By Honorary Reporters Safae Lagdani from Italy and Madonna Youssef from Egypt

Photos = Leenalchi

Leenalchi is an alternative pop group comprising vocalists Lee Na-rae, Shin Yu-Jin, Kwon Song-hee and Ahn Yi-ho, bassist Jang Young-gyu and drummer Lee Cheol-hee. They became famous after appearing in videos of the government's tourism promotion campaign "Feel the Rhythm of Korea."

The following are excerpts from an Aug. 3 interview with the band.

How did you get your name?
We had many names at first, but our bassist recommended Leenalchi, which we decided on after a vote. Lee Nal-chi was a famous singer in the 19th century during the Joseon Dynasty.

Describe the debut of your unique form of alternative music. 
In 2019, Jang was musical director of the animated musical drama "Dragon King." During this time, the band arranged musical melodies and our group was born. After we arranged the melodies of "Sugungga" (one of the five surviving pansori stories), we started to perform the arranged version of traditional songs.

How are you inspired when composing? How do you add and remove elements to rearrange a song?
Our inspiration comes from the original five pansori songs. The most important part of pansori is the rhythm, so we try to revise the rhythm and harmony together in a way that matches the original song. The vocalists sing traditional pansori songs and the band has revived the genre's original rhythm with its instruments, so Jang is composing and making our music more special.

The lyrics of your song "Tiger is Coming" are full of Chinese characters and traditional words. Is this meant to attract public attention to traditional Korean heritage?
Our intention is not to attract audiences. The writer of the lyrics to "Sugungga" lyrics remains unknown. The work has been handed down since long ago, so we don't know who wrote the lyrics. Our music is also based on on the original pansori "Sugungga," so we naturally use Chinese characters and traditional words.

Your group grew more famous after the tourism promotion campaign. What were the keys to your success?

Several factors were behind our success. After the pandemic era started, most people spent their time online rather than offline. The time was ripe for the campaign "Feel the Rhythm of Korea" to blow up on YouTube and social media. 

Ambiguous Dance Company and the Korea Tourism Organization did a great job to achieve the final result. Afterwards, we released "Sugungga," our first full-length album, in May this year, and have continued activities like performances, commercials and broadcast appearances.

Any plans to collaborate with artists from Korea or abroad?
We are focusing on our music so no collaboration plans yet. Our dream is to perform all over the world after the pandemic ends.