george 2025/12/18

“Surf, Surf, Surf with the wave!! Yeah!!” — a phrase that feels less like a chant and more like a manifesto. With it, george invites the audience to ride waves of emotion and rhythm, drifting freely through his musical universe.

The cold winter air sharpens the skin and stings the nose, but stepping inside the venue brings immediate relief, easing the body out of seasonal tension. As Christmas-tinged background music fills the room, george and his band take the stage one by one. Their styling is relaxed yet refined, a clear departure from the calculated restraint often seen in mainstream idol acts. Instead, what unfolds is a sense of ease and genuine interaction — warm and familiar, like classmates reunited from their high school days.

Korean new-generation indie pop star, george is no stranger to Taiwanese audiences. This time, however, he and his musicians go beyond faithful reproductions of recorded material. By playfully reworking his studio tracks on stage, they elevate the songs into something altogether different, revealing new layers and dimensions that can only emerge in a live setting.

The set opens with the light-footed dance track “내 탓이지 뭐 (it’s my fault).” Drummer JUNSEO KIM locks into a disco-inflected groove, while bassist CHEON WOOK PARK adds a buoyant, elastic pulse, together steering the show’s momentum with precision. The result evokes echoes of Mac Miller’s work — a similar fusion of dancefloor sensibility and laid-back warmth. Energetic yet unforced, it captures a distinctly 21st-century listening experience where exhilaration and ease coexist.

When george first greets the audience, a trace of first-step-onstage nervousness still lingers. Yet it is precisely this tension — paired with his natural shyness — that softens the boundary between stage and crowd. His halting Mandarin and understated body language create a fresh sense of connection, weaving new threads between familiar faces and first-time listeners alike.

Almost without notice, layers of synthesizers begin to lay the groundwork for the next song, “오래오래 (FRR),” quietly shaping its atmosphere in advance. In this moment, george moves even closer to the audience, further dissolving the boundary between performer and crowd. As his MC shifts fluidly between Korean and English, the room grows increasingly saturated with anticipation, until the music seamlessly unfolds into the performance itself.

You could easily describe george as a fully fledged songwriter with formidable musical chops, but it would be just as impossible to ignore his natural stage presence. Equally essential, however, are the musicians who stand beside him. Keyboardist and synthesist MINKYU KIM, along with guitarist WONHO NOH, are both highly accomplished players, enabling george’s stylistically fluid music to shift gears with remarkable precision.

Whether in choices of tone, the deliberate use of space, or moments when a single instrument steps into the spotlight, everything feels carefully calibrated yet playful. The experience resembles a musical amusement park ride — gliding from 1980s city pop through 21st-century West Coast sensibilities and laid-back beats, all without ever losing its sense of ease or control.

Operating within the framework of pop music, the band skillfully orchestrates aesthetics and sensibilities drawn from different eras. The musicians move seamlessly between neo-soul grooves that feel as if they were composed with samples or drum machines, and soaring, golden-era-style solos that recall the timeless resonance of classic Korean drama ending themes.

On “하루종일 (All Day),” a burst of high-energy interplay between saxophonist HAEUN KIM and george gives way to a gentle closing shared by saxophone and guitar, as the drummer settles into a laid-back beat. Compared to the previous track, the arrangement is notably pared back, allowing the melody and emotional core of the song to come into sharper focus.

Guided by the synthesizer, listeners are drawn into a narrative space where scenes begin to take shape: walking through the streets of Busan, spending an unhurried day with a loved one. It is a song that captures not grand gestures, but those fleeting, everyday moments one feels compelled to hold onto — small, intimate fragments of life rendered with quiet clarity.

“To-siā to-siā!” — switching seamlessly between Korean and English, george suddenly grounds the moment with a phrase in Taiwanese, gently pulling the scene back into reality. Grateful for the chance to perform in Taiwan and indulge in its food culture, he cannot resist sharing his Din Tai Fung experience, recounting his itinerary with a boyish enthusiasm. He admits to still feeling nervous, aware that there is always room to do better, and with characteristic humility, wishes everyone a wonderful night.

In wintertime Taipei, listening to soul-infused love songs while watching the city’s crowds ebb and flow becomes a way of life — an urban sensibility in itself. Even as a visitor from Korea, george understands this instinctively. During “언제든 어디라도 (ANYWHERE ANYTIME),” he leans into audience interaction, playfully replacing the song’s protagonist with fans’ names, sending waves of excitement through the room.

“Let me know how to love MYSELF, I’m so tired of my life.” — from “I’m so tired…” — these lines lay bare an unfiltered honesty. Singing of self-doubt while simultaneously offering himself reassurance, george proves that he is not merely a purveyor of romantic sentiment, but a living, breathing individual. By embracing boredom, fatigue, and the quieter struggles of everyday life, he reveals an artist willing to accept himself as he is. As the chorus repeats, this authenticity becomes impossible to miss. And when the spotlight shifts to instrumental solos, george listens intently, smiling softly, nodding along — present, attentive, and fully immersed in the moment.

Before moving into the next song, george takes a moment to introduce the band. After everything the audience has witnessed in the first half, it is clear that this performance is far from incidental — it is the distilled result of years of experience accumulated by musicians at the top of their craft.

Led by an easygoing groove, “Surf” unfolds with the refrain:
“Surf, Surf, Surf with the wave!! Yeah!!”
The line reads as both a manifesto for george’s music and a reflection on his outlook on life. Bursting with energy, the song channels classic West Coast imagery — sun-soaked optimism and beachside freedom — sweeping away the introspection and melancholy of the previous track. The room once again transforms into something resembling a dance floor, a shift that perhaps reveals george’s own philosophy: to move forward by riding the wave rather than resisting it.

As a beer is handed to him by staff, “어깨동무 (dub!dub!)” follows — a song built around the act of toasting. george begins surveying the crowd for Koreans and those who can speak Korean, inviting everyone to raise their glasses and sing along. Guided by his easy rapport, band and audience alike sink into the gentle intoxication of the moment, setting aside the weight of everyday life to immerse themselves in the music, letting consciousness itself begin to dance.

The keyboard textures gently amplify the post-toast haze. After taking a sip of water, george introduces “Let’s go picnic”as his breakout track. The pared-down stage setup highlights the band’s individual personalities, as well as the physicality of their movements, bodies swaying instinctively with the music.

During casual banter with the crowd, george mentions that this is not his first time in Taiwan. “I also played in Kaohsiung last year,” he shares, adding that Busan’s atmosphere and streets remind him of the city. He follows the remark with his signature sheepish grin.

The evening’s special segment comes in the form of a cover of “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You.” Perhaps winter truly is a season with particular resonance for musicians.

“Every winter, I find myself listening to this song all over again. Now that the year is coming to an end, I hope you’ll enjoy it,” george says. The band’s approach to reimagining a classic reveals a spirit of playful curiosity — evident in the guitarist’s central solo, in the synchronized body language shared between musicians, and in the exchanged glances that quietly confirm mutual understanding. It is the kind of unspoken communication that defines great bands and seasoned musicians alike.

“romeo n juliet” stands out as one of the evening’s most distinctive moments. Built on bossa nova harmonies and rhythms, the song pulses with a disco-inflected four-on-the-floor groove, allowing listeners to revel in dance music’s propulsion while savoring the unique allure of Latin textures. This fluid blending of styles once again underscores george’s poise as a thoroughly modern musician.

Adding to the playful spirit, the saxophonist appears dressed as Youra, the featured vocalist on the original recording, staging an impromptu romantic comedy onstage. Through call-and-response exchanges, the scene transforms into a playground — six grown men momentarily shedding restraint to revel in collective fun.

After the skit draws to a close, stagehands bring out chairs. Nearly an hour into the set, george introduces the person standing at the far right of the stage: the composer behind these songs, a university friend he has known since childhood. In his gaze, one can sense both deep trust and a uniquely personal bond.

That composer, SEUNG YOON KANG, who also serves as george’s playback engineer, is responsible for triggering the background tracks. His work adds subtle layers of color to an already vivid live performance. Listen closely, and between the notes you will catch glimpses of these small yet meticulously crafted details, quietly enriching the music’s texture.

“바라봐줘요 (look at me)” opens with the warm textures of a vintage Yamaha synthesizer, gently setting the scene. Seated on a chair, george sings as if channeling every last cell in his body into the performance. The sensation is akin to being enveloped by a warm current in the depths of winter — an outpouring of the evening’s most concentrated emotion. His voice carries the weight of a confession, as though addressing the most important love of his life, wrapped in palpable intensity.

As the show nears its end, the band members begin exchanging quiet words, heads close together, seemingly confirming an unspoken agreement.

george then turns to the audience and asks, “Is there a song from my catalogue you’d especially like to hear?”

Someone calls out “하려고해고백 (gohaegoback),” a track from his 2018 EP — a suggestion that visibly surprises george himself. Having not performed the song in a long time, he initially treats it as a tentative run-through, easing into it while feeling things out with the band. Yet before long, the moment unfolds into a full rendition, sung from beginning to end. Though entirely unplanned and absent from the prepared setlist, the performance lands with striking completeness, its high level of execution underscoring george’s command as a live artist.

In a striking departure from what came before, this song unexpectedly leans into shoegaze and dream pop territory. The guitarist washes the space with dense walls of sound, while the drummer drives the track with forceful, surging beats. Grand in scale yet dreamlike in texture, it stands apart from the groove-centric numbers earlier in the set, revealing yet another parallel world within george’s expanding musical universe.

“좋아해.. (something between us)” and the closing track “somuch” both adopt the architecture of classic pop ballads, gently drawing the curtain on the night’s performance. george’s music has a rare ability to bring different generations together, transporting memories once confined to television screens into the present moment. Like the closing credits of a film, these songs lean fully into the timeless hit-song formula — eliciting genuine emotion without tipping into sentimentality, a balance that requires remarkable finesse.

After expressing his gratitude to the audience, george steps off the stage — but the night is far from over. Calls for an encore rise instantly from the crowd, and when he returns, the band wastes no time in building a groove, refusing to let the audience leave on a note of melancholy.

For the encore, george turns to “All good,” a track that perfectly encapsulates his command of neo-soul and hip-hop aesthetics. Originally a collaboration with producer SOMDEF, the song unfolds with a sense of affirmation:
“Everything, everything fine, everything is alright…”
“You’re like the ocean…”

As the refrain echoes through the room, each musician steps forward for a final solo, playing as if releasing every last ounce of energy back to the crowd. It is a moment that showcases not only the collective chemistry of the band, but also the individual charm and virtuosity of each player — bringing a truly memorable night to a resonant close.