Hello and welcome back to HallyuTones – always focused on sound, stage and substance.
It’s hard to believe that it’s been over 2 years since Big Ocean made their debut with ‘Glow‘. Since then, the group have continued to develop their sound, exploring new genres, performing on stages around the world, and working tirelessly for disability representation.
We have interviewed Big Ocean twice before – first exploring their EP Underwater, and the group’s story. We followed this up with another piece covering their special Christmas release and performances.
Today we are excited to welcome Big Ocean back to discuss their new single, ‘Love Sign’, the creative process behind the track, and a look into the group’s continued fashion and advocacy work.
Read on below to find out more!
Interview:
Q1. Hello and welcome back to HallyuTones – Could you please introduce yourself to our readers?
JISEOK: Hi HallyuTones! It’s really good to be back. We’re Big Ocean — Chanyeon, PJ and Jiseok. A lot has happened since the last time we spoke, and right now we’re especially excited about our new single, “Love Sign.” It’s probably the boldest side of Big Ocean we’ve shown so far. Thanks for having us back!
Q2. Could you introduce us to your new song ‘Love Sign’?
PJ: “Love Sign” started with the idea that hands can say two things at once.
On the surface, it’s about sign language — reading someone’s hands, communicating without words, keeping your eyes on their fingertips. But underneath that, all of those same ideas can become flirting, touch and attraction.
So the whole song plays between those two meanings. Even “What’s your sign?” can mean sign language, a signal from someone you like, or your zodiac sign. Musically, it’s pop R&B and soul with a nu-disco feel — playful, confident, and a little dangerous.
Q3. This new track was produced by Grammy-winning producer Frankie Biggz, who is also deaf. What did this collaboration mean for each of the members?
PJ: What I liked was that Frankie never made the concept safer just because we’re deaf. If anything, working with him gave us more confidence to push it further — the sound, the lyrics, all of it.
CHANYEON: That was refreshing. Being deaf didn’t have to become the serious part of the conversation. It was already something we
shared, so we could just focus on making a good song.
JISEOK: And for me, it felt very equal. We’re just artists making something together.
Q4. The chorus of the track features a range of sign languages from around the world, with you signing each one as you call it out. Could you explain how some of these sign languages differ from one another, for example KSL compared to ASL?
CHANYEON: They can look completely different, even for really simple things.
For example, in ASL, “I love you” uses the familiar one-handed I-L-Y handshape. In KSL, “I love you” is signed differently — we don’t use that same handshape. Even everyday expressions like “thank you” aren’t exactly the same in KSL and ASL. So knowing one sign language doesn’t mean you automatically understand another one. That’s what makes putting several of them in the chorus so interesting to us.
Q5. The music video and lyrics of this track present a more daring and sensual concept, with hands being the central theme. What message do the members hope to share about representation within relationships?
PJ: People with disabilities have the same kinds of feelings and relationships as anyone else. We fall in love, we flirt, we want to feel attractive — all of that is normal. But you don’t always get to see that side represented. So with “Love Sign,” we didn’t want the romance to become a lesson about disability. We just wanted to let that side of us exist naturally.
Q6. Further to this, each of the members also contributed to the lyrics of this track. What was your thought process going into this song, and could you tell us more about the songwriting process?
PJ: Once we found the word “sign,” we realized we could play with it almost everywhere. A line could be about sign language, but at the same time it could sound like flirting or physical touch. The chorus changed a lot too. In one of the earlier versions, the hook literally spelled out “F-I-N-G-E-R.”
Later, we realized that sign-language abbreviations like “A-S-L,” “B-S-L” and “K-S-L” fit the rhythm and the whole idea of the song. Much better.
CHANYEON: And because all three of us were writing, we kept checking each other. “Would we actually say this?”. Sometimes yes. Sometimes, “Maybe that’s too much.”
PJ: And sometimes “too much” meant we had to keep it.
Q7. It has now been over 2 years since you first debuted. How do you feel Big Ocean has grown and changed during this time?
JISEOK: I think we’re much more confident now. At debut, a lot of the conversation was about whether deaf people could even become K-pop idols.
Now we’re thinking much more about what kind of artists we want to be, what else we can try, and how far we can push it. I think we’ve also become less afraid of surprising people. “Love Sign” is probably a good example of that.
Q8. Accessibility is at the core of your group identity. With your high-profile appearance at the Digital@UNGA 2026 event held during the United Nations General Assembly, what message did you hope to share for disabled people around the world?
PJ: At the UN, our message was very simple: don’t add accessibility at the end. Begin with it. We use technology every day — vibrating metronomes, visual cues, captions, AI — not because technology “fixes” us, but because it connects us to music, to each other and to other people.
And that difference matters. Accessibility shouldn’t be something people think about after everything else has already been designed.
Q9. You recently presented your own fashion collection at New York Men’s Week – could you tell us some more about the inspiration behind your looks, and what fashion means to you all?
PJ: The starting point was classic American denim, but I think the interesting part was asking, “How do we make this feel like Big Ocean?”
One answer was our hands. We use our hands to communicate every day, and Andy turned that into something people could literally wear — even the buttons carry sign-language shapes. I thought that was really cool. Our language became part of the clothes.
CHANYEON: And doing the collection changed the way I think about fashion a little. Usually, you think of clothes as something you put on for the stage.
But at NYFW, the clothes were already saying something before we moved, danced or signed. That was new for us.
Q10. Lastly, do you have any messages for your fans and anyone discovering you for the first time?
JISEOK: To anyone meeting Big Ocean for the first time — welcome.
You came at a pretty interesting time haha
CHANYEON: We’ve changed a lot in two years, and I think we’re only getting more curious about what else we can do.
PJ: And to PADO who have been here with us, thank you for always being ready for whatever we try next. We don’t really know what the next version of Big Ocean will look like yet either. That’s kind of the fun part.
Thank you to Big Ocean and Parastar Entertainment for this interview opportunity. Big Ocean continue to make waves with their music, whilst also breaking new boundaries and evolving as artists. ‘Love Sign’ is an incredible song that showcases a fresh style from the members, and we look forward to seeing what’s next for the group and their artistry!
Be sure to follow Big Ocean at the links below:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/big_ocean.official/?hl=en
Twitter/X: https://x.com/big_o_cean?lang=en
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BigOcean.official
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@big_ocean.official?lang=en
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/ch/artist/big-ocean/1741299970?l=en-GB
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0ly1nCJ50by9Vc0UxPHvwY
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