InterviewHow g.o.d's Son Ho-young learned to take long way into solo career

For most of his career, Son Ho-young of legendary K-pop boy band g.o.d, believed that enough effort could fix anything, and that belief led him to spend eight hours a day on vocal practice for many years.

Two decades into his solo career, the veteran idol has arrived at a gentler conclusion: Some things don't give way no matter how hard you push, and sometimes taking the long way around is how they finally work out.

That idea runs through "Go Around," the digital single he drops Wednesday to mark the 20th anniversary of his solo debut and his first solo track in about five years. The 46-year-old will follow it with "HORIZON," his first solo concert in five years, on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 at KBS Arena in Gangseo District, western Seoul.

Son rose to fame as one of the five members of g.o.d, which debuted in 1999 under JYP Entertainment founder Park Jin-young with "To Mother," a song about a boy growing up poor while his mother quietly sacrificed for him. The group won over the nation with a string of hits including "Love and Remember" (1999), "Lies" (2000) and "Road" (2001), earning g.o.d the title of Korea's "national group," which it still carries today.

The run came to an abrupt halt when Yoon Kye-sang left in 2004 at the height of the group's popularity, and the remaining four carried on only until 2005 before going their separate ways. Son pressed on alone, launching a solo career in 2006 with the album "Yes." It was not until 2014 that all five reunited for their 15th anniversary. They have stayed on stage ever since.

"I chose the title to say it's okay to avoid things, to take the long way around, to not hit something head-on," Son said in an interview with The Korea Times at his agency's Mapo office, Oct. 1. "The thing I say most often is that 'it's okay.'"

He traced that outlook back to the year he spent preparing "Yes," when his life revolved around a little more than working out, practicing and writing lyrics, and he assumed his voice would improve in direct proportion to the hours he put in.

"I thought I'd improve as much as I practiced. But without the moment of real awakening, you don't actually improve that much," he said.

"Some things don't happen no matter how hard you try, and that broke my spirit many times," he added. "Sometimes time or chance solves things. Sometimes choosing a different path is what makes things work."

He was quick to add that the message is not a call to run away from problems.

"Put the wrong way, it could sound like I'm telling people to dodge or run away," he said. "What I'm saying is that sometimes that happens, and that's okay too."

Late bloomer

Son was unsparing when he looked back on the past 20 years. He said his solo career began with so much love from fans that he grew complacent early, and that he spent years chasing genres that sounded impressive on other singers instead of searching for his own.

"I often felt like I was fitting myself to something," he said. "Finding what's truly mine came late, but I think that time has finally come."

That search shaped "Go Around," a light, rock-based pop track. Rather than another love story, he wanted a song he could sing comfortably for years, one that carries what a man his age might tell listeners: that with time, things turn out fine.

Putting out new music has never come easily, though. Son admitted that every release frightens him, and that when results disappoint, he tends to keep pushing the next one back. The anniversary, he said, finally gave him a reason to work up the courage.

The solo spotlight also arrives in a year without a full g.o.d concert. The group has staged a full-group show every year since 2022, but this time, the timing for all five members did not line up.

"Honestly, I feel bad. I know how much fans look forward to it every year-end," Son said. He added that the gap has given him rare time to focus on himself.

He described his bandmates as "family I happened to meet along the way." He has not played them the new song yet.

"That's the very last thing I want to do," he said, laughing. "They tend to nag a lot."

Chart numbers matter to him only to a point, he said, noting that even a huge hit fades and that plenty of people today don't know who he is despite of g.o.d's success.

"It may not be blood-and-sweat effort, but it's effort that lasts," he said of what defines him. "That's my strength, and I think that's what makes me who I am."