Jonathan Emmesedi (@jemmesedi@c.im)

Every Sunday I look back at the preceding week in kpop and pick out the music video or performance I liked best. This week I have chosen H1-Key -- SEOUL (Such a Beautiful City). https://youtu.be/KWGgu2XCyPU?si=98ehP_8OIuFEhBTh What I think can be described as an eighties retro sound appeals to me, and I am particularly struck by Riina – she’s the one with the bob. I’ve read a number of international commentators describing the MV as little more than a CF for Seoul. Yet it strikes this international fan that to interpret the video as city boosterism or tourism promo misreads it. Watch and you will see hardly any “sightseeing” shots. Then listen to lines like these: I’ll never stop dancing I’ll never stop singing I’ll never stop dreaming Until the city hears me Until the city sees me Until the city needs me Just watch me... In fact, the MV is all about being resolved to make it big in the big city, a theme surely familiar to international fans from film, song, literature, and even folklore – Dick Whittington comes to mind as an example. That interpretation leads me back to the song. Isn’t it refreshing to hear a group singing about confidence and determination in a manner more melodic and mature than the shouting and pouting approach some groups adopt when taking up these themes? #Kpop #KpopOfTheWeek #GirlGroups #H1Key #SEOULSuchABeautifulCity