Korean Punk and Hardcore

Hello All :D

I had quite an eventul weekend in Hongdae. Hongdae is short for 'Hongik University' and the area that surrounds it. This part of Seoul is famous for bars, music venues, live performance art, clubs and lots lots more.


Tonight I went to a hardcore punk show that was the album release party for a band called 13 Steps. It was great cause I could talk to Koreans about hardcore and I even met the guys from the Korean Straight Edge band, The Geeks. I talked to the lead singer, Ki, for quite a while about the Straight Edge (drug/alcohol free) lifestyle from a comparative American perspective, and he told me about how he learned English so that he could understand the hardcore lyrics he loved from American bands. After the show I followed everyone from the venue to get Korean barbecue. A great time and good allies/friends to have while I'm in Korea.

Look at the girl on the left, I love it cause here the girls are right there in the pit and sing-a-longs with the guys, there were no fights, and the only problems were when some drunk US servicemen stumbled in and got in the way of the kids dancing. They took care of it in hardcore fashion and ganged up to clear them out of the pit. xStrength in numbers x .


~Rant Warning~ Notice: American military men and sketchy English teachers in Korea: YOU EMBARASS ME 1. Get a life 2. respect yourself 3. Respect your country and represent it well 4. Respect this country we divided and exploited in the name of Empire

I also stopped in Seodaemun-gu which holds the Prison History Museum that serves as a reminder of the Japanese Colonial Period in Korea. Below is the monument to those who took part in the March First 1919 Anti-Japanese Movement. I will be studying museums and monuments like this for my senior thesis.

sXe

This Friday was the 100th of a monthly event called 'Club Day.' The last Friday of every month, the clubs in Hongdae have a special night where you can pay one fee and get in to many clubs all around the neighborhood. As part of that event I went to a ska show (complete with carefree lyrics in Korean and skanking Korean kids all over). It was a great time!

Some anti-Japanese graffitti in Hongdae. ***I remain neutral towards the statements on the wall but I do study the Japanese colonial period in Korea, so I totally understand why this type of graffitti exists and 'it is very interesting to me' (as Raighne Mitchell-Luft would say).

The walkway in front of the entrance to my dorm. Really nice balcony that's on my floor.

I start classes on Wednesday, one of which is my intensive Korean course, which is 2 hours per day, M-F. If I don't learn the language after THAT for a year, I don't know what will work.

:D

Love and Miss You All,

James