Korean Job Discussion Forums

[RoyBatty]

I'm a musician who will be teaching in Seoul for the next year along with my good buddy and band mate. We're hoping to make a splash in the Seoul music scene, but we know little about it.

Have any of you explored the music scene in Seoul? How are the venues? Are there any specific ones that I should know about? Is there a specific part of Seoul that attracts more of an artsy, dare-I-say "hipster" crowd?

How about the current crop of bands that are playing around Seoul? I know it's a big city, so there must be a good amount of talent out there. Any kind of music that is notably dominating the scene?

Are any of you musicians who have been gigging around the city? How's the pay? How hard/easy is it to get shows?

Since I'll be on an F-4 visa, I'm hoping that being paid for shows and potentially making a career out of music isn't too lofty of a goal. I'm also hoping that a dynamic duo consisting of a half Korean and a white guy will stand out amongst the Korean bands, and hopefully give us some kind of edge.

Thoughts? Experiences? Please share!

[Marley_Doug]

plenty of places to play...like my place in Bucheon...it's on line 1...I'm looking for people to play on the weekend or week if you want. If you are new to the scene, we can talk about pay in person. Come check out the bar this weekend...we got 3 bands playing on saturday for out grand opening party. Check threads on the forum, something like new expat bar in bucheon, or Rhythm and Booze Opening Party.

or pm me for more info.

[RoyBatty]

Great Marley, I'll definitely be keeping in touch.

But seriously, nobody else has anything to say on this matter? No local music fans in Seoul?

[milspecs]

when I was in SK last year, the Hongdae area had a lot of bands/musicians playing out in the streets.

Hongdae has the hipster vibe somewhat

[ernie]

it's pretty easy to get shows in seoul, especially in the hongdae area, but it definitely helps to know someone... if you're thinking 'how much will i get paid?', it sounds like you're better off playing covers 4 nights a week in itaewon instead of playing in hongdae... do you really play music for the money? private lessons are much cheaper and easier here...

one thing i don't like about seoul is that the crowd is really standoffish ('look at ME, i live in SEOUL') unless they think you're 'the next big thing'... it's not really a party scene in the korean music clubs, probably because it's 'not korean culture' to drink while listening to music, so most of the logic of a bar owner having musical acts to attract patrons who will buy alcohol is lost...

koreans REALLY seem to like: 1. dancing hip-hop rap metal 'teams', or 2. sensitive acoustic guitar-driven pop... busan is the place to go for energetic rock crowds!

feel free to pm me for more info!

[Ukon]

I came across an active site for music and artists in seoul called seoulsounds....

[RoyBatty]

Cool, thanks for the info guys. I don't play music for the sole purpose of making money, but if I could get to the level of being a professional artist, well that would be my life dream. The music my friend and I are making is *very* danceable, but definitely not hip-hop or metal. More like electro indie experimental dance pop stuff. I'm thinking it should fly over well in Seoul. The plan is to bust our asses promoting and playing as many shows as possible and see where that takes us.

[Ukon]

[sibidi]

For a city of this size the live music scene in Seoul is comparatively lame. There are some good bands though (both Korean and expat) and little by little the scene is improving. Check out http://Koreagigguide.com.

One thing I noticed though is that expat bands tend to help each other out more that the K-bands. Korean bands see playing live more as a competition and tend to be tighter with the club managers than with each other. (I'm speaking here in general.)

It's not that hard to get gigs in Hongdae, which is a university area in Seoul. You can drop by any live club and drop off a demo. Some places might ask you to audition.

When you do play, the pay depends on how many people you can bring through the door. Sometimes you won't get paid at all. Most places offer free drinks though for the bands.

[swigs]

[bloodorange]

here's mine:


www.myspace.com/just604

[RoyBatty]

@bloodorange: Very nice myspace profile. Your songs sound very well produced and you have nice song writing and singing talent. Do you produce / write your own songs?

Have you been playing shows in SK? Maybe we should talk about putting on a show together?

@Ukon: I'd love to send you some of our songs. I'll do so as soon as I'm finally happy with the mixes.

Our myspace is still in the works, and I'm putting the finishing touches on production for our songs (ever try writing and producing electro-pop songs on your own? It's a *lot* of work. Almost makes me wish I were in a full band again).

I'll post a link to the myspace shortly.

The influences of our sound are bands like Muse, Gorillaz, LCD Soundsystem, Justice, Ratatat, Franz Ferdinand, Radiohead. We're still developing our own sound, and of course we listen to a lot of other things, but for this project, we're trying to keep things energetic, dancey, poppy, and fun!

While we're talking about music, I'd love to see more myspace / music pages for other Korean bands that you guys like, or that you may be in. Post them, people! Let's see what the Korean music scene has to offer!

[fruitcake]

www.myspace.com/thefunkups

(now defunked)

[SirFink]

[ardis]

Hongdae is your best shot. There are about a dozen music clubs that cater towards underground punk/rock. Some of the shows are quite fun, but I'm more of the indie folk pop persuasion, myself.