JOSEON: “Don’t Give Up, Love the Struggle”

Today, we crack open the world of Joseon, a band that treats rules as expendable. It’s a conversation shaped by curiosity, tension, and process. If you feel like you’ve heard every version of the story already, this might shift that feeling. Oh, and the band leaves a short audio message for the fans, a small surprise meant to be found rather than announced.

Hello guys, I have to say that I am absolutely delighted to have you. A warm welcome from Romania, and thank you for doing this! Given that this is likely our first “encounter” with the local audience, I’d like to start from the very foundation of Joseon. Can you walk us through a mini review of how this awesome project started?

JOSEON was kinda inevitable. Brennan and I’s parents were friends before we were born, so we grew up orbiting each other. When COVID hit, he moved back to Seoul and told me to come out, so I did.

While living together, a friend of a friend mentioned a drummer named Jonah, also from LA, who had the same idea. We met in a basement studio to jam, and without really saying a word, it just clicked. By the end of that first session, the band had already formed.

Your name, Joseon, carries historical weight. How does history, heritage, or memory show up in your music?

Our music is built around our own identities and experiences, so it is definitely tied to our heritage, culture, and memory. Often, we find our music reflecting the push and pull of two different things. Being both American and Korean does inform that for us, but we also try to capture it on a broader level. I think it’s a feeling of suspension that anyone can relate to on an emotional level if articulated well.

It’s the first time someone finds you on Spotify and decides to press play. What kind of emotional pace do you hope they slow down to?

Somewhere resonant and powerful. The highest place a band can hold in your heart is by soundtracking a memory or a time period in your life. We look to make music that creates and deepens emotion.

Looking back to the day Joseon was brought to daylight, how has the band changed since then, and how much do you want to push your creativity in 2026? Will you be releasing new material this year?

The band has changed its sound a lot, which, in turn, has led us to write and record songs that feel exciting. We’re especially focused on creative growth this year, not just in the music but across all aspects of our artistry.

We plan to release an EP of all-new songs this year, offering a healthy balance of what’s familiar and what’s foreign for new and old listeners of Joseon. We’re excited to show how focused but dynamic our sound has become!

Is there something you feel you’re only now allowing yourselves to express musically, something you might not have been ready to say in your earlier years?

We’ve always talked about our music capturing the tension of an “in-between” space we feel, oscillating between emotions, confusion, and clarity, dissonance and beauty. It feels like our songwriting has grown to the point where we can communicate that better than ever before.

This might be an uncomfortable question. Still, we’re living in an era where AI seems to thrive and is used for basically everything, even music-making, from composition to production. How do you feel about this? Are you feeling threatened by this technological shift in music, or do you go with the flow and keep composing as usual?

AI will never replace a damn good live show, and we certainly don’t believe AI music carries the emotional weight we look to create in our songs and look for in others’ art. Music without human sincerity will always ring hollow. We’re not threatened, really. Just disturbed.

You’re currently living in L.A., and culturally speaking, the American music scene differs greatly from the Korean one, especially in how underground artists are shaped and received. Do you imagine returning to Korea as part of Joseon’s future?

We’ve loved performing and building out our band here in LA. But we also admire Korea’s thriving underground rock scene and deeply wish to experience it as performers one day. When the time is right, we’ll be there.

Will there be any world tour for the band this year, or maybe next year? Will Romania be on the list? fingers crossed

We’ll have to find out together! And when we tour globally, rest assured, Romania will be at the top of our list. (smile)

If you could send one ‘audio postcard’ to the youth in Romania who are currently navigating their own underground art scenes, what is the one truth about survival and creativity that you would like to share with them?

Audio postcard by Joseon Download

We’ve reached the end of our amazing conversation, so as usual, I leave you the last words. Thank you again for your kindness and your time, and I hope to see you someday soon!

Thank you for having us, Miruna! Don’t give up, love the struggle, and don’t change who you are to fit other people’s expectations.