If you’re familiar with K-pop, you definitely heard of Jay Park. For him, the journey as an artist has come full circle. The Korean-American started and build his career almost 20 years ago, shaping the Korean music scene as both an artist and as a producer by blending K-pop, Hip Hop and R&B. From being in a group to working as a solo artist and collaborating with many other artists, he now finds himself on the other side of the industry. In 2022, he founded his very own label MORE VISION. With the desire to do things differently, the label reflects his vision of what the future of K-pop could look like.

This year, he is embarking on his second world tour SERENADES & BODY ROLLS, joined by none other than LNGSHOT – the first boy group to debut under his label in January 2026. The group consists of OHYUL, RYUL, WOOJIN and LOUIS. But Jay Park’s role goes beyond producing music or just being their CEO: through studio sessions and creative exchanges, he passes on the kind of experience that can’t be taught in a training room, while giving the four members the freedom to develop their own sound and identity.

We met Jay Park and the members of LNGSHOT right before their concert in Berlin as they shared their favorite moments of their journey, what they’re learning from each other and what it’s like to be on a world tour together for the first time. LNGSHOT also gave us a sneak peak into their comeback and upcoming EP S.W.I.S.H., which will be out November 10.

Thiên Ân Therese Kunz: Jay, it’s your second time being on a world tour. How does it feel like coming back on stage? What has changed, what has stayed?

             JAY PARK: It’s special, since it’s my first time in seven years touring in the US and in Europe. So it’s nice to meet the fans again, to go to the different countries and experience the culture. It’s also nice to bring LNGSHOT for their first kind of tour experience as well, so it’s a very full circle moment for myself. Bringing them is a very big part of the change. I mean, a lot has changed, but also, a lot hasn’t. People still love the song “MOMMAE’’ (laughs).

TK: LNGSHOT, you just had your debut earlier this year. What has it been like to be on a world tour for the first time?

             RYUL: Like you said, it’s the first time going on a world tour and also the first tour with Jay together. It’s very exciting and I’m just having fun right now. I feel really grateful for all the fans around the world, it’s nice to finally meet them.

             OHYUL: We’re experiencing and learning a lot, especially because we’re on a tour with Jay. It almost feels like a passing of the torch, starting a new chapter in life.

             LOUIS: Going on tour and meeting fans from all over the world is a very great experience. We can learn a lot from watching Jay perform, like how to keep the energy up and stuff like that. So yeah, a very good experience.

TK: What’s your favorite song to perform? Where do you think your personality shines through the most?

             JAY PARK: I think it’s different from the fans, they definitely enjoy songs like “MOMMAE’’ or “McNasty’’. Personally, I enjoy ballad songs like “Yesterday’’ or “Ohx3’’, which is the intro song for the concert.

             OHYUL: So we have a mixtape with Jay Park called 4SHOBOIZ Vol. 2: 4SHOVILLE and there’s a song called “GUKBBONG”, which is a Korean slang for Korean Pride. When we perform the song on stage, the Korean flag is on the big screen behind us, everyone is singing and screaming, so there’s a sense of pride and it feels like a dream come true. That’s really cool, you’ll see it later.

             LOUIS: For me it’s “Saucin’”, it’s our opening song. For the tour, we also made a special intro for it, which isn’t the original beat. I feel like it’s the song that brings the most energy when we perform.

TK: What has been your most memorable experience on the tour so far?

             JAY PARK: I don’t know about most memorable; I just think it’s everything. The tour has allowed us to bond more, because we’re on the plane together, we’re doing layovers at the airport together and we’re in the transportation together. I think this tour lifestyle has also allowed us to be even more grateful for the fans. It also gives the boys a lot of experience performing as well. I think the whole tour in itself is very memorable and it’s very special because it’s not every day that the CEO and the group can go on a tour together and perform together as one.

TK: You’ve been an artist for many years. You’ve been in a group, you’ve been working solo but also collaborated with several other artists. You recently founded your own label MORE VISION. What made you want to do it? What is your vision for the label?

             JAY PARK: The reason for me creating my own label is because I didn’t want to entrust my future into another company or someone that I don’t really know or trust. I trust myself and I knew if I created my own company, it’s going to have my morals, my values, what I hold important for myself and that I can wing it the way I want it. MORE VISION stands for exactly what it means. Without a vision, you can’t do anything.

TK: What would you want to tell somebody who just begins to discover their own vision?

             JAY PARK: You got to start with the vision, but in order to carry out that vision, it takes a lot of hard work, a lot of sacrifice, and a lot of determination. So yeah, just start with a vision, whether it’s big or small, and then within that vision you will find your purpose, your value, and you can make it come to life.

TK: LNGSHOT is the first group you debuted under your label, your idea was to unite people who share the same ideas, the same vision, the same interests. What is it like being a mentor to young people, who are now the same age and in the same position as you were once?

             JAY PARK: Like I said earlier, I don’t feel comfortable to entrust my future to someone I don’t know, but they’re entrusting their future to me. They’re following my guidance and my lead, so I don’t take that lightly. There’s different dynamics to the relationship, it’s like mentor and mentee, producer and group, CEO and artist and so on.
When you’re young, you do have certain visions, but you also like to do it, just because you like to do it. So I try to teach them certain characteristics, certain morals and values that they need to have not just as artists, but also as human beings, which is going to help their artistic career as well.

             JAY PARK: I feel like the world these days is very focused on numbers, whether it be Spotify plays or the views on YouTube. They compare everything, they compare the value of the art with the numbers. But music is art and it’s subjective, right? I feel like people don’t really care about the taste or the standard or their own curation, they just hop on trends. The companies and even the artists make it more about numbers.

TK: It probably just feels like a competition.

             JAY PARK: Yes, exactly. It takes the uniqueness and the soul out of the music. Of course we also don’t want to get zero views, but we don’t want to make it all about it. We want to have our own sound, our own vision and our authenticity, but also want to have people recognize it. So it’s definitely a harder road to travel, but we’re getting there.

TK: When you produce a new song, when do you know it’s finished? What makes it sound like Jay Park or LNGSHOT?

             JAY PARK: It’s when we all like it. When we listen to it and we’re proud of it before it gets anybody else’s validation, that’s when we know it’s good. Then we know, this is our sound.

TK: Are you often in agreement when it comes to music or do you have differences in opinions?

             JAY PARK: Yes, sometimes we have different opinions, but they’re very minor.

             WOOJIN: I think it’s different for every song. When we created the mixtape 4SHOVILLE together, it went pretty smoothly. Our CEO is more of an OG than we are. He has the experience, the more classic sounds while we bring the trendy, newer stuff. So when we combine it, it meshes really well. I think we have a good balance. Sometimes, it takes a little bit more convincing, but we learned to trust each other.

TK: Where do you think you challenge each other the most?

             JAY PARK: I think everything is a challenge, that’s why it’s called LNGSHOT. I came up with the name, because I knew everything was going to be a challenge and the ideas we have and the music we’re doing is not the most common.

It might not get the most views, or the most plays, but that’s okay, because at the end of the day, we know who we are and that it is our own artistic expression. We like our music, we are proud of our music, proud to let other people listen to it and we’re proud to perform it.

TK: You all share similar interests, inspiration and a vision. What is it like, being guided by Jay Park, someone who is very well known in the industry?

             LOUIS: Being in a group, created by an artist that you’ve looked up to since you were a kid, just doesn’t feel real to me. Going on a tour with him, is still unreal. We’ve learned so much from him. For example, like he said earlier, the most important is who you are on the inside. Even when you’re very talented, you cannot be successful if you don’t have good morals.

             OHYUL: It feels a bit like I’m inheriting all of his experiences. At the beginning, I was definitely a bit intimidated by him, after all, he’s Jay Park. I’m learning a lot, things about music, how to manage your voice, how to manage your health on tour or what kind of attitude you need to have when it comes to music and performing in this industry.

TK: Do you have a favorite story to tell from working together?

             JAY PARK: There are just so many memories in such a short amount of time. I don’t know what the most memorable thing might be…

             LOUIS: The moment that I felt he had the most aura was when we were in Thailand with all the company staff and Jay paid for all the food. 

             JAY PARK Oh he’s speaking about the ROLLING LOUD festival in Thailand. Before their debut, I took them and the whole company, which was about 70 people, to Thailand. After the show, we all got food together. 

             WOOJIN: I think one of the coolest moments was the MMA, the Melon Music Awards in 2025, because that was when Jay introduced us on stage to the industry for the first time.  

TK: What went through your head when you were on that stage?

             WOOJIN: I actually just hoped it wouldn’t rain. Because our first performance ever was actually at a university festival, and it was sunny until that day. There were supposed to be about 10,000 people watching, but because of the weather, only about 3,000 showed up. After that, somehow every time we did something special, it rained, kind of like a bad sign. So yeah I just hoped it wouldn’t rain at the MMAs, that everything goes well and nothing bad happens. I mean even now in Berlin it’s the same. Yesterday when we arrived it was really sunny, today on the day of the concert it’s raining.

             RYUL: Honestly, I think I was just thinking about the lyrics and praying not to mess something up, since it was 100% live and everybody would know if I made any mistakes.

             OHYUL: I was really nervous and kept thinking about that would happen when the door opens. It was our first time to be on such a huge stage and there were 34,000 people, which is a lot.

             LOUIS: I was also really nervous, but as soon as the VCR opened I didn’t feel very stressed anymore. Suddenly, the platform went up which wasn’t supposed to go up at that time, so we got a little bit flustered. But nothing bad happened, so it was okay.

TK: What do you enjoy most about working together? 

             WOOJIN: When we eat, because Jay’s bank account is crazy. He often invites us to have a good meal together.

             JAY PARK: Yeah, I’m very poor because of them (laughs). I think they keep me very youthful while I can share everything I know, so it’s a good relationship dynamic, a good synergy.

TK: Are there things you think you wouldn’t have learned on your own, but being able to discover just because the other?

             JAY PARK: Of course, if it wasn’t for this, why would I hang out with a 16-year-old? Why would they hang out with a 40-year-old, you know what I mean? But through music and through what we have at MORE VISION, it allows us to have that common denominator and to have this kind of relationship.

TK: After the world tour, what do you want to explore for further projects? What is your dream?

             WOOJIN: We’re currently preparing for our comeback S.W.I.S.H., so I just hope everything goes well and that we can release it successfully. It’s a bit stressful, we’re recording and practicing the new choreography while being on tour at the same time. It’s also award season soon, so there’s a lot going on. 

             OHYUL: Yeah, our schedule is super packed right now, so I hope everything goes smoothly, especially for our second EP. Next year, it will be one year since our debut so I just want to give it my all so that we can be proud of ourselves when looking back.

             LOUIS: For now, I hope that our second EP does well. After that, I just want to release more of our music and show what we’re capable of.

             RYUL: Whatever it may be, I just want to enjoy the whole journey.