19th Newsletter

Hi there 

This is your A.thentic Jong Hee. 

And it is the 19th Newsletter. 

How are you?
It’s been a while since I sent my last newsletter about my birthday.🎂
Once again, I’m so grateful to all of you.🌺
You sent me so many heartfelt messages and emails, and I appreciate it a lot.🙏

For those who follow my work, as you know, I released a new piano single, 🎹 "Shared Memories," on July 31st, which is my ‘Solar Calendar’ birthday.

By the way, isn't it confusing to understand between the Solar and Lunar calendars?

As I explained to some of you, the Lunar calendar follows the phases of the Moon, while the Solar calendar (the one commonly used worldwide) follows the Sun and the solar system.

You may have heard of "Seolnal" (Lunar New Year), Chuseok, and other national Korean holidays. All of these are based on the Lunar calendar.
Seolnal falls on the 1st day of the 1st month in the Lunar calendar, and every 15th day in the Lunar calendar has a full moon. Chuseok (8/15 in the Lunar calendar) and Daeboreum, the day of the biggest full moon in a year (1/15 in the Lunar calendar), are examples of this. (Remember when I posted about the big bonfire on the beach?)

Check this reels on my Instagram. It’s Daeboreum, the biggest full moon day.

a.jonghee

View more on Instagram

(I mistakenly wrote the title as ‘2004’ for the video. It should be ‘2024.)

And the date when I was born was July 31st on the Solar Calendar, but that day was also 6/14 on the Lunar Calendar.

And check this out below. This is an example of how July looks in both the Solar and Lunar calendars this year.

Can you see the small blue numbers at the bottom of each day? Those represent the Lunar calendar dates. Look at July 1st (7/1). Do you see the number "5/26" in blue? That means July 1st is 5/26 in the Lunar calendar. Now, look at July 19th (7/19, Friday). The blue number is "6/14," which is my birthday. So I actually celebrated my birthday on July 19th.

I sent you the previous newsletter for my birthday on Friday, July 19th.🎂

We don’t always know the Lunar calendar date unless we check a calendar. The calendar in the picture is called a "Buddhist Calendar." My mother actually hangs it in my parents' home.

Surprisingly, I've sometimes missed celebrating my birthday because I didn’t check the Lunar calendar—until my mother would call to remind me, saying, "Son, did you know your birthday was yesterday? Did you celebrate it? I was going to call you, but I was too busy. You celebrated, right?"
And I would answer, "No, I didn’t know that." Then, as soon as I hung up, I’d call all my friends, organize an emergency gathering, and ran to a nightclub to throw my belated birthday party. 🎉🍺😊

That was back when I was in my 20s.

Why am I still talking about the Lunar calendar? I don’t know, but many Korean customs, celebrations, and holidays are still based on the Lunar calendar, a tradition that's been around for hundreds or thousands of years.

These days, most young Korean people don't celebrate their birthdays according to the Lunar calendar, just the Solar calendar. As for me? It's a family tradition.

Right now, it’s the peak of summer in Korea since the rainy season has ended. These will be the hottest days of summer until August 31st. In Korea, summer officially runs from July to August. Each season is three months long, and there are four seasons in a year. 🏖

I love summer season, but to me, it always feels too short. Maybe it’s because I like it so much. When you enjoy something, time seems to fly by quickly. What experiences make you feel like time runs so quickly when you do them?

I'm already, kind of, concerned that I might get too depressed during the autumn season. I know some people think autumn is the most beautiful season of the year, but honestly, it isn’t for me. But anyway, I’ll face it in my own way.

I still remember when I lived in Seoul. I once sat at a corner of a swimming pool by the Han River until nightfall. Most swimming pools closed around 7 or 8 pm, so I would go in the late afternoon and stay until closing time. Afterward, I’d sit on a bench in a Han River park, Seoul, watching the sunset turn into night.

I wasn’t sitting there to enjoy the moment. I stayed because I felt that time was too precious to waste. I felt so bad watching the summer days slip away.

No one would understand this about me.😶

So, as you may have seen from my Instagram posts, these are pictures of how I enjoyed and felt the summer season when I lived in Seoul.

(I did some weird things because I was stressed out—like posting pictures without a mask on Instagram, yes, it’s a weird thing to me.)

These photos were all taken when I had a direct emotional connection with the season of summer, even more intensely than I do now.

Recently, I’ve been quite depressed, and I’ve had a hard time writing any stories. It’s not about not knowing how to progress; it’s about how I sit down and start writing it. 

But I’ll be fine. I’ll manage it and get better day by day, hopefully..

By the way, why do I mention my feelings to you? It’s because you are more than just followers—you are my closest supporters and friends who genuinely engage with my newsletter and respond to me. I want to share this with you. I just wanted to get something off my chest about my current feelings.

On Instagram, most people are mainly interested in Korean things, not in me personally, I think. (Actually I've removed a lot of people from my Instagram followers, who wouldn't be even interested in music, piano, or my music. Still so weird? But I do what I feel to do). But I love all of my newsletter subscribers, including you. You’re my genuine supporter and friend.

So, what season is it in your country right now?
No matter the season, please take care of your physical and mental health, and stay happy.

By the way, about the next story in my piano album—you’ll see it when the next single is released. I'll release my 5th romantic piano single (the 4th single was 'Confession of Love') and share the next story on the same day.

Due to the time difference in your area, you might read the story first and then listen to the music later. If the next story ends up being too long, I might divide it into two parts, but I’m not sure yet.

I’ll try to finish it within this month. The music composition is already done (though I’m still refining it, and also, I suffer whenever I hear it..).

Okay, that’s all for now.

I’ll see you next time.

Thank you for reading 🙏🌹

Bye

Best Regards

From your A.thentic Jong Hee