“Love in Summer” by George (죠지) & Cosmic Boy, Thursday, July 8, 2021 (Content Warning: Frank discussion of sexuality)

George (in Hangeul pronunciation Gyu-jee) debuted in 2017 as a solo R&B singer in South Korea. Before his solo career, he was a featured singer on several Korean hip-hop tracks. My first introduction to George was a track he sang on an Adoy record. Like many indie singers in George's particular K-pop sub-genre, George sings many of his songs in English, a topic I discussed with my students a few weeks ago. Whether it is a strategic plan to crossover in other countries or simply an artistic choice, these days non-Korean speakers can more easily delve into the indie music scene in Korea. Last year George teamed up with producer Cosmic Boy to release the EP Love in Summer. The title track evokes the nostalgia for summer days when love is really the only thing that matters, and this was the kind of song we needed to take our mind off of the pandemic.

I GOT A DUMB THING TO SAY. There's this fairy tale we're told in Christian school. You're going to grow up one day and meet the right person. You're going to burn with desire for her, but if you wait until you're married, God's going to work it all out. For God created sex for marriage and you can only marry once. "You'll see that television tells you that you have to 'try it before you buy it,' but that's not God's way," his tenth grade Bible teacher said to the class. A third of the class had already had sex. By high school that would become 3/4 of the class. But in the improbability, the teaching was that we were in the last days. Most would fall away; some would come back. But the greatest blessing would be in those who loved Jesus enough to be like hime to live in celibacy only broken by marriage. But what the church doesn't talk about is sexual frustration. What happens when you escape your teenage years untouched and live into your late 20s a virgin? What happens when you can no longer compartmentalize the hours you spend chatting with men online as just "blowing off steam time"? What happens when you actually make plans to meet up with a stranger? And let me ask you, 27 year old, how much did your heteronormative, Christian school upbringing play into that? That was Fall 2014.

WE USED TO DRINK INTO LOVE BELOW THE SUN AND THE MOON UP ABOVE. But this is a song about summer. August 1, 2015 he matched with Min Jun on Tinder. Earlier that summer Grindr had gotten Josh into some drama, but he had to admit he was addicted to the apps. He had been in the middle of a pretty hedonistic summer, trying to make up for his lost teens and twenties under religious convictions. Part of him really still loved the man he had just left in the hotel room. But when Song Jae hadn't talked to Josh for weeks, Josh turned to the apps. On the apps he could find those connections he longed for. Josh wondered, did Song Jae even believe me when I said that I was with a friend for days. What friends did I have? Wasn't he the least bit jealous? So an eight month relationship ended in a hotel room. Song Jae was on a weekend vacation and he booked a nice hotel. Josh thought that he could make things work so he agreed to meet him. The list of good qualities of Song Jae kept listing over and over in Josh's mind. Song Jae was kind, a good man, a Christian. When they met, he treated Josh like a prince, making him feel at home in Korea, rearranging his schedule to drive Josh home from the airport all the way to Gyeongbuk-do when Josh had gone and come back home in the winter. But that summer had changed their relationship, and one perfect weekend, just as their past weekends were, couldn't bring back the same old feelings. So the conversation started on Saturday night in bed. "I love you, but I want more than just a perfect weekend. I want to see other people." Was it a mistake. Song Jae's cute smile replayed in Josh's mind. His shirt even still smelled like Song Jae. Then his phone lit up.

Read the lyrics on Genius.