A Harmonious Blend of Nature and Tradition: Behind the Scenes of 2024’s 'Over the Horizon'

The iconic Galaxy brand sound, “Over the Horizon,” is back in 2024, bringing a dynamic feel that signals a hopeful future.

In 2011, Samsung Electronics first unveiled “Over the Horizon.” Every year since, the song has evolved with a new message. Under the theme "Sound from Nature," this year's version combines classical instruments with instruments used in “gugak,” traditional Korean music. By artfully fusing tradition and modernity, this piece symbolizes a journey toward the future.

                                                           Behind the scenes of the 2024's "Over the Horizon"

Released on January 23, 2024, “Over the Horizon” features the Seoul National University Gugak Orchestra led by music director Won Il (IL WON), who is known for overseeing the music at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. The track was recorded in Dolby Atmos and fine-tuned in collaboration with award-winning sound director Byeong Joon Hwang.

"Music made with traditional instruments extends beyond the traditional p.entatonic scale. In this version of ‘Over the Horizon,’ we tried to capture the concept of embracing tradition, modernity and the future,” said music director IL WON. “As a result, we incorporated various musical expressions, including sevenths and chromatic scales."

Sound director Byeong Joon Hwang, who won a Grammy Award for music production and recording,¹  emphasized the unique sounds of gugak in his work on “Over the Horizon.”

"Gugak is a music genre that evokes the beauty of nature, such as the blowing wind and flowing water, so it can sound very unfamiliar and raw to those who haven’t heard it before," explained Hwang. "Classical music typically uses a lot of reverberation, and to compensate for this, we tried our best to create an optimal sound while recording in a concert hall with plenty of reverberation," he said.

Watch the video below for a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the 2024 "Over the Horizon," where the listener takes a dynamic journey into the future as tradition meets modernity.


¹ Byeong Joon Hwang won Grammy awards for Best Engineered Album, Classical and Best Choral Performance.