Punk rock continued

I have a few additional thoughts on the current state and future of Korean punk rock. I will refer to a few things from Epstein’s article and a few things that I forgot to mention during my presentation.

By all accounts that I have read, the punk scene in Korea has never stopped growing since its induction in the early 90’s. This is positive, encouraging news; while not everyone may be a fan of punk rock (and I suspect many may still be quite the opposite), a diverse music scene is an innovative and productive one. The sound will naturally evolve to fit the times and the discontent of the young, and growing fan bases will draw people from increasingly diverse backgrounds.

This makes the future of Korean punk delightfully uncertain. The two topics I want to discuss in a bit more detail are the gradual assimilation of punk into mainstream and the place of Korean punk in the global alternative scene.

The assimilation has many ramifications for the scene and society as a whole. For example, some of the classical punk fashions like dyed hair, unconventional piercings, screen printed t-shirts, etc. are losing their status as the trappings of punk lifestyle and increasingly appear among the laity. This is neither a good nor bad thing, simply an illustration of the fact that what can be called mainstream or underground is a moving target. However, punk music thrives by the fact that it defines itself as opposite the mainstream, so when bands like Crying Nut sell 60,000 records, a paradox of popularity is created. In the article Sandy posted last week, “Scratch Paper Thoughts on Korean Punk Rock,” this line appears:

“Of course, Korean punk rock is no exception to marketing, mainstream pop culture and/or “selling out” (whatever the f-ck that really means).”

The first half of the sentence is undeniable. I disagree with the last part of this, as selling out is a very real thing: it refers to the fact that as the growing popularity of the music attracts new fans, it often estranges old fans in the process. Success and popularity don’t necessarily distance musicians from their punk roots, but this is almost always the case. The Crying Nut example shows that the line between mainstream and underground can become blurry, which is problematic since the punk ideal can only thrive when among the discontent minority. If Korean punk follows a similar path as Western countries, a new punk will emerge from the rubble of what once stood for alternative.

The future of Korean punk, as I perceive it, is thus at a crossroads. It has clearly established itself well, as Korean youths have shown themselves to have abundant amounts of the requisite restlessness and individuality to carve out a niche for a punk scene. What will the music sound like in the future, and who will listen to it? To expand on 2 interesting quotes from Epstein:

“[The punk rock artists] have chosen to view their music first and foremost as a Korean version of the punk genre.”
“Korean youth proclaim that they maintain cultural identity while eagerly incorporating such foreign technology…”

It seems likely that in the future, Korean punk will become increasingly Korea-centric. I will cite historical precedent to support this prediction: Celtic punk, Viking metal, Folk metal, Oi punk, etc. In each case, what we see is a more general musical genre strongly absorbing and utilizing very local elements. The Irish punks sing about Irish issues such as the worker’s struggle; Viking metal constantly invokes the Norse gods and themes of warfare (and of course comes from Scandinavian countries). There is plenty of room for Koreans to carve their own, unique genre from the larger punk scene, and that is indeed what appears to be occurring. Korean punk will draw from common experience without becoming commonplace, and it will rock.