“Hello, I'm Woojin Do, a singer-songwriter capturing dreamy moments in everyday life through music. I believe the gift of art is that it makes our usual days and moments even more beautiful and romantic. I hope that everyone, not just a select few, can enjoy and share art, so I capture everyday happenings in my music.”

Woojin Do, a singer-songwriter who prefers a minimalist lifestyle with essential words and items, often becomes more talkative when communicating through music. His stories, maintaining his own pace quietly in any setting, have been shared through various Mangrove people, proving his music is made 'to enjoy and share together,' just like his self-written introduction indicates.

I think art is ultimately something done by people for other people.

Q. Do you remember the moment you decided to become a singer-songwriter?

Picasso once said something like this: 'The meaning of life is to discover your talents, and the purpose of life is to help someone’s life get better with those talents.' Listening to music always comforted me, and I wanted to create music that could comfort someone too.

Q. Musicians often have their days and nights turned, right?

I try to go to bed early and wake up early. There’s a feeling of openness in the body and mind when expressing gratitude and praying before dawn. Completing tasks in the morning allows me to work at ease in the evening.

Q. It seems your organized and concise lifestyle is reflected in your space. 

I pursue a ‘life of not owning much’ enough to move with just a bag and a box. I only keep what's necessary in my room and don’t decorate it at all. Due to a difficult family situation, having my own space and home was a big dream since I was young. But these days, I’m less attached to houses or spaces. Now, people who feel like home take that place. I think that people who care for my tired and sensitive heart from creative activities are the true home.

These days, I’m not heavily attached to the house as a space.

People who feel like home take that place for me.

Q. You seemed to actively communicate and connect during the ‘Artist Circle’ period.

Living in Mangrove, I thought that you can build a family without blood ties. Just knowing that there are people to contact, talk with, have meals, and share a drink after work makes me feel secure. I’m steadily building relationships while keeping a loose distance with people I met here, and it feels warm and new.

Within the Artist Circle, I talked the most with Lilac, a craft artist. Talking with Lilac, I got inspiration to brand myself as a ‘writer’ who’s involved in the entire music-making process, not just a singer. We even talked about collaborating on a project combining our values and keywords. I look forward to that happening.

Q. How did you get closer with the Mangrove neighbors?

You naturally meet many people when eating or doing the dishes in the shared kitchen. It's a happy place. I think it's the space where I can converse most comfortably. I actually made many friends in the kitchen, which led to having meals and drinks together later.

Q. Did the open and abundant meetings of co-living influence your music work?

Co-living is a place where you can hear various thoughts and stories from diverse people, providing limitless inspiration as a creator. When I talk with people sitting across me at the shared kitchen, rooftop, or first-floor café, it feels like an entire world is presented before me. Gathering and neatly organizing discoveries from that world completes a new piece of music.

Gathering discoveries from the world of the person sitting across me

and organizing them beautifully completes a new piece of music.

Q. I’m curious about the music that fills a singer-songwriter’s playlist.

Unfortunately, since starting music as a job, listening to music became work. When I want to relax, I tend to listen to nothing. I often listen to the radio or study on YouTube during travel. I usually listen to music for gathering references or studying, and the albums I've been frequently listening to due to work lately are Ed Sheeran and Lany’s new albums.

Q. Is there any new music you’ve made in Mangrove?

While chatting with a friend from Australia here on an exchange program, I got to hear their song demo by chance, and their voice was amazing. I invited them to my room for demo work immediately. A few days later, I invited them to my studio in Seogyo-dong for an official recording. If we had initially met to work, it might have felt like work, but it was enjoyable to work in a naturally flowing atmosphere.

Q. It seems like these meetings naturally lead to music. Does that happen often?

There was a time I suddenly began to cry during an Artist Circle gathering. Gi-hwan and Lilac comforted me with hugs, and the moment deeply stayed with me. Such moments become my motivation to write songs. The natural feelings I experienced then become lyrics, and the atmosphere of that moment is conveyed through melody.

If you're kind and full of love, you can attach unforgettable warm memories to the walls of your heart.

Q. The keyword ‘together’ frequently appears in your music.

Many experiences were much better when shared with someone rather than done alone. In Mangrove, I turned moments that became comforting just by being together into music. The 'Woojin Do's Mangrove Radio' live on Instagram, held twice, was a great experience in this sense too. Interacting with various people and being kind and loving allows one to attach unforgettable warm memories to the heart's walls.

Q. You've recently released a new album. 

The main theme of this album was also ‘oneness.’ Hence, I chose space as the sea. Water comes together at the sea to become one.

©Do Woojin

Learn more about Mangrove New Town

Written by | Beautiful Sin

Photos | Seokhyun Lee, Woojin Do