JUNHEE spent most of his life trying to be the best. In a new interview about his second album LOVE METHOD, he examines the cost of his determination.

JUNHEE is, by his own admission, a perfectionist. He’s also, perhaps, a workaholic, and those traits have driven his astonishing pace since he debuted as a solo artist last summer. In the past year alone, he launched his company H&P Entertainment, completed a world tour, and released two albums.

His perfectionism is largely instinctual. “When it comes to something I really want to do, there are times when I just get this feeling like, ‘I think I need to do it this way,’ or ‘I think I need to push this all the way,’” he told me in a recent interview. “When I get that feeling, I tend to just go for it without overthinking it too much.”

JUNHEE has always been driven. He was chosen as the leader of A.C.E, a staple in third-generation boy groups, when he was only twenty-two years old. Under his leadership, A.C.E released several popular singles and toured the world, experiences that he told me shaped him into the person he is today.

Leading a company is different from leading a group. In A.C.E, the final decision wasn’t his alone, but involved the company and other members’ input. “But now that I have my own company and I’m the one who has the final say, I’ve decided to make bold choices and take action when it comes to the direction I believe is right for me,” he explained. “I think that way, I’ll have fewer regrets.”

I admire JUNHEE's ambitions. Last year, he released The First Day & Night, a concept album about the first 24 hours of a new relationship, written entirely in English. The album produced a hit single, “Supernova (00:00),” and introduced a soloist willing to push himself by fusing difficult vocal runs with indie rock, R&B, and pop.

JUNHEE’s second album, LOVE METHOD, arrived this summer. It is less conceptual and more introspective, centering his experiences learning to believe in himself and chart his own path.

He considers the album’s lead single “LA LA LA LUNE” the most technically challenging song he’s ever released. It required him to push himself as a vocalist harder than he ever has before. “The song structure itself has almost twice as much melody and lyrics as most songs,” he explained. “And more than anything, the tempo is really fast, and the vocal notes are also quite high.”

“LA LA LA LUNE” is my favorite song released by an idol this year. It’s an earworm, for sure, but it also shows JUNHEE’s rigorous dedication to his craft. You will not hear many other idols — and very few musicians in general — hit the vocal runs he does on this track. It’s his thesis statement for how he challenges himself as an artist and surprises listeners.

Beyond “LA LA LA LUNE,” the album explores what love, in all its forms, means to JUNHEE. That reflection allowed him to examine himself and his story in greater detail.

Take, for example, “At least, I tried,” a track about JUNHEE finding the courage to walk away from a relationship that no longer serves him.

When I asked JUNHEE how he gained that inner strength, he was circumspect. “To be precise, I think it started when I began making an effort to understand myself more than anyone else,” he said. “I wanted to protect myself and be able to fully exist as myself, no matter what kind of situation I’m in.”

H&P Entertainment, PAN Entertainment

His work ethic may come from feeling that he was the only one who could solve his problems. You can hear that belief on “Wonder why,” a B-side of LOVE METHOD. “Someday you will survive this,” JUNHEE tells himself in one of the song’s most touching lines. “It’s hard to go through this alone/ You got me, I’ll be there for you.”

I wondered if JUNHEE had anyone he could call growing up who could be there for him. “There weren’t many, but there were definitely people who believed in me,” he responded. His family, of course, his teammates in A.C.E, and his friends all reminded him of his worth. “But the funny thing is,” he continued, “because I was always working so hard and just running forward, there were times when I couldn’t see those people around me, and I would feel like I was alone.”

“I get a little sentimental thinking about the past,” he admits on “Forever young,” where he looks back at his youth with some grief.

“Honestly, I really miss those ordinary days that had nothing to do with music,” he said when I asked what inspired the lyrics. “The excitement I felt on my first day of elementary, middle, and high school, going to school with my friends, taking classes, playing sports, eating school lunch, coming home, and playing computer games like I did every other day.”

He paused to consider what was lost. “I miss those nights when I was scared and would curl up and fall asleep next to my mom, too. Everything feels like a dream now. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I think those were such beautiful moments.”

As he grew older, his feelings became more complicated. JUNHEE is clear that his time with A.C.E was some of the greatest years of his life, and he considers the support he’s received from his fans “the biggest blessing and the greatest luck in the world.” Yet being an idol can make luxury and fame feel like an illusion when it comes to whether someone is truly fulfilled.

“I know that I chose this life, and I also know that there are definitely aspects of it that are different from an ordinary life, and that there are special things about it,” he continued. “But I really want to tell people that those things don’t necessarily translate into happiness in life.”

There were difficult times, and looking back on those lower points made writing LOVE METHOD cathartic. “I didn’t have very high self-esteem,” he said frankly. “At one point, I even struggled with depression because of it, and I took medication and went to see a psychiatrist for about six months.”

When he debuted in the 2010s, very few Koreans — much less men — talked about the importance of mental health. Instead, they often hid it from employers, friends, and, most certainly, the public. By coming forward, though, JUNHEE is challenging a false perception that men who treat their depression are weak. Instead, I see it as an act of courage. What’s more wise than knowing when to ask for help?

Time, JUNHEE says, has given him the perspective that he needed “to become strong enough on my own, because only then can I can be there for and help other people.”

“What I realized is that all those moments I never wanted to go through, the sadness, the breakups, and everything else, were ultimately necessary for me to become who I am today,” he continued. “I believe that whatever is meant to happen will happen. Ever since I realized that, I’ve had much less regret and lingering feelings about the past, and much less anxiety about the future. And I think I’ve become able to fully accept everything I’m going through right now, exactly as it is.”

While JUNHEE eventually learned how to manage his mental health, he wanted others to know that they’re not alone. “If anyone is reading this interview who feels like they have low self-esteem, there’s something I really want to tell you,” he said. “Please don’t put yourself into a place of unhappiness and pain because of other people’s opinions, words, or expectations. Because the only person in this world who can define who you are is you.”

Over the past few months, JUNHEE has continued to work. Last week, he was selected to represent Korea in the Eurovision Song Contest Asia 2026 and he just wrapped up a world tour. He’s been so busy that there’s been very little time to look back or reflect on his success, partly because JUNHEE isn’t someone who naturally rests on his wins. “Just when I try to stop and look back, there are always some exciting new things happening in front of me, waving at me to hurry up and come over,” he said with a laugh.

But this is the life he chose for himself: one of motion, one where he doesn’t have to be what others want him to be. Time is limited if he wants to achieve his dreams. So, he goes deeper. He puts into words what others are afraid to say. He lives bravely.

“I already know that I won’t be able to live like this forever, even if I wanted to,” he added. “So I want to make the most of what I can do right now and try as many things as possible.”

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