Korean Job Discussion Forums

[declan]

Well I just seen this article in the English version of the Chosun ilbo newspaper..

It just accounts some of the things that famous musicians and the like did while in Korea.... ranging from Ozzy Osbourne spending 5 milllion won in Itaewon on counter feit items, Eric Clapton buying 3 pairs of socks for 10,000 won and getting one free from an ajussi around Gangnam..and the (disbanded) band Pantera spending the whole night before their gig here gambling and boozing in the casino...

Does anyone here have any stories about seeing or meeting the famous in Korea??

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200703/200703220013.html



Smashing Hotel Rooms? What Visiting Stars Do in Korea

A bevy of international music stars will come to Korea for concerts this year. They will make a deep impression on numerous Korean fans with their performance, but what impression will the stars come away with? The Chosun Ilbo asked sources in the performance industry for a glimpse of the life some famous musicians enjoyed during their visit to Korea.
Can�t live without booze


Many (mostly Rock) musicians proved that they couldn�t live without alcohol by spending every spare minute here drinking. The now-disbanded heavy metal group Pantera would have won the competition for the hardest visiting drinkers. The group enjoyed themselves at the Walkerhill Hotel casino all night on the night before their gig, drinking two or three 500 ml bottles of liquor a head. After getting a bit of sleep at the hotel, they gave the planned concert, with the help of more liquor stored in 10 beer glasses at the corner of the stage.

The British singer Sting kept a low profile by enjoying some wine privately in his hotel room, but he spent as much as W4 million (US$1=W938) on meals and wine during his four-day stay. Of course, he paid for it himself. Another heavy metal group, Rage Against the Machine, spent W2.5 million on wine here.

Counter-intuitively, according to a staffer with event organizers Access Entertainment, Metallica, who have been nicknamed �Alcohollica� for their dedication to booze, did not touch a drop during either of their two Korea visits.

Shopaholics


Sharon Osbourne, the wife of Ozzy Osbourne, showed what a shopaholic is like during their Seoul visit. She bought knockoff bags and watches worth some W5 million in Itaewon, the well-kwon pirate brand district in Seoul. Craig David brought home a Korean-made MP3 player he bought at the TechnoMart shopping center and about a dozen antiques including paintings and stone statues from Insa-dong. A staffer with Private Curve said many pop and jazz musicians like to look around Insa-dong and buy antiques to take home.


Out walking

When British rock group Oasis visited, they encountered some young fans of the Korean boy band TVXQ in front of the group�s agency SM Entertainment in Apgujeong, Seoul. Some of them recognized the world famous group and followed them. Some 10 minutes later, Noel Gallagher asked them why they kept following and gave them his autograph to send them away.


Limp Bizkit singer Fred Durst also spent some time in Korea walking around Apgujeong. He ran into a cable music TV crew team who were doing street interviews and, feeling a sudden urge for fun, shouted in front of camera, �I, Limp Bizkit, have come to Korea.� Failing to recognize him, a reporter was dumbfounded, and Durst, now also confused, went on his way. But a producer recognized him belatedly and drove after him, succeeding in landing an interview.

When Eric Clapton was in the country for his first concert here a decade ago, he bought three pairs of socks for W10,000 from a street vendor while strolling around the busy streets of Seoul�s Gangnam. The elderly vendor threw in another pair for free saying, �You have grown old gracefully.� Clapton thanked him and left.

Fights



When Boyz II Men came to Korea in 2005 to give a joint performance with Korean girl band Big Mama, they got into a fight over music. It was resolved magically by getting them to play poker for US$1 stakes. Smashing Pumpkins was so notorious for discord between members that they sat separately on the plane and had separate meals in Seoul. A source from event planners Yellow Nine said members also went to separate bars after their concert.


Cleanliness


All bad boys the Prodigy really wanted in Korea was a sauna. When they came here in 1999 for the Triport Rock Festival in Incheon, their performance was canceled due to heavy rain. The group�s manager called the festival organizers and asked to change the hotel because the place where the Big Beats combo were staying would not allow them into the sauna because of their tattoos. The firm had to decline, saying no hotels would tolerate body art of such dimensions.

The Hip-Hop group Black Eyed Peas, who attended the Pentaport Rock Festival in Incheon last year, were unwilling to wear their expensive shoes costing W2-3 million on the muddy stage, so they bought Wellington�s boots worth W4,000 on the spot and performed in them instead.

[RACETRAITOR]

Ask me in a week, after the Slackers come through.

[crazy_arcade]

I like how they said "a bevy of international acts will come to Korea this year" However, is you look at pollstar, there are no international acts coming to Korea. Furthermore, the article listed all the major acts that have come to Korea in the last 10 years....it can be counted on your fingers.....

[pkang0202]

[Sister Ray]

I saw The Scorpions at a bar in Busan in ~2001 when they were there for rockfest.

I was fresh off the boat and suitably impressed.

[HapKi]

[gsxr750r]

[Smee]

[Benicio]

[Mashimaro]

[RACETRAITOR]

I've always noticed that bands tend to travel to Korea when they're washed up, like Hanson a few years ago or Avril. But the underground music scene is in much better shape, whether or not you think NoFX are has-beens.

[jinju]

[crazy_arcade]

[RACETRAITOR]

[crazy_arcade]

Some pretty washed-up acts come through Korea but I don't think that can be said of Avril. She was near her peak when she came here and she's still considered a big act.

Marilyn Manson was here when he was still in the charts. A high school student I used to tutor went and saw him. His mother went and watched the show with him....he said she enjoyed it.

Anyways, bands don't say "I want to play in Seoul, I want to play in Osaka, I want to play in Buenos Airies"

Promoters have to come to the bands and set it up. Seoul lacks said promoters.