Breathe by Lee Hi by Moo Say - Grade 11 https://padlet.com/4117821/ilngftegwvoo45bi Rhetorical Analysis by Moo en-us 2023-04-25 20:08:41 UTC 2025-11-24 12:26:14 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/1f60c.png Introduction - SOAPStone (lyrics) 4117821 https://padlet.com/4117821/ilngftegwvoo45bi/wish/2570874780 "Breathe" by Lee Hi is a very interesting song with intricate meaning and background. Although the singer is Lee Hi, there is another person behind the scenes: Kim Jonghyun. Like Lee Hi, he was a famous singer and had a hard time breathing from stress and pressure. Jonghyun wrote the song for and with Lee Hi, but in the end, Lee Hi was the only one who sung it because Jonghyun committed suicide before they could release it (Lee). In this song, both Jonghyun and Lee Hi are singing for themselves to keep on breathing and not give up.

From the video, the speaker is Lee Hi herself. She is singing in the video and is talking to the people in the video: the sky (Jonghyun), herself, and various scenes of people ranging from a businessman to a construction worker being lost in their thoughts with an emotionless face and an empty heart. 

For Lee Hi, the occasion was her experience of her breathing disorder and wanting to write about it. She said in an interview, "Back then, I found it hard to breathe at times... I wanted to sing a song that helped people breathe and to comfort them" (Soompi). ‘Them’ being herself in this case. She then met with Jonghyun to write and produce the song together. However, for Jonghyun, we find out later after his suicide that the occasion for writing the song was because he himself, was struggling with wanting to breathe and wanting to end it all. 

In her interview, Lee Hi said that she sang the song to “help people breathe and to comfort them” (Soompi), but the audiences are not only people struggling to breathe because of stress, but also the writer and singer themselves. The main audiences, of this song, are Lee Hi and Jonghyun themselves. They wrote this song to cope with stress and to breathe during difficult times.

The purpose, as she said herself, was to help and comfort people to breathe, including herself and Jonghyun. Which leads us the subject: breathe - don't give up on yourself.]]> 2023-04-27 19:50:50 UTC https://padlet.com/4117821/ilngftegwvoo45bi/wish/2570874780 Thesis for Analysis 4117821 https://padlet.com/4117821/ilngftegwvoo45bi/wish/2571067198 Throughout the lyrics of "Breathe," Lee Hi uses the appeals pathos and logos, and in her music video, she uses pathos and ethos to comfort people who are having a hard time breathing through stressful situations. She is not only talking to people who are having a hard time, but also to herself and her friend who has passed on: Jonghyun. Lee Hi effectively comforts her audiences through the uses of these appeals by simply embracing honest and kind words into her song. ]]> 2023-04-28 00:36:57 UTC https://padlet.com/4117821/ilngftegwvoo45bi/wish/2571067198 4117821 https://padlet.com/4117821/ilngftegwvoo45bi/wish/2571082280 Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iSlfF8TQ9k
Lyrics link: https://colorcodedlyrics.com/2016/03/09/lee-hi-ihai-breathe-hansum/ ]]> 2023-04-28 00:51:02 UTC https://padlet.com/4117821/ilngftegwvoo45bi/wish/2571082280 Works Cited 4117821 https://padlet.com/4117821/ilngftegwvoo45bi/wish/2571801976 "Breathe." Youtube, uploaded by Lee Hi, 8 Mar. 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iSlfF8TQ9k

Dragonshine. “Lee Hi (이하이) - Breathe (한숨) Lyrics ": Color Coded Lyrics, CCL, 3 Aug. 2020, https://colorcodedlyrics.com/2016/03/09/lee-hi-ihai-breathe-hansum/. 

glee26. “Watch: Lee Hi Tearfully Performs ‘Breathe’ and Shares Truth behind the Song.” Soompi, Soompi, 20 Aug. 2017, https://www.soompi.com/article/1030393wpp/watch-lee-hi-sheds-tears-performing-breathe-sharing-truth-behind-song. 

“K-Song Review: Breathe by Lee Hi.” Hallyuism, Hallyuism, 4 Jan. 2023, https://hallyuism.com/2023/01/04/k-song-review-breathe-by-lee-hi/. 

Lee, Sofia. “Lee Hi Opens up about Late Jonghyun's Passing and How It Affected the Song He Wrote for Her.” Koreaboo, Koreaboo, 24 July 2020, https://www.koreaboo.com/news/lee-hi-jonghyun-passing-song-breathe/.

Marksberry, Kellie. “Take a Deep Breath.” The American Institute of Stress, The American Institute of Stress, 4 Jan. 2017, https://www.stress.org/take-a-deep-breath#:~:text=Deep%20breathing%20increases%20the%20supply,head%20and%20quiets%20your%20mind. 
]]> 2023-04-28 13:29:21 UTC https://padlet.com/4117821/ilngftegwvoo45bi/wish/2571801976 Lyrics Analysis - Pathos 4117821 https://padlet.com/4117821/ilngftegwvoo45bi/wish/2572043843 Because "Breathe" touches on the very daunting subject of suicide, the lyrics contained many emotional appeals. Beginning at the second verse, Lee Hi tells her audiences that "It's alright to run out of breath/No one will blame you." Hearing this makes the audience feel relieved to know that they are not the only one going through the hardship, and that no one will blame them for having a hard time (Hallyuism). Not only that, she goes on to say that "It’s okay to make mistakes sometimes/Because anyone can do so." She doesn't stop here though, she continues to appeal to her audience's emotions by saying "Though I can't understand your breath/It's alright, I'll hold you." This immediately gives the audiences feelings of comfort and relief. Lee Hi is honest about the fact that she can't fully understand them, as everyone goes through difference pains, but she will still accept and hold them as they are.]]> 2023-04-28 16:54:35 UTC https://padlet.com/4117821/ilngftegwvoo45bi/wish/2572043843 Lyrics Analysis - Logos 4117821 https://padlet.com/4117821/ilngftegwvoo45bi/wish/2572044110 Lee Hi used simple yet honest words as a form of logos to comfort her audiences and get her message across in the lyrics of "Breathe." Lee Hi immediately used logos to say what is true and begins her song with "Take a deep breath." This is a form of logos, because deep breathing is a famously known relaxation technique that helps reduce stress and anxiety. Here, she is telling her audience to do something that is proven by the American Institute of Stress to help with stress and breathing (Marksberry). She later tells her audience in the second verse that "It’s okay to make mistakes sometimes/Because anyone can do so." Lee Hi is stating the obvious fact here that everyone makes mistakes. Some individuals may be perfectionists, and these words just hit right in the heart, making them be kinder on themselves. In the song "Breathe," Lee Hi mainly appealed to her audiences through logos by her honest words.]]> 2023-04-28 16:54:51 UTC https://padlet.com/4117821/ilngftegwvoo45bi/wish/2572044110 Video Analysis - Pathos 4117821 https://padlet.com/4117821/ilngftegwvoo45bi/wish/2572044679 Lee Hi invokes emotions of sadness, loss, hope and comfort as she shows her audiences various scenes of people ranging from business men/women, to construction workers struggling with their own problems and stress. ]]> 2023-04-28 16:55:21 UTC https://padlet.com/4117821/ilngftegwvoo45bi/wish/2572044679 Video Analysis - Ethos 4117821 https://padlet.com/4117821/ilngftegwvoo45bi/wish/2572044891 Lee Hi uses ethos to show her credibility in the message that she is trying to get across to her audiences by visually showing that she understands them, and that she too, has been through those stressful situations. ]]> 2023-04-28 16:55:32 UTC https://padlet.com/4117821/ilngftegwvoo45bi/wish/2572044891 Conclusion 4117821 https://padlet.com/4117821/ilngftegwvoo45bi/wish/2574077825 Lee Hi mainly used pathos and logos in the lyrics of "Breathe" to get her message across to her audiences. In her music video, she continued to further appeal to her audiences' emotions through pathos and shows her credibility through ethos. By simply applying honest and kind words into her song, Lee Hi effectively comforts her audiences through the uses of these appeals.]]> 2023-05-01 18:27:19 UTC https://padlet.com/4117821/ilngftegwvoo45bi/wish/2574077825