This is the 10th article in a series highlighting women and their accomplishments in the Korean entertainment industry. ― Ed.


When composer Miho first started making music around 17 years ago, she said she was just one of a few women doing so. At times it was difficult. When she would go to a recording studio, no one truly saw her as a composer.

But, she said, she didn’t let it get to her.

“As a woman composer, it wasn’t difficult to do my job, but it was difficult because of other people. But back then I thought it was nothing, because I was in love with music,” she said in a recent interview with The Korea Herald.

Since then, Miho has composed and arranged music for so many films and TV dramas that she says she has lost count, and has her own studio to arrange and compose for top-name musicians.

Inspiration comes to Miho in many ways, from watching movies to being in nature. When she was younger, any time something inspired her, she would write it down.

“Back then, my music was more emotional. But now, if someone asks me for music, I can just do it. I can write it immediately,” she said. “It’s sad that my music is not like that (anymore). It’s not as emotional as it used to be. It’s more technical.”

Ever since Miho was little, she has been interested in music. She started studying classical piano at age 6 with dreams of becoming a pianist. In high school, a teacher suggested she study composition, so she decided to compose classical music.

But six months into university, an older student suggested she start working for broadcaster MBC, and that’s when she began focusing more on popular music rather than classical.

Miho said she prefers to work on her own. She doesn’t venture too far into composing music for idol singers, which usually includes a team of people for each song. Everyone wants idol music, which she said is sad because there are so many good composers out there who focus on writing other types of music, like her own favorite, ballads.

At the moment, she said she does more arranging than composing. She has arranged songs for idol groups Super Junior and Girls’ Generation, but mostly arranges old music, which she doesn’t want to focus on so much.

“Once I focus on arranging the old songs, it’s harder for me to make my own songs, my own music. The reason why I don’t want to arrange songs too much is that once I work more on arranging, I lose my own style of music.”

But she found freedom in producing her second album, “Miso Diary,” which she created for herself with the help of some others. Released in 2009, it has been her favorite project so far because no one asked her to do it or gave her directions.

“It was just my own album,” she said. “And the people who worked on making it with me, I had a good relationship with them. I loved them, and I love that album personally in many ways.”

Currently, Miho is composing music for an original soundtrack, though she coyly said it was too early to divulge the name of the show or film.

When she was younger, she was intent on writing that one song that would become popular and make a lot of money. Now, she said, she’s a little less greedy.

“I don’t really want that anymore. If I keep writing music, one day there will be one song that can be really popular,” she said. “But I love being the way I am now. And I love making music for myself.”

By Emma Kalka (ekalka@heraldcorp.com)