"Secret Garden" (

Hangul The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The le ...

: 비밀정원; RR: ''bimil-jeongwon'') is a song recorded by South Korean girl group

Oh My Girl Oh My Girl (, also stylized as OH MY GIRL and OMG) is a South Korean girl group formed by WM Entertainment. The group is composed of six members: Hyojung, Mimi, YooA, Seunghee, Yubin and Arin. Originally an eight-piece group, JinE left the gro ...

. It was released by WM Entertainment on January 9, 2018, as the lead single for their fifth extended play of the same name (2018).

Background

On October 31, 2017, WM Entertainment announced Oh My Girl's comeback with new music planned for released some time in November. However, in mid-November, it was announced that their comeback would be delayed until January for "a goal of a more complete album". On December 23, WM Entertainment announced Oh My Girl's comeback for January 9 with the single "Secret Garden" along with their fifth EP of the same name.

Composition

The song was written produced by Steven Lee, with additional songwriting by

Mayu Wakisaka is a singer-songwriter, composer, and lyricist based in Tokyo, Japan. Mayu grew up in Osaka, Japan, and studied law at Kyoto University. In 2007, she quit law school to pursue her career as a singer-songwriter and moved to Los Angeles. While st ...

, and Sean Alexander, and

Seo Ji-eum Seo Ji-eum (; born December 15, 1986), is a South Korean lyricist and singer. She started getting recognition after writing the lyrics for Girls' Generation-TTS's "Twinkle" and f(x)'s "Electric Shock". She won the Lyricist of the Year Award at ...

. Alexander has previously been involved in composition and production for their single "Closer", while Seo Ji-eum is the lyricist for several of their previous singles, including "Closer", "Liar Liar", and "Windy Day". It was described by Billboard's Tamar Herman, as "a shimmering synth-pop title track ". The lyrics describe the process of a young girl growing up as "planting the seeds of potential internally to pursue their future dreams".

Chart performance

The song debuted at number 17 on the Gaon Digital Chart, on the week of January 13, 2018. The song charted for 12 consecutive weeks in the Top 100. "Secret Garden" also debuted at number 17 on the

Kpop Hot 100 The K-pop Hot 100 is a music singles chart in South Korea, launched by ''Billboard'' in conjunction with ''Billboard'' Korea () on August 25, 2011. It is the second Asian ''Billboard'' chart after the Japan Hot 100. The chart used the same multime ...

for the week of January 21, 2018. In its second week, the song peaked at number 10. The song was the 35th best-selling song in January, 46th in February and 74th in March 2018.

Music video

Produced by Sunny Visual for WM Entertainment, the music video of "Secret Garden" was directed by Yoo Sung-kyun. It was uploaded on January 9, 2018, on their official YouTube channel and also

1theK Kakao M (; formerly Seoul Records, YBM Seoul Records and LOEN Entertainment) was a South Korean entertainment company established by Min Yeong-bin in 1978. It is currently one of the largest co-publisher companies in South Korea. The company op ...

. The video showcases them dancing in a simple white set. Individual scenes reflects the lyrics of the song by depicting the members as young women discovering educational options and exploring career paths.

Japanese version

A Japanese version of "Secret Garden" was released on December 28, 2018, as their second lead single for their debut Japanese album ''Oh My Girl Japan Debut Album''. The album was released on January 9, 2019, by

Ariola Japan , is a Japanese record label that is part of Sony Music Entertainment Japan. It is the successor of BMG Japan. History *2008 – Ariola Japan becomes a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment. *2009 – Ariola Japan becomes a full-on record label ...

. The lyrics were translated into Japanese by Chie Itou, who was previously involved in translating the entirety of their ''Banana Allergy Monkey'' EP into Japanese.

Charts

Accolades

Music program awards

References

{{Oh My Girl 2018 singles 2018 songs Korean-language songs Oh My Girl songs Songs written by Sean Alexander Songs written by Steven Lee (music producer)