“I feel like I am sneezing when I hear your name. When did you become such pollen in my heart?” Meet Park Yoon Seo (’21, Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering), a future biologist who continues her hobby as a singer-songwriter. Despite her impressive pursuit of knowledge in her major, she has managed to maintain her passion for music, releasing her second single album entitled Peach Allergy. Dedicating herself to writing, composing, and singing, Park Yoon Seo proves that she is a true artist at heart.
About Park Yoon Seo
Park Yoon Seo is a junior student majoring in Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering and Biotechnology. She uses her versatile abilities to write, compose, and sing as a singer-songwriter. Entitled Buoyancy, her first single album was released on September 7, 2022, receiving favorable reactions from KU students. Her next single album, released in the mid-spring of 2023, delivers the tickling hearts of a woman in love compared to a peach allergy. Under the stage name “Fraise,” meaning strawberry in French, her enchanting songs are available on music platforms such as Genie, Melon, and Bugs. Moreover, although the College of Life Sciences is known for its heavy workloads, surprisingly, she has successfully juggled her hobby as a singer-songwriter and her academic achievements, gaining a GPA of 4.5 and a full scholarship every semester. To gain insight into her multi-talented abilities, The Granite Tower (GT) conducted an interview with Park.
GT: What led you to become a singer-songwriter as a hobby?
Park: Before starting, I would like to thank KU students for showing so much interest in my music, which has become a motivation for me to release more albums! To get into the question, after entering KU, I joined a band and a vocal club, where I started singing and decided to take vocal lessons. I recorded covers after being inspired by my vocal coach’s home video of a cover song on YouTube. I used the scholarship I received from KU to purchase home recording equipment and start recording and uploading my covers. Naturally, I became interested in guitar, and after I learned some chords and tried busking, I began to think about composing my own songs. Making an album became one of my bucket lists, and after releasing my first album in September last year, I realized that this hobby is a stress reliever for me. Especially when I could listen to my songs on music platforms, it made me feel incredibly proud and happy!
GT: Could you explain the process of releasing an album?
Park: Although the steps may vary, I usually write lyrics and compose music simultaneously while playing the guitar. I create the overall chord of the song with the guitar and write the top line (melody). Once the lyrics and melody come to mind, I record to create a demo song, and then the arrangement begins. Then, the recording is made of the actual sound using MR, the instrumental track, and the chorus. I adjust the rhythm and pitch of the vocals (tuning), the overall sound is balanced during mixing, and the final sound of the song is completed during mastering for the final. Also, I use my album art from the pictures that I took while composing the song. After that, they go through a screening process through distribution companies, and then my album is released on various music platforms!
GT: How did you come up with the idea of the second single album, Peach Allergy?
Park: When I write songs, I tend to come up with the melody and lyrics spontaneously, in situations such as when studying for exams. In fact, my first single was inspired by studying buoyancy! For Peach Allergy, I was studying allergies and realized that people with severe allergies could have an allergic reaction just by hearing about the allergen that causes their reaction. I found this interesting to compare to falling in love. Additionally, learning about roots made me think of the lyrics, “When did you take your roots, like a small dandelion.”
GT: I heard that you get a very high GPA every semester. How did you manage to juggle your studies as a student and singer-songwriter?
Park: I enjoy studying as much as I love music, and thus I really enjoyed studying at KU, where I could deeply study what I wanted. So, I took major courses passionately, which is why I received the KU President’s Award and a full scholarship every semester! Also, enjoying my leisure time helps me study more efficiently. So when I have free time, I enjoy my hobbies, and during exam periods, I focus on my major studies, and I think that’s how I was able to balance them out.
GT: What do you want to become in the future? Will you carry on your hobby as a singer-songwriter in the future?
Park: My current goal is to finish graduate school and find a university or research institute where I can conduct independent research on microbiology. Regardless of my profession, I plan to continue my career as a singer-songwriter as a hobby. Surely, it may be challenging to actively engage in music if I have a lot of work to do, but I still want to enjoy music as much as possible. If I could borrow the concept of main character (bon-kae) and alternate character (bu-kae), I would say that my dream is to be the main character as a professor or researcher and the alternate character as a musician or singer-songwriter.
GT: Do you plan to release more albums in the future?
Park: I am planning an exchange in Canada next semester, so I am planning to release one more album before that! I am especially excited to prepare for the release of my favorite song. For a sneak peek, the song does not relate to science, but I used an antithesis in the song, where the lyrics are similar to complaining to your lover! I would appreciate it if KU students would look forward to my third album and other songs that I will participate in as a vocalist.
