Hyori‘s “Seoul” provided a stripped-down sound that carried a calming but haunting spirit to it. Effective in its own way, if not exciting, it sets the tone for the music video.
Though rather lyrically ambiguous about Seoul, the music video effectively expresses what Hyori herself felt about living in the metropolis, “My life on Jeju Island wasn’t boring. I just feel like I had hated Seoul. It wasn’t because Seoul was a dark and bad place, it was due to the fact that I carried a dark and congested heart while living there. That’s how I came to write the song ‘Seoul.’”
The message there is transparent, especially considering the effective use of transitions throughout.
But perhaps the best part was the ending, which used the tracksuit that she wore when she entered on the Jeju Island side of things to represent her current self, but now back on the Seoul side and running back towards the city and her career.
Effective use of a pre-release.