Kim Jong-jin Reveals the Twist Behind Kim Hyun-sik’s Third Album and the Birth of Spring Summer Fall Winter

Behind the birth of Spring Summer Fall Winter, a band that secured a place in Korean popular music history, lay a series of unexpected musical changes and a rapidly shifting production environment. The path to the group’s formation was shaped not by a single decision, but by changes in personnel, difficulties finding a company willing to release the music and choices made while the album was still taking form.

Singer Kim Jong-jin revisited that turbulent period during an appearance on Episode 5 of the YouTube channel ‘Song Seung-hwan’s Wonderful Life.’ He recalled specific details from the album-making process he shared with Kim Hyun-sik, including Yoo Jae-ha’s arrival in the band and his subsequent departure. Through those memories, Kim described the urgent musical journey that unfolded as the musicians tried to complete their work amid continuous change.

Yoo Jae-ha’s Departure, Park Seong-sik’s Arrival and the Birth of ‘Like Rain, Like Music’

During the early stages of the album’s production, Yoo Jae-ha joined the band and worked alongside its members as they established the musical foundation for the project. His participation formed part of the initial lineup and helped define the environment in which the musicians began developing the album together.

The composition of the team changed significantly, however, when Yoo left the band. His departure created a vacancy at a crucial stage of production, forcing the group to adjust while the album was still being made. What had begun with one lineup now had to continue with a different combination of musicians.

Park Seong-sik joined to fill the place left by Yoo, and the team’s musical character became more clearly defined during that transition. Park’s arrival also provided an opportunity to raise the musical completeness of the work. Rather than bringing production to a halt, the lineup change became part of the process through which the album’s sound continued to take shape.

It was amid this period of upheaval that ‘Like Rain, Like Music,’ which would become one of Kim Hyun-sik’s signature songs, was created. The song emerged at a dramatic moment when the team was experiencing major changes in membership. Even as musicians came and went, the effort to refine the music and improve the quality of the finished song continued without interruption.

Rejection by Record Companies and the Full Support of Dong-A Planning President Kim Young

The team also faced serious obstacles on the production side. Despite its musical abilities, it was turned away by record companies, leaving the musicians struggling to secure a path to release. They approached several companies, but those attempts did not lead to an album reaching the market.

In that difficult situation, the full support offered by Kim Young, president of Dong-A Planning, became a decisive turning point. His decision gave the team a foundation from which it could continue its musical activities at a time when other production companies had declined to move forward with the album.

That support ultimately opened the way for Spring Summer Fall Winter’s first album to be released. The group’s ability to continue was therefore closely tied not only to the music being created, but also to the production backing that enabled the musicians to carry their work beyond the recording process and toward an official release.

The musicians were also thinking deeply about achieving greater independence. During production, Kim Jong-jin discussed making an album independently with Jeon Tae-gwan. Those conversations reflected the continuing search for a way to sustain their music on their own terms while the wider circumstances surrounding the project remained uncertain.

How the Project Was Released as Kim Hyun-sik’s Third Album and the Origin of the Spring Summer Fall Winter Name

The album’s production history contains an unexpected reversal. The music had been prepared through the collaboration between Kim Hyun-sik and Spring Summer Fall Winter, but the eventual release took the form of Kim Hyun-sik’s third album. The result emerged from the combination of the production environment at the time and the decisions made as the project progressed.

This meant that music developed through the collaboration did not reach listeners under the exact form initially suggested by the working process. Instead, the circumstances surrounding production reshaped how the completed work was presented, placing it within Kim Hyun-sik’s third album and creating one of the central twists in the project’s history.

Kim Jong-jin’s account also addressed the background to how the team name Spring Summer Fall Winter came into being. Together with the detailed stories surrounding the making of Kim Hyun-sik’s album, that history offers a direct view of the production conditions the musicians encountered at the time.

His recollections extend beyond one artist’s personal memories. They serve as a valuable record of how lineup changes, production difficulties, crucial support and collaboration among particular artists converged in the creation of an acclaimed album. The story shows how music developed under uncertain circumstances could ultimately become an important part of Korean popular music history.