Musicians from the Hongdae are of Seoul, representing independent bands, have apologized for the recent "naked exposure" incident on live television. It was at the same area that ten years ago there was a concert in remembrance of Kurt Cobain that signaled the all out start of independent bands. They were bands that did not want to be displayed in the showcase that is television. Their dream was to be independent from capital and from the media.
They wanted to make names for themselves through their music alone, and they were loved and appreciated by sophisticated music fans. Singers like Yun Do Hyeon and bands like Crying Nut, Jaurim, PpiPpi Band, and Cherry Filter acted like a tidal wave that overturned the popular music landscape. When the Korean Culture and Content Agency decided in 2003 to support bands producing independent labels with W10 million, it was taking those possibilities into consideration.
Right when independent bands were celebrating their first 10 years and preparing for the future, they have been struck by lightening. The band that exposed themselves on stage has led them to be criticized for being decadent. Seoul mayor Lee Myung Bak says he is going to maintain a blacklist of bands that engage in decadent performances and crack down on clubs that allow them to perform.
The band that dropped its pants on live television is only one of the roughly 580 that perform on stage in the Hongdae neighborhood. Most bands rely on their music, not their bodies. They should not all be condemned. Instead they need support so that they can produce new music without hurting the spirit of experimentation and independence. That will make it possible to reduce the effects of being locked "underground." In that sense, the incident on live television means the program it occurred on should have any problems fixed, instead of being canceled, because it is a channel through which independent bands are able to come out into view.
The Hankyoreh, 3 August 2005.
[Translations by Seoul Selection (PMS)]
[Editorial] Independent Bands Need Love and Concern |
