Chung-ha’s Querencia And Self Identity

Querencia is a metaphysical concept in Spanish language which comes from the verb “querer” or “to desire.” Sounds simple enough, right? As with anything with those sentient brains of ours, particularly involving spoken word, it has been semantically delved into for years, most notably by Ernest Hemingway in “Death In The Afternoon”:

“A querencia is a place the bull naturally wants to go to in the ring, a preferred locality... It is a place which develops in the course of the fight where the bull makes his home. It does not usually show at once, but develops in his brain as the fight goes on. In this place he feels that he has his back against the wall and in his querencia he is inestimably more dangerous and almost impossible to kill.”

Chung-ha is undoubtedly a well traveled individual. Spending the majority of her first 8 years of her life in Dallas, Texas before moving back to her homeland with the goal of becoming a singer. I don’t think you can be in the Korean pop industry and not be weathered and withered (or at least expect it down the line) by all of the travel, discourse, energy, and work ethic that is demanded of you. Being apart of a survival reality show “Produce 101”, an extremely common and popular Korean television competition pitting young idols against each other in order to achieve their industry goals, the expectation that comes with that might subject one to a lot of public exhaustion, persecution, judgment, in a way that trainees working behind closed doors would not be as exposed to.

I believe Querencia was created with these experiences in mind. As with any work of art the devil is in the details, as Chung-ha would tell you herself, you don’t get credit for merely showing up, you’ve got to deliver the goods and back up your ambitions with execution.

The direction is remarkably well thought out. Unlike far too many K-pop albums that are seemingly thrown together without regard for flow or intelligent track placement, that was obviously a focus of Querencia, splitting it into four distinct sections: Noble, Savage, Unknown, and Pleasures (the latter two arguably a reference to the Joy Division album.)

Whilst the genres often feel like a melting pot of different musical backgrounds, incorporating elements of latin-pop, EDM, afrobeats, house, salsa, and tropical not only are they combined well together through track placements and compositionally but also with regards to how the style and emotion of the song reflects against Chung-ha as a person. Singing in Korean, English, even an entire song in Spanish. The attention to detail is something that constantly impressed me throughout the daunting 21 song tracklist. It’s segmented in a way that allows myself as a listener to visualize the moments in her journey that she is drawing inspiration from or indirectly referencing.

If we are to apply the Hemingway interpretation with Chung-ha’s album, it’s fair to say that she views her career, her artistry, as a place in which she has learned take refuge from all of the publicity, pressure, and expectation on her. A place where she is in the firing line but comfortable, and ready to fight back if need be. This album symbolizes her individual strength to be calm in the face of adversity, to break through the limitations placed on her, internally, externally, physically observable, and/or metaphysically intangible, to be who she wants to be, and how she wants to be just that without regret. Themes that are reinforced through the album artwork. Giving strength to the listener by essentially saying "if I can do it, so can you."

Art has always been a form of self-expression first and foremost. I’ve never been of the mindset that any artistic medium must have strong relatability in order to be considered good. Empathy is a uniquely human trait that we can apply to our consumption of art. Even if I have never been through the gauntlet of mainstream Korean music (thank god) that does not mean it is impossible for me to feel even just a small bit of what Chung-ha possibly felt in these moments. To be able to go so many places both emotional and auditory and still maintain a cohesive feel both musically and thematically is impressive.