Both Music and Art Are Vital to All-Rounder Lisa

Singer and musical actress Lisa is holding her second solo art exhibition. Lisa, who debuted as a singer in 2003, has always designed and drawn her own album jackets and says she draws as if she is writing a diary and finds drawing and painting therapeutic.

"I'm happy to have both music and art with me so that I can express my emotions. Both are channels to express myself. In this exhibition, I tried to show paintings that people easily appreciate and sympathize with".

She made her musical debut with "Bandits" in 2007, made her name by playing a starring role in the musical version of the mega-hit TV drama "Dae Jang Geum" (Jewel in the Palace) the year after. Recently she has won a starring role in a double cast for "Evita", for which she had to learn the tango and Latin dance.

Lisa also teaches aspiring musicians at Seoul Art College. How does she manage to do so many things at the same time? "Many people say I must be crazy to do all this. But I think I'm the type of person who does better when things get busy. I think music and art are essentially quite similar. It's just that the medium of expression is different".

Lisa majored in painting at Hongik University, which is renowned for the arts. When she is not working on a musical or album, she paints. "When I am busy with music, I get energized by painting in my spare time. On the other hand, when I mostly paint, I get energy from listening to music", she says.

Lisa spent much of her youth overseas as her father was a diplomat. She can speak English, German, Swedish and Polish, and is good at a variety of sports. Is there anything else she wants to learn? "I'm an ambitious person. I want to whatever I get a chance to do until the day I die. You only have one life".

What is her ultimate goal? "I've watched my dad's work as a diplomat since I was very young. Based on my experience, I'd love to be a cultural diplomat who can introduce Korean arts to a worldwide audience", she says.