The first video you find when you type in “Isn’t she lovely guitar” on YouTube is Sungha Jung’s fingerstyle cover video. The music flowing from his guitar has a totally different sensation from the original version, while Jung’s own compositions have opened a new era for the fingerstyle genre. The Granite Tower (GT) interviewed the next superstar to explore the beauty of the guitar.

About Sungha Jung

Sungha Jung runs a YouTube music channel with 6.45 million subscribers and has uploaded hundreds of cover versions of various songs over 14 years. When he uploaded “My Heart Will Go On” in 2010, the world was shocked to see a small boy holding a guitar bigger than him and playing the song gracefully. He has released a total of eight albums since his first in 2010. Jung is currently in his military service as a public social agent and constantly communicates with his fans through YouTube and other social media.

GT: The first thing that comes to mind when we think of Sungha Jung is the fingerstyle technique. Is there a particular reason you learned it? Please tell us more about this technique.

Jung: When I first played the guitar, my dad used to teach me how to strum chords. He also introduced me to a fingerstyle guitar community, where I could try the song “Twilight” by Kotaro Oshio in the fingerstyle technique. By then, I practiced one song every two to three days. Fingerstyle is especially unique in that it can express an entire piece of music with one instrument. That is, a guitarist can play the melody, bass, drumbeats, and rhythm all together with a single guitar. This is its charm, and it definitely looks fancy when watching it.

GT: Most of your content on YouTube is cover versions of various songs. What are some memorable songs for you or songs you were particularly interested in while processing and arranging them?

Jung: Honestly, it is quite hard to arrange and upload a cover video every week. Arranging a piece of music to a full guitar piece is not that hard, but what really makes it difficult for me is to reinterpret the song in the music style of Sungha Jung, and I often recreate the entire song to suit style. For instance, the album Mixtape (2017) is an album with all the songs arranged to suit my taste. “Don’t Know Why” from the album is the song I like the most.

GT: Your music composition represents an important part of your music career. How long does it take for you to release an album, and where do you get your inspiration from?

Jung: Composing songs for an album takes around a year on average. I released a new album annually until 2018, and I really worked hard to meet my listeners’ expectations. When I was a child, I used to write most of my songs when ideas arose, but now some of my songs are often composed to meet a deadline. However, I do not like feeling such pressure when composing art pieces, so I try to instead read books, travel, or watch a movie to get some inspiration for my songs. Thus, most of my pieces in my twenties have been created after finding inspiration from various experiences.

GT: Compared to the albums you have released in other years, the album Mixtape (2017) is different in that it only consists of cover versions of songs. Did you have a special reason for creating this album?

Jung: Although I upload covers every week and my fans love them, I have just a few favorites. In addition, whenever I tried new styles of arranging and explored new techniques, some of the listeners did not like it because the song was different from the original. Therefore, I attempted new styles and assembled those songs in an album instead of uploading them on the Internet. For instance, I rearranged the songs “Isn’t She Lovely” and “Tears in Heaven” even though they had been previously covered on my YouTube channel. Moreover, I added “Autumn Leaves” because it suited the album.

GT: Are there any difficulties acting as both a military officer and a musician on YouTube?

Jung: After I come back home from work on weekdays, I grab my guitar and play it through the night. I arrange songs to upload and also work on my new album scheduled for the year after my social service is finished. Recording and editing videos are my main tasks on the weekends. I do feel that it is quite a burden to do two or three things simultaneously, but I always try to do my best to keep up with my work for my fans.

GT: What are your future plans as a musician, especially after your most recent album, Andante (2018)? Also, please share your plans for any concerts after the pandemic.

Jung: As soon as I am done with my social service in May 2021, I am planning to release a new album. Furthermore, if the current pandemic ends earlier than expected, I really want to hold concerts. It is my primary hope to meet my fans from around the world because I have not done public performances for a while. I will continue to upload new videos on my YouTube channel and communicate with my fans as well. My ultimate dream is to be Korea’s leading guitarist, and that is all I want for now.