Korean indie scene comes to rise with festivals

Korean indie bands refuse to be the minority

It is not so long ago when the Korean public began to recognize the different genres that exist in the Korean music scene. Indie music was one of them that has climbed up from underground to catch the public eye. The booming popularity of arts district Hongdae in the past decade has helped the indie music scene to have a solid ground for their growth and success.

As Hongdae became a platform for not a small number of indie bands to communicate with people and let their music known, the number of listeners for the genre kept increasing and that became apparent on different music charts as well. Some indie artists like 10cm and Jang Ki-ha and Faces are frequently seen on televised programs, both on music and variety shows.

But where people can witness the true indie spirit alive are of course outdoor festivals. Coming out of small concert halls in Hongdae, people are able to experience music head and ears in the open air.

For indie artists too, crowded and crazed atmosphere of festival is perfect to connect with the audience and shorten the gap between their understandings of music.

This is precisely what happened at the 2012 Green Groove Festival held in Daechon, South Korea, between July 21 and 22.

The indie time of 2012 Green Groove Festival

On July 21, a dominant number of 11 out of 14 groups in the festival's lineup were indie musicians. Based on their popularity, the 11 groups were divided into two segments: the sub-section ‘ Green Busker Stage’ and the main stage.

And there, at the main stage, Verbal Jint, 10cm and two other teams shared the large concert area with the Wonder Girls and Akon as representing Korean indie artists.

Hip-hop artist Verbal Jint [Lee Hye-ji/10Asia]

Verbal Jint is perhaps one of the longest living indie musicians who has witnessed the growth of the indie music scene here. When he debuted with the debut single “Big Brag” in 1999, his music was not appreciated widely and only the manias of the hip-hop genre were familiar with Verbal Jint and his style of music.

Over the course of ten to twelve years, his fate has changed and now his name is frequently spotted on many concert lineups and televised music shows. He even made his appearance on cable channel Mnet’s popular hip-hop survival program "Show Me the Money" on June 22.

Undauntedly, he has tried to communicate with people and pursue his own color of music. As a result, his recent works tend to blend trendy pop music with hip-hop. It is clear that his attempt to differentiate his music from K-pop and authentic rap music has put himself on the main stage.

His desire to communicate with a wide range of people stood out even more when he sang “You Look Good." Singing in front of some 25,000 people, Verbal Jint even made the foreigners, who are not used to the Korean language, sing along to the chorus. His catchy melody and lyrics have created a bond with the audience; perhaps a bigger one than what the mainstream K-pop has.

Acoustic band 10cm [Lee Hye-ji/10Asia]

The heated atmosphere went higher when acoustic band 10cm came up on the stage. 10cm is one of the most highly successful indie artists in the country. They have become more famous after appearing on MBC’s legendary variety show “Infinite Challenge.” Their songs feature funny and straightforward lyrics, which allow people to connect better than trendy K-pop lyrics and idol stars' synchronized moves.

It was not difficult to see people singing along to the whole song during their performance. Especially when the band played “Americano,” which shot them to stardom in 2010, the excitement reached its peak. The audience grooved to the catchy sound, and the ‘Main Stage’ turned like a Friday-night dance club for a while.

When 10cm ended their show, people rushed to the other side of the venue to see hip-hop duo Geeks on the ‘Green Busker Stage. ’ As the last acts of the section, Geeks declared to burn the night with passion. Although their music was a bit rough for many people to casually listen, people did not seem to care about the unfamiliar genre and got along with the duo’s heavy and powerful hip-hop sound. Their performance was impressive enough for people to remember the duo's name.

Indie spirit growing in Korea with various music festivals

With the easy distribution of music online, the sales figure of music records does not seem to be as promising as the 1990s.

However, that did not stop people from searching for their favorite songs and purchasing the content. They are now pioneering new ways to enjoy and show their appreciation to the artists through purchasing digital files, watching video clips online and going to festivals.

Every year a growing number of indie musicians from Korea and abroad get together for various music festivals.

The history of Korean indie festivals estalished its firm ground at the 2006 Pentaport Rock Festival. The PRF is making notable differences every year both in its size and quality.

In 2011, about 54,000 people joined the three-day event, which is three times bigger than the previous year's. At the 2012 PRF, which will be held in Incheon from August 10 to 12, over 70 artists will perform including Korea's legendary band Baekdoosan, Supersession, Scotland's Snow Patrol and English rock band Manic Street Preachers.

On August 15, the first-ever SUPER!SONIC Korea is scheduled to kick off. Originating from the Japanese rock fest Summer Sonic, foreign rock bands as well as Korean indie artists are slated to perform at the two-day fest. The lineup includes Smashing Pumpkins, New Order, Foster the People and Korean indie band Jang Ki-ha and Faces.

Among several big outdoor summer fests, Jisan Rock Valley Festival is undeniably the biggest one as it invites around a whopping number of 90,000 people annually.

This year, the JRVF brought in a record breaking number of 101,000 people to Icheon, Gyeonggi Province. Into the fourth edition, the fest invited over 80 teams including big name overseas artists such as Radiohead, James Blake and the Stone Roses, during the three-day run since July 27.

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10 아시아 Reporter : Lee Tae-ho myenclaves@
10 아시아 Editor : Monica Suk monicasuk@