Rainy music for early monsoon
"Umbrella" by Epik High
Legendary hip-hop trio Epik High's 'Umbrella' — from its fifth studio album "Pieces, Part One" released in 2008 — is one of the most iconic songs that comes to mind whenever it rains in Korea.
Written and arranged by Tablo, with rap lyrics by Tablo and Mithra Jin, the track features a poignant vocal performance by Younha. The song has become a seasonal staple, consistently returning to the charts during Korea's rainy season for many years.
The calm, steady rapping of Epik High members, layered with emotional string melodies and Younha's soft yet expressive voice — evoking the image of falling raindrops — perfectly captures the melancholic mood of a rainy day. The sound of raindrops in the bridge enhances the immersive, sentimental atmosphere.
'You, Cloud, Rain' by Heize
Released in 2017 as the title track of Heize's EP of the same title, 'You, Cloud, Rain' was written and composed by Heize herself. Though Heize is widely known for her rap skills, this song showcases her depth and emotional range as a vocalist with a smooth, soothing tone.
The track opens with a jazz-influenced piano, and subtle raindrop sounds continue throughout the song, adding to its rainy-day ambiance. Heize's deep, husky voice shines while singing the lower melodies, adding to the track's moodiness.
The song features Shin Yong-jae, a former member of vocal group 4MEN, whose powerful vocals beautifully complement Heize's, conveying the lingering emotions, regret and longing felt after a breakup.
'Rain and You' by Rumble Fish
Originally featured in the 2006 film "Radio Star," "Rain and You" was remade by Rumble Fish for the band's 2008 cover album "Memory for You." At the time, Rumble Fish was a four-member rock band, but today, only vocalist Choi Jin-yi continues to perform under the same name as a solo act.
Choi's sorrowful, hauntingly beautiful voice contrasts with the bold band instrumentation, creating a touching and powerful emotional balance. The lyrics express the irony of yearning for someone who has left, delivering a deeply relatable message of love and loss.
Other than Rumble Fish's version, the song has become a modern classic, widely covered and remade by artists such as No Brain, Lee Mu-jin and Woodz, proving its lasting resonance and popularity.
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What the numbers say According to the country's authoritative biannual National Reading Survey, the data complicates the common notion that Koreans don't read. In fact, it suggests that people in their 20s and 30s have long maintained relatively high reading rates. It helps explain the strong turnout for events like the book fair. The most recent 2023 report showed 74.5 percent of Koreans in their 20s had read at least one book (excluding textbooks) over the previous year. While this was still the highest rate among all age groups, it also represented a steep decline from 91.1 percent recorded eight years earlier. The number of physical books young Koreans consume annually fell sharply during that same period, dropping from an average of 11.4 books per person to just 2.5 books. What prevented the numbers from plunging even further was the rise of digital reading; e-book consumption among Koreans in their 20s more than doubled in the same span. Yet even with this increase, the overall reading trend confirms that even younger Koreans today are reading far fewer books than before. Still, that doesn't mean they aren't engaging with books at all. Kim Nam-young, who is part of the National Reading Survey team at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, told The Korea Herald that the survey only captures part of the picture. 'To survey reading rates, we only count completed books,' she explained. 'But what we're missing are all the new ways people are interacting with books now. While this isn't unique to Korea, it does mean we're probably underestimating how many people are actively participating in reading culture." "At some point, we may need to rethink how we define reading altogether.' Yoo Ji-eun, a 29-year-old project manager in Seoul, considers herself part of the 'text hip' generation. But she rarely reads books cover to cover. In April, she joined Hip Dok Club, a new reading initiative launched by Seoul Outdoor Library. The name combines 'hip' and 'reading,' and the concept struck a chord. All 10,000 membership slots filled in under two hours, with the website initially overwhelmed by traffic. Hip Dok Club rewards a wide range of book-related activities, from logging titles and posting quotes to sharing handwritten excerpts. Members earn points, level up, and receive exclusive items like reading lights and limited-edition merchandise. It functions less like a book club and more like a literary social platform. An outdoor club-exclusive discussion with novelist Park Sang-young, author of "Love in the Big City," drew hundreds. Yoo attended that talk and said the experience rekindled her interest in Park's novel, even though she hadn't finished it the first time. 'It felt like a music festival,' she said. 'People were there not just to read, but to experience books together.' Will Korea's 20-somethings still read in their 40s? To skeptics, 'text hip' and the craze over events like this might look like style over substance. But Baek Won-geun, former research head of the National Reading Survey and now director at the Book and Society Research Institute, isn't so quick to dismiss it. 'Sure, it's easy to roll your eyes,' Baek said. 'But if buying book-related merchandise, joining clubs or posting literary quotes eventually draws someone deeper into reading, then the trend serves its purpose.' Baek's larger concern is South Korea's steep decline in reading among older adults. While other countries experience a gradual decline, in South Korea reading drops dramatically as people age. Only 36.9 percent of Koreans in their 50s read even one book in the past year, and for those 60 and older, the figure plunges to just 15.7 percent. 'The challenge is building lasting habits,' Baek explained. 'The million-dollar question I'm interested in is this: whether young people will sustain their interest in reading, or text hip as they call it, even as life becomes busier and responsibilities increase.' "Reading has long been treated as something we outgrow once school ends. But if text hip helps people see books as part of adult life, not just academic life, then the habit can survive the busyness. Not necessarily because we are trying to be readers in the traditional sense, but because books can become part of how we live," said Gim Ji-min.
