
K-Pop: The Rose Finding Success On Your Own Terms
From Reppin by Evelien Kong
February 25, 2026 · 42 min
About this episode
This episode features an in-depth interview with filmmakers Eugene Yi and Diane Quon about their documentary on The Rose, exploring themes of creative freedom and resilience in the K-pop industry.
🎙️ How The Rose Broke the K-Pop System | Behind the Music, Mental Health & Friendship | Full Interview Go behind the scenes of The Rose: Come Back to Me — the new documentary about the Korean indie rock band who defied the K-pop industry to stay true to themselves. This in-depth conversation with award-winning filmmakers Eugene Yi and Diane Quon explores the real story behind The Rose’s rise, their fight for creative freedom, and the universal themes of identity, resilience, and friendship. 🎬 The Rose: Come Back to Me isn’t just a K-pop documentary — it’s a story of courage, loyalty, and the power of choosing your own path in a system built to control it. 🔥 In this exclusive interview, we dive into: Why The Rose left the K-pop trainee system to pursue their own sound How they fought back after being exploited by their record label What it means to be a Korean rock band in a K-pop world How the film champions mental health, masculinity & vulnerability Why Asian artists are still being boxed in — and how this story breaks that mold The personal journeys of filmmakers Eugene Yi and Diane Quon, and how they walked away from neuroscience and corporate media to chase their own…
People in this episode
Host: Evelien Kong
Guests: Eugene Yi, Diane Quon
Topics covered
- K-Pop
- indie rock
- mental health
- creative freedom
- identity
- resilience
- friendship
Keywords
- The Rose
- K-pop documentary
- mental health
- indie documentaries
- Asian artists
- musical identity
- artistic defiance
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: The Rose, K-pop
Books & works: Come Back to Me
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