eaJ has a debt to repay
“My right foot is kind of messed up right now.”
That’s the last thing I expected to hear from Jae Park, now known as eaJ, the morning after his sold-out show on Nov. 16, 2025. With how explosive he was the entire concert, you would have never noticed. My joints ached watching him dart around the venue.
But it wasn’t only the Korean-American singer leaving it all on the stage; the audience reciprocated that energy, shaking the ground beneath me. “I do get taken aback because Manila’s loud,” says Jae.
In this Young STAR exclusive, eaJ opens up about growth, gratitude and the familial feeling the Manila concerts give him.
What made the night extra special for Jae was his live band—Chuck Emery (guitarist), Josh Turner (bassist), and Porter Chapman (drummer)—basking in that joy too. “We’ve never been to Manila together, and [I saw] a life-changing experience in the [faces] of my bandmates. I’m really appreciative of Manila for always turning up, man. I’m so thankful for them.”
eaJ turns a new page
I wasn’t proud of, the people (who) are still here today stood by me,” says the Korean-American singer.
After six months of putting the show together and even more time marinating on his artistic direction, Jae’s ready for the fans to watch the “1/9” tour unfold. “What I wanted to accomplish was to tell the story of a cat that has lived through every life, one [out of] nine, which is the concept for my next full project.”
Jae once compared eaJ to a storybook, a way to figure out what he wanted to do as a soloist in 2020 while still being in a South Korean pop-rock group. Now he’s begun writing a new chapter in eaJ’s ever-evolving journey. “I’m starting to realize that I don’t refer to eaJ as just me anymore. eaJ is the [live] band, me, and everyone that shows up.”
His single, put it on me, dedicated to an Indonesian fan, prompted this recalibration.
“The last page was Tasya, someone who had been following my career for a long time,” he recalls before explaining how her physical limitations prevent her from traveling. The two met for the first time at the 2025 Prambanan Jazz Festival, and their interaction touched Jae deeply. “I got a message from her mother after saying, ‘Thank you because this is one of the [few] times I really get to make Tasya happy.’ It broke me in a beautiful way.”
Every new page springs forth a wider range of perspectives, and Jae’s most recent EP 1 hints at the emotional maturity he’s undergone in recent years. “Growth isn’t just about me, but what I can do with that growth; just growing in general is pointless.” He credits the change to those who were courageous enough to confront him, both online and in real life. “You can mature all you want in your head, but if there’s no outward fruit bearing that growth, then what was the purpose of that?”
“Growth means to empathize better and sympathize with people who, before [your] growth, you didn’t quite understand. To be able to voice that for the people who don’t have a voice.”
He embodies this, from apologizing when the hiss of his zero-sugar Monster Energy drink disrupts our conversation to amplifying the Southeast Asian music scene through collaborations with Filipina girl group BINI and Indonesian singer Hindia. I ask why he feels so drawn to this part of the world. “Family,” he replies. “Family is so important here.”
Jae harks back to his memory of the Manila concert. “It gets so loud, it feels like I invited a thousand family members, and they’re like, ‘We want you to win so badly!’” He also brings up Indonesia’s LOCALFEST, a moment tantamount to the energy he’s felt in the Philippines. “It didn’t matter who was who. Everyone was in the mud together. That is something so foreign but so beautiful to me.”
What keeps eaJ’s story moving
These days, Jae carries a deeper sense of gratitude. That wasn’t always the case. “There was a long time in my career, especially in my last project (with my former band), where I became very ungrateful,” he admits. “I stood on stage oftentimes thinking, ‘I wish I could go home,’ unable to process how thankful I should’ve been.”
His transition to an independent artist—and the adversarial aftermath of closing that six-year chapter to work on his mental health—are things he continues to reconcile with. Yet, in his despondence, he found hope. “When my head wasn’t in the right place, and I became someone I wasn’t proud of, the people [who] are still here today stood by me. Despite all the hate online and the targets [towards] anyone who supported anything I did, they supported me regardless.”
Having made it to the other side, Jae is determined to give back to the people who helped him get there. “If I [were] to like an artist and I wouldn’t have been able to see [them], I would’ve been crushed. That’s the reason why my ticket prices are lower. If I could, I’d do them for free, but I can’t.”
Touring comes at a great financial cost, and every other project he takes on funds what he wants to do most. “Money’s great, but before I fixate on that, I have a debt to repay.”
Before wrapping up, I ask: how does the support of your fans shape who you are, not only as an artist but a human being? Tears well up in Jae’s eyes. “I live my life for God and for them. They quite literally saved my life.”
I instinctively offered a hug as he cried, and in our embrace, I felt the weight of his devotion to human connection. Upon leaving, I reflect on the concert once more, replaying eaJ’s poignant message to the crowd: “Music is art, and art is about community. It’s about us."
***
eaJ’s newest EP 1 is available to stream on all major music streaming platforms via Position Music. Follow the artist at @eajpark.
