Japanese Breakfast shares Korean version of “Be Sweet”

Michelle Zauner, the artist behind Japanese Breakfast, has shared a Korean version of her song “Be Sweet,” the lead single off her 2021 album Jubilee.

For the track’s updated edition, Zauner recruited up-and-coming Korean indie artist So!Yoon!, a member of the group Seo So Neon. Electronic maestro Yaeji also contributed to the song, aiding Zauner in translating the lyrics for “Be Sweet” from English to Korean.

“We thought it would be fun to put out a special Korean version of ‘Be Sweet’ preceding our upcoming performance in Seoul,” Zauner shared with Pitchfork in a statement. Im very grateful Yaeji helped me with the translation over a year ago. So!Yoon! is one of my favorite indie artists in Seoul right now and I’m so happy we got to collab.”

Zauner will perform in South Korea on August 6, at the Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival. A July 31 show at the Fuji Rock Festival in Niigata, Japan, is Japanese Breakfast’s only other upcoming date in Asia.

In the video for the Korean version of “Be Sweet,” animated versions of So!Yoon and Zauner (whose avatar is accurate right down to her upper-arm tattoo sleeve) joyride through a blurry, purple-hued landscape. Zauner drives, hair blowing in the win, while So!Yoon kicks back in the passenger seat, head bopping along to the song’s infectious, sparkling beat.

The use of futuristic, animated imagery feels like new yet natural territory for Zauner, whose recent work shows a clear interest in using different mediums to express herself. The musician provided the soundtrack for the indie exploration game Sable, and has also received critical acclaim for her first memoir Crying In H Mart, which explores Zauner’s food-centric quest to build her own identity (and recognize herself in her Korean heritage) after the loss of her mother.

Read our 2021 interview with Japanese Breakfast here.