Early life[edit]

Mowg's early exposure to music was not due to a special occasion. Instead, his parents' decision to enroll him in a piano academy, due to their busy work schedules, made him developed a liking for music. He also enjoyed watching movies on "Saturday Myunghwa" which left him lasting impression. The "Aranjuez Concerto" by Joaquin Rodrigo, which was the signal music of "The Masterpiece of Saturday," and "Exodus," which was regarded as the "masterpiece of the weekend", were two pieces of music he still remembers vividly. Mowg's love for movies and music extended to radio programs as well, and he loves various genres, including jazz, blues, pop, rock, new country, and new wave music. He recorded all of them on blank tapes. The movies and music he encountered during his sensitive adolescence provided him with the strength to endure life as mucisian.^[2]


However, Mowg's parents were not pleased with his hobby. His father, a former rugby player, made him join the school rugby team, thinking that it would distract him from music and help him develop better control over his emotions. To build his body, Mowg had to eat two slices of tofu every morning, and he was pushed to the point of creating a sandstorm on the playground during training sessions. Gradually, his body grew to match that of a rugby player. During his adolescence, Mowg's personality developed in a contrasting manner. He was sometimes quiet and withdrawn, and other times outgoing and energetic, exhibiting tendencies similar to those of manic-depressive patients.^[2]


The conflict between his deep passion for music and his conservative family's disapproval drove him to leave for New York. Around the time he graduated from high school, he was heavily involved in jazz and occasionally played at "All That Jazz" in Itaewon. Lee Young-gyeong, a jazz pianist who was a star at "All That Jazz" at the time, encouraged him to go to a bigger city like New York, saying that he would do much better there. Although his family strongly opposed the idea, Mowg was determined to pursue his dreams. He said, "I couldn't live in a system that opposed my love for music. In a situation where I had to choose between giving up on myself or my family, I eventually chose to leave my family behind."^[2] In 1993, he went to New York.^[8]