Into the New World, Growl, Black Mamba... How SM's 'bangers' were reborn as classical music [Interview]

【Hanoi (Vietnam) = Kim Jun-seok, correspondent】  “Classical music is a comma, and K-pop is an exclamation point. What SM Classics does is take you from the comma to the exclamation point.”Jo Hee-kyung, head of SM Classics, SM Entertainment’s classical music label, met with Financial News on the 3rd at the Korean Cultural Center in Vietnam in Hanoi and described the label’s role this way. “Our musical direction is to connect the narratives and spaces accumulated over a long history of classical music with the sensibility of K-pop, which today’s audiences can readily embrace,” Jo explained.
Jo, who took over as head of SM Classics last February, is a 30-year veteran of the music industry who has overseen marketing and management since the mid-1990s, working at Universal Music Korea, Warner Music Korea and other companies. She has worked with major artists including soprano Sumi Jo, pianist Kun-Woo Paik, crossover singers John Noh, Gil Byeong-min and Lee Dong-kyu, and violinist Danny Koo. In the entertainment industry, Jo’s move to SM Classics is seen as an unusual career step.
Alongside reinterpreting SM Entertainment’s K-pop hits through classical arrangements, SM Classics is also working to bring classical musicians on board. Its first result came last April, when it signed soprano Sumi Jo as its first exclusive recording artist.
“Why Is SM Going Classical?” Jo Hee-kyung Has an AnswerJo emphasized SM Classics’ efforts, arguing that classical music should not be frozen as a relic of the past. “Classical music, too, was created to meet the public’s needs in its own era, so in the 21st century it should be reshaped in a way that resonates with people today,” she said, outlining SM Classics’ vision.
Jo likened the essence of classical music to a “comma,” saying, “The space within a long piece of music that suddenly makes you look back at yourself is what makes classical music appealing.” By contrast, she said,  “K-pop is closer to an exclamation point because it conveys emotions immediately through powerful melodies and lyrics,” and added,  “SM Classics’ role is to add small pauses and spaces to K-pop, and naturally connect classical music’s commas with K-pop’s exclamation points.”
“SM’s hugely famous hits... The familiar is harder to get right”Reinterpreting familiar music in a new way calls for deep consideration. Jo compared the pressure of orchestrating an original song that is already highly popular to the challenge of delivering a familiar taste. “It’s actually easier to draw a ghost than something people already know well, like a tiger or a lion,” she said. “With familiar music, listeners already have a firm image of the original in their minds, so even a slight change can easily draw the response, ‘It doesn’t taste the same as the original.’”
Despite these challenges, Jo said Korean musicians have an outstanding strength in deconstructing and reassembling existing music. “In Europe, there is a strong tendency to regard a country’s classical music as a source of tradition and pride and to preserve its established framework. Korean musicians, on the other hand, move relatively freely across genre and era,” she said. “Korean musicians are highly skilled at preserving the ingredients of existing music while reassembling them in a modern form that audiences can enjoy.”
“Music is ultimately a conversation”Jo’s philosophy of music ultimately comes down to communication between people. She described music as “a way for me to approach you.” Just as people can reach others through writing, speech, sculpture and other means, music can also touch people’s hearts through melody and harmony. She added, “People argue with one another because, ultimately, they don’t know each other well. That’s why they need to reach out to each other even more,” and said, “Some people can express what’s in their hearts through K-pop, while others can do so through Korean traditional music or ballads.” “SM Classics’ work, too, is a process of reaching more people through diverse musical languages,” Jo explained.
Meanwhile, SM Classics held “SM Classics Live in Hanoi” on the 5th at the Ho Guom Opera House in Hanoi, Vietnam. The event was part of “Korea Season 2026,” hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and jointly organized by the Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange and the Korean Cultural Center in Vietnam. In collaboration with the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra (VNSO), the event presented orchestral reinterpretations of familiar K-pop hits, including “Into the New World” (Girls’ Generation), “MAMA” and “Growl” (EXO), “Feel My Rhythm” (Red Velvet), “Make A Wish” (NCT U) and “Black Mamba” (aespa). Super Junior member Ryeowook’s participation drew considerable attention locally.
Alongside the concert, SM Classics actively engaged with Vietnamese musicians, adding further significance to cultural exchange between Korea and Vietnam. A talk show on the orchestral creative process was held on the 2nd, and on the 3rd, Kim Young-sang, an exclusive composer and arranger for SM Classics, led a music composition and arrangement workshop for local Vietnamese composers.
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