Storytelling in Music — "If I See You Again," The Crowned Clown OST

The Crowned Clown is a 16-episode South Korean television series which aired in 2019 and was a remake of the 2012 South Korean film Masquerade (aka Gwanghae: The Man Who Became King; the original Korean title of Crowned Clown is actually 왕이 된 남자, which translates as The Man Who Became King, and makes the remake connection more clear). The story is set in mid-Joseon Korea (late 1500s; contemporary with Ming China), and, while the movie was based on the reign of the fifteenth king, Gwanghae, this is more of a fictional "inspired by" story, since it only retains a few facts, and changes all the names.

 

The storyline follows a young king who ascends the throne as an "illegitimate" heir (the son of a concubine) and then has his "legitimate" little brother (son of the queen dowager) killed to secure his place as king. Haunted by this choice, he develops manic paranoia and presides over multiple bloodbaths at court (he kills lots of people whom he believes have "treasonous thoughts"). All of this makes the king many more enemies than he already had, bringing about plots against his life. A loyal minister then discovers Ha-seon, a commoner who's a player in a traveling troupe of entertainers (hence "clown"), who *just happens* to look exactly like the king.

 

Ha-seon becomes the answer to all their troubles: he can "play" the "part" of the king (hence the "crowned") until all the king's enemies are rooted out. And if he dies, well...that's too bad for him. The plot thickens as Ha-seon manages not to die, and becomes progressively better at his job (i.e. being a good king, unlike the real one) -- and as Ha-seon develops feelings for the queen, So-woon, and the queen reciprocates (which obviously the real king is not at all happy about, especially since she's never loved him).

 

TL;DR -- "Standing in for an unhinged Joseon king, a look-alike clown plays the part but increasingly becomes devoted to protecting the throne and the people [I would add, 'and the queen']." (courtesy of Netflix, where you can no longer watch it)

 

I saw this show a few years ago (and have rewatched it...twice -- it's no longer available for streaming in the US, but hopefully it comes back), and while I enjoy the whole soundtrack, there's a song that immediately stood out to me. It's only used once in the show (at least with lyrics), in the sixth episode. It is "If I See You Again," sung by Oh Yeon-joon.

"If I See You Again" -- Oh Yeon-joon, The Crowned Clown OST (South Korea: 2019)

 

You can read the lyrics separately here. Incidentally, Oh Yeon-joon was only 12 years old when he recorded this, and he was chosen to perform the national anthem at the 2018 South Korea Olympic winter games the year before (i.e. when he was 11; this kid is talented).

This song plays during a major turning point leading up to the halfway climax. Queen So-woon has just received permission to leave the palace for her health (a very big deal in Joseon Korea, because normally the king's women were not allowed to leave). Ha-seon got her the permission out of concern for her, but at the same time, he will not get to see her while she's gone, and the king might come back at any time (in which case, he'll probably never see her again). As the song plays, Queen So-woon is shown leaving the palace with her procession. A torn Ha-seon (pretending to be the king) looks on from a balcony, and sees her palanquin being carried out without catching a glimpse of her. He's about to leave, but then -- he sees So-woon walking by herself, going away on foot. She sees him and bows, and Ha-seon resists the urge to run after her.

The song continues to play as she leaves. Ha-seon's composure breaks and he runs after her (not at all like a dignified king) but doesn't quite catch up in time. So-woon is shown in her palanquin, hoping for a last glimpse of Ha-seon ("the king") as well, but her procession moves on before he arrives. She's gone. He might never see her again. And, really, he shouldn't see her again, because their love is forbidden (which he knows -- even if she doesn't know that yet).

"If I See You Again" is thus a very aptly titled song, playing at a very apt moment. There is no dialogue in this scene. The emotions are conveyed through physical acting and words that are sung rather than spoken. The song tells the story of Ha-seon's feelings, especially in the refrain of the chorus: "Just once, just once, I hope I can see you again / Even if I have to throw everything else behind." He proves throughout the show the lengths he'll go for her, and how he just wants to see her smile and be happy (he is a "clown" after all).

 

Oh Yeon-joon's warm, sweet, slightly dry timbre and innocent emotional delivery perfectly capture Ha-seon's character and feelings, and I just love listening to it and remembering this scene. The melody and the way Oh sings it has a kind of "bounce" to it, with a tremulous vibrato, which both temper the raw pain of the longing in the lyrics and makes it feel sweeter and more wholesome. There's no dark underbelly here -- it's not obsession. It's just pure, deep love. The backing arrangement supports his voice in just the right ways, ornamenting and featuring the key moments without ever overwhelming the vocals.

In the broader scheme of things, this song reflects an attitude that elevates love and might be termed "follow your heart" -- which is a common theme in K-dramas in general. It is an observation of Korean culture that Koreans tend to value emotions over "rationality," and favor warmth over calculation. This factor gets a lot of attention in cross-cultural studies in business, where culturally inappropriate communications can lead to poor results. To bring in the views of one such study:

 

"Jeong (the closest English translation is ‘empathy’) promoted by a non-rational and emotional view of the world, binds social relations in Korea. Korean culture is often called a culture of jeong. Jeong is a complicated emotion with no simple definition -- it can mean feeling, love, sentiment, passion, human nature, sympathy, heart, attachment, bond, or affection, that are felt in relationships by one person for another person, or for a group of people (collective) or even for objects. Jeong-exchange is hard-won, and not achieved easily." (Yang & Kelly, 62)

 

In the story, it is not "rational" to love the queen, to want her to be happy, or to desire to be near her -- it could get him killed (and her, too). But this storyline -- with this song attached to it -- promotes an important cultural value of putting jeong, or love (and all those other emotional words) above other considerations. In this way, it is not only entertainment -- though it is very entertaining: it's a statement of what's collectively important in Korean society. Which to me makes it all the more enjoyable.

SOURCES:

 

pop!gasa. “Oh Yeon Joon – If Only I Could See You Again (다시 볼 수 있다면) the Crowned Clown OST Part 1.” Popgasa Kpop Lyrics, popgasa kpop lyrics, 16 Jan. 2019, https://popgasa.com/2019/01/15/oh-yeon-joon-if-only-i-could-see-you-again-%EB%8B%A4%EC%8B%9C-%EB%B3%BC-%EC%88%98-%EC%9E%88%EB%8B%A4%EB%A9%B4-the-crowned-clown-ost-part-1/ Accessed 4 Apr. 2024.

 

Song, Young Hack, and Christopher B. Meek. “The Impact of Culture on the Management Values and Beliefs of Korean Firms.” Journal of Comparative International Management, 1 Nov. 1998, journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/JCIM/article/view/477.

“The Crowned Clown.” Wikipedia, 14 Mar. 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Crowned_Clown. Accessed 4 Apr. 2024.

 Yang, Inju, and Aidan Kelly. "Avoidance as the First Choice of Default Management: Challenges in Overseas Korean Organizations." Journal of Asia Business Studies, vol. 2 no. 2, 2008, pp. 61-67. https://doi.org/10.1108/15587890880000408