Today marks the first day of Spring for us here in the Northern Hemisphere (although it certainly doesn't feel like it here in New York City) and as some of you know, I like to mark the changing of the seasons by taking a stroll down memory lane and featuring songs that were popular during that season in the past. Last year's list was a good start but there are definitely more songs that we can add. Some of these you may know, others might be new but without further ado, here are some more songs you can add to your way back spring playlist.

Seo Ji Won - Gathering My Tears

For the vast majority of you, this is probably not a name you're familiar with but Seo Ji Won was one of the more promising young singers until his tragic suicide in 1996. The song might be a little more recognizable as it was one of the best ballads of that time and has since been covered frequently including a version by Kim Kyung Ho on the show 'I Am a Singer'. For you variety show fans, the music for the song was also written by Jung Jae Hyung who's recent popularity can be traced to his appearances on 'Infinity Challenge' and 'Immortal Song 2'.

Kim Jung Min - Final Promise

Before he was a variety show MC, Kim Jung Min was a gravelly voiced crooner who belted out a number of hits including this one. Another tearjerker (I guess I'm in a ballad mood today), "Final Promise" is probably his most popular song and the song has to be in the Noraebang Hall of Fame for the amount of times some guy has sung this to a girl he's trying to impress.

Uhm Jung Hwa - Betrayal of the Rose

Legendary diva Uhm Jung Hwa has been the center of this column before but it's impossible not to include this, her breakout hit. This song was the her first to reach number 1 on the music charts and solidified her place as one of the leading ladies of K-pop.

SES - Oh My Love

Because SES' debut single "I'm Your Girl" was such a success, it can often overshadow their follow up single "Oh My Love". This song will forever be remembered as the jeans, white shirt, and change-of-hair song as the trio changed up their look from their debut and their styling would spark fashion trends among fans. The song is a more mellow song but kept the cuteness that made them famous.

Baek Ji Young - Dash

The song that put the singer and the Latin sound on the K-pop map, "Dash" is an important song in K-pop and one of the legendary hits. Baek Ji Young has said that she absolutely did not want to record the song and didn't like the new sound but lucky for her, her managers and label execs were able to convince her to do it and of course came her breakout song.

Lim Chang Jung - My Lover

You might remember that during the late 1990's into the 2000's, singer/actor Lim Chang Jung had a string of ballad hits that seemed to never end. This song was a part of that tidal wave and was one of my personal favorites. Bringing up noraebangs (karaoke) again, guys who are a bit older and want to impress a girl but want to seem like a connoisseur of music will often select this as their song of choice. Beware of these guys ladies; this isn't their first time doing this if you know what I mean.

Jinusean - A-Yo

This song has become more popular over time more for the music video which features a whole cast of YG characters like 1TYM's Teddy, a young Taeyang, and a fur coated Yang Hyun Suk. The song itself takes a page from the Los Angeles hip hop culture and sound but incorporates some very Korean-centric elements as well. A great song for the warming weather and one I used to play a lot back in the day.

Fin.K.L - Forever

Not to be confused with another of the group's hits "Forever Love", "Forever" was a mid-tempo ballad that was riding the Fin.K.L wave in 2002 and like most of the group's songs, was anchored by the vocals of Ok Ju Hyun and complemented by the other three members. The ladies had numerous hit songs during their heyday and this is up there with their most popular with fans.

Se7en - Come Back to Me

Goodbye Se7en (2 years to the military), but this is the debut single that introduced K-pop to the silky smooth vocals of the YG crooner. "Come Back to Me" was actually very different from the music that YG Entertainment was making at the time with other artists so it was a pleasant surprise for many fans. I'm sure with Se7en's enlistment into the military for his service, his fans will be appropriately singing this song to him for the next two years.

TVXQ - Hug

The catalyst for the first mega-group of the new generation of idol singers. I'm sure everyone reading this knows more about the song and the group than I do so instead of preaching to the choir, why not just enjoy the finger-curling cuteness that is "Hug".



What are some of your favorite songs to listen to in the Spring?