Brooklyn Pop Star Yaeji’s New Video Is a Love Letter to Korea

For most the video, though, Yaeji and her friends (which include Kim, Han, and Jung, as well as fashion designer Jihyung, videographer Mija, New York-based Nicole Kim, who DJs as NK Badtz Maru, and Berlin-based Mobilegirl), are all wearing the grass green Yaeji Guild sweatshirts and black baggy pants that stylist Kim and Yaeji designed together and produced in Korea last year. “My mom and I went to the Korean fabric market last year to source traditionally dyed fabric,” Yaeji says, and she brought some back to New York to brainstorm alongside Kim. “I remembered then how much I love how old ladies in Korea dress—they are called ‘Ajumma’,” Yaeji says in reference to the super loose-fit pants commonly worn by older Korean women, particularly those who work on farms. “I thought it was such a sweet and tender touch to the video—all of us wearing the same uniform, inspired by older Korean ladies, singing and dancing to the song I wrote about a world that we drew together.”

When they were shooting the video, Han says that she started to fantasize about the onion’s perspective on Yaeji, her friends, and her family. In the time since they shot the video (Yaeji’s scene with her grandpa takes on even more significance given the global health crisis), Han admits this world looks different. “2020 in front of my eyes is a bit bleak, sad, and complicated,” Han says. “It’s a bit different from what we drew, but if people can find peace in this world created through Dawn’s eyes and Yaeji’s music, and create memories and sweet dreams, that would be wonderful.”