Korean Punk Rock

-It’s not very hard to find Western influences in Asia. But, Korean punk rock? Come on now. At first, it was so strange to me to find such an extreme Western idea in a solid Eastern environment. Two worlds colliding.

This article contributed a lot to my research, and shed some light on the obscurity of the Korean punk rock genre. I don't want to give away too much because I'm presenting on this topic tomorrow. But here's a discussion for the class to think about:

1.What are your thoughts/impressions about the genre of Korean punk rock?

2.Do you think this is a successful genre/would be well-received internationally?

Scratch Paper Thoughts on Korean Punk Rock

By Gena Yoon (SkunkLabel.com)

Though Korean punk rock rose as late as the nineties, it is surely a sign of the times.

"Oi Oi Oi! Oi Oi Oi!" The singer grabs the mike pounding his fist in the air, as the audience follows suit chanting to the chaotic music. The bass player’s five-foot high mohawk shakes to the noise of the drummer kicking in his crappy drums with his steel toed shoes.

No, I’m not at a Rancid show or watching a Clash cover band. Local pub with some sh-tty punk rock band? Nope, I’m in Seoul. I’m in some god-awful basement the size of my closet, moshing to music blasting through a static-ridden sound system.

It’s not very hard to find Western influences in Asia. I can walk into any household in Korea and easily find forks and spoons replacing chopsticks, bed replacing pallets on the floor, and even rare instances bread replacing rice.

But, Korean punk rock? Come on now. At first, it was so strange to me to find such an extreme Western idea in a solid Eastern environment. Two worlds colliding. Sort of like the Flinstones meet the Jetsons.

Granted, Japanese punk rock has been around for quite a while. Japan is known for their potpourri of extreme subcultures and Japanese punk rock (as well as anything else Japanese, it seems) has been a novelty in America for quite a while. Japanese punk has even found its way into successful punk rock labels, such as Fat Wreckords.

Let’s digress for a bit. One of my favorite shows is Star Trek: The Next Generation. Besides the fact Data is hot (yeah, I said, it…HOT!), I love how the show makes social commentaries by conceptually setting contemporary social issues into imaginary scenarios. For example, there’s an episode about an alien race with one gender. As it turns out, one of the alien citizens had a tendency towards the female gender. Her people ostracized her as unnatural and perverted, immediately outcasted her. Obviously, the episode was addressing the issue of homosexuality. However, isolating of this alternative lifestyle, stripping it naked and dressing it up into a totally different outfit, the issue can be perceived with a more clear-cut and unbiased eye.

Punk rock, stripped naked and dressed into a hanbok (Korean traditional-style dress), has sharpened its character into more clear cut lines. In mainstream pop culture (American, Korean, or Japanese), punk rock has easily become a type of fashion, rather than a lifestyle or life philosophy. I absolutely adore punk rock. However, let’s face it, you don’t have to be a virtuoso to learn to play it. There’s obviously a driving force behind the music that allows punk rock to thrive in countries all over the world—something beyond fashion and beyond popularity.

Let’s take the case of Korea. The last couple decades have been a whirlwind for good ol’ ROK: nuclear IMF debt crisis, accelerated economic prosperity, the internet phenomenon, presidential impeachment, and much more. Despite Korea’s instability, in my opinion, these have to be exhilarating times for Korean citizens. Think about it: They’re living history, they’re witnessing change, they’re living it all. It’s a time where anything seems possible, a place where the most insignificant gestures become great movements.

So then, like mold in a dark, damp room, punk rock grew in Korea during the 1990s. In a country recovering from a major civil war, decades of colonization, dependency on major powers, conforming Confucianism, Korea is finally taking its stand. The very existence of punk rock is proof that this is true. Of course, Korean punk rock is no exception to marketing,
mainstream pop culture and/or “selling out” (whatever the f-ck that really means). But, you can’t miss the few and bold who keep the music alive. Rebellion! Freedom! Independence! Passion!

If you want a proper introduction to Korean punk, check out We Are the Punx in Korea compilation album at: www.koreanpunk.tk which includes bands RUX, 18 Cruk, Captain Bois and many more!

“From August 2002, this compilation album was made by the bands in Korea. The purpose of this compilation is to rebuild our club…and further to expand our Korean punk scene. We want to let more people from the world to know more about the Korean local scene, produce good bands and passionate minded punks.

We do not want this album to be criticized by the quality of music or any other sphere. We just hope that at least some people can listen to this album and enjoy.”

Date Posted: 6/11/2004