey as an artist.
“I really wanted to express the meaning that every step of the way represents a single flower,” said Jae Joong. “When gathered together it creates a flower garden.”
Jae Joong has described the album’s compellingly upbeat song, I Am U, as a love song for the fans who loved and supported him on that journey. The lyrics ask fans to look back at the “dazzling and radiant moments” they’ve shared and offers some hints as to what those moments might be.
“If you take a closer look at the lyrics of I Am U, you’re going to notice that the song lyrics contain the titles of the songs that I released as TVXQ, as JYJ and as a solo artist as well,” he said. “So it’s more of a memoir or a memory box of everything that I’ve done for the last 20 years and it’s really about looking back in the past. That’s how I and my fans can really reconnect through this song, we can really look back at our memories together. I think this song not only sends a thank you message for my fans, but also provides nostalgia for all of us.”
Jae Joong worked on 10 tracks of this album.
“Mostly I participated in the lyrics, because I wanted to really tell my stories,” he said. ‘Flower Garden is a special album, as it’s my 20th anniversary album, and I thought it was more important than anything to really carry my experience, my message and my story through this very special album. It didn’t really make sense for me to sing about the experiences of other people.”
The lyrics to the album’s equally bright song Glorious Day are all about blue skies, magic and how “every day is fine.” Even the lyrics of the wistful melodic Rain Shower has Jae Joong saying that he’s happy. Yes, it is a reflection of his current state of mind.
“These days I’m really trying to keep that positive and happy mindset in general,” he said. “And I feel that way too. In this album there are some more melodic and more sentimental songs as well, but ultimately the goal that those songs convey and the message that I want to express is that our ultimate goal is to become happy and to have fun in life. So that’s why there are lyrics like ‘I’m happy’ in Rain Shower, and as you can probably tell, I’m very happy these days.”
Flower Garden also features the edgy rock dopamine hit titled Dopamine, in which he sings about joy to the distinctive guitar licks of Japanese rock legend Miyavi.
“I was born in the 80s and that generation was heavily impacted by Japanese arts and entertainment back then,” said Jae Joong. “Maybe that’s why there are lot of artists that I really like from Japan, and I’ve done a lot of collaboration with Japanese artists in the past.”
Jae Joong is also very popular in Japan, where three of his studio albums Flawless Love(2019), Love Covers (2019), and Love Covers II (2020) peaked at number one on the Oricon Albums Chart. Dopamine was his first collaboration with Miyavi.
“I really like his style and I really like his music, but we’ve never done a collaboration before,” said Jae Joong.” That’s why I decided to call him up myself and ask for a collaboration. Thankfully he gladly took that offer. We actually had dinner together and it was just a very entertaining process to work on music with him. I haven’t really gotten to see him after the album was completed, but I’m planning to go to Japan and say hi to him once again.”
Not only does Jae Joong have a long resume as a singer, but he’s acted in multiple dramas and films. Between 2010 and 2017 he appeared in Protect the Boss, Dr. Jin , Triangle, Spy and Manhole. His newest drama Bad Memory Eraser, which was filmed in 2022, will air on August 2. In this drama he plays Lee Goon, a man who used to be a promising tennis player, but who lost his self-confidence after he had to quit playing. After a memory eraser cancels his bad memories, he temporarily feels better about himself, but it can’t last. Jae Joong chose Bad Memory Eraser because the story seemed comfortable and upbeat.
“It’s more like something you can just enjoy without feeling pressured or being burned by it,” he said. “Because I know there are viewers who are just thirsty for such a storyline and such a comfortable, lighthearted drama.”
He felt attracted to his character because of Lee Goon’s complicated feelings.
“He’s very confident because he’s just filled with good, happy memories,” said Jae Joong. “But as he recovers those bad memories, he feels ashamed. Sometimes he goes through a lot of hardships and he feels lonely among people at the same time. So that really leads him to grow even further as an individual. I could really resonate with how he feels because there are two sides of this character and to myself as well. One is this top superstar who’s always confident and who’s always shining, but then there’s another person who’s humble and timid. And I can feel really lonely from time to time. I think the character in this drama seemed very charming to me because this character really shows dual sides at the same time.”
As well as appearing in dramas, Jae Joong also appeared in the films Heaven’s Postmanin 2009 and Jackal is Coming in 2012, as well as a documentary about his life titled Jaejoong: On The Road. His latest film role is playing a sophisticated, shaman in the horror film, Shrine, helmed by the award-winning Japanese director Kazuyoshi Kumakiri. The film was Jaejoong’s first foray into the horror genre.
“I was really seriously considering that, but then I started to get more really good offers and great opportunities in Japan. So, I focused more on the Japan activities and that actually helped me to change, to think differently about my identity and how my life would take a turn. That’s why I decided to found my own company and be focused on maybe raising another group or educating other artists, junior artists.”
He founded the agency iNKODE in 2023 together with CEO Noh Hyun-tae, the former vice president of Cube Entertainment. As chief strategy officer of iNKODE, Jaejoong will focus on producing new artists.
“There were a lot of different turns I needed to take in life,” said Jae Joong. “But now the drama that I filmed about two years ago is about to air. So I’m very grateful and I’m really looking forward to that.”
“I was really seriously considering that, but then I started to get more really good offers and great opportunities in Japan. So, I focused more on the Japan activities and that actually helped me to change, to think differently about my identity and how my life would take a turn. That’s why I decided to found my own company and be focused on maybe raising another group or educating other artists, junior artists.”
He founded the agency iNKODE in 2023 together with CEO Noh Hyun-tae, the former vice president of Cube Entertainment. As chief strategy officer of iNKODE, Jaejoong will focus on producing new artists.
“There were a lot of different turns I needed to take in life,” said Jae Joong. “But now the drama that I filmed about two years ago is about to air. So I’m very grateful and I’m really looking forward to that.”
He’s also been busy hosting Jaefriends, aka Jae Joong and Friends. On each episode he cooks a little and invites celebrity guests to chat and sample his creations. Guests have included actress Han Hyo-joo, his co-star in Heaven’s Postman, Choi Soo-young of Girls Generation, CNBlue’s Jung Yong-hwa, Epik High’s Tablo, Mamamoo’s Moon Byul and a few up-and-coming k-pop idols, such as the members of Enhyphen. His goal with the show was to make 100 friends.
“The whole purpose of that program is for me to interact with many people from various backgrounds and from different industries in public, not just meeting people in private. Now we have a lot of guests who are more into the k-pop or idol industry, and thankfully, a lot of their fans now get to know more about me through that program, which I am very glad and excited about too.”
As well as promoting his new drama and film, he’s going on a Flower Garden tour. So many creative endeavors are a lot to juggle, but when asked if he would give up on any of it, Jae Joong smiles. He’s very happy with the way things are.