10cm

South Korean indie pop outfit 10cm centers on vocalist Kwon Jung-yoel, whose genial acoustic approach moved past the domestic underground circuit to reach mainstream listeners across the mid-2010s. The project began as a duo alongside guitarist Yoon Cheol-jong, yet Kwon elected to keep the 10cm name alive as a solo endeavor once Yoon stepped away in 2017.

The title itself references the ten-centimeter physical difference separating the original members. Their first EP surfaced in April 2010 and introduced the understated folk-pop framework built around Kwon’s lead vocals and djembe alongside Yoon’s guitar and harmony vocals. The following year brought the independent full-length 1.0, which unexpectedly moved more than 200,000 copies and earned the pair a Korean Music Award for Best Pop Song.

Over the next two years 10cm sustained momentum with regular charting singles, multiple soundtrack placements, and the 2012 release of 2.0. Their third album, 3.0, arrived in 2014 and secured their strongest chart showing to date by peaking at number nine on the Gaon albums chart. In 2016 the single “What the Spring?” reached the top position, while “My Eyes,” taken from the Guardian: The Lonely and Great God soundtrack, landed inside the Top Ten.

The duo issued one last album together, 2017’s 4.0, before Yoon announced his exit. After a period of consideration Kwon chose to continue under the 10cm name and introduced a richer sonic texture on the 2019 EP 4.3.