Jisan Vally Rock Festival: Camping, Facilities Help

Here's the question:

My friends and I are going to the Jisan Valley Rock Festival this weekend, and we're planning on camping. I was wondering if you knew anything about camping in Korea.

First, we don't have any camping gear yet and are planning to try to get some used. Do you have any ideas of websites like Craigslist where one can find used items in Korea? Also, do you have any guess what the campground might be like--do you think there will be showers, etc...?

Sounds like fun and I hope to read good reviews about the festival. As many people know, this upcoming weekend is the Jisan and Pentaport Rock festivals. I'm hoping that both of them are a huge success because Korea really needs to be a stop for some non-megastar acts.

Since this is Jisan's first festival and from being a music festival addict in my younger days in the US...



...I have a feeling that there will be some problems at Jisan. I hope they're not too big and, as the questioner is doing, making sure you know what to expect (including weather) is crucial.

Camping in Korea is not backcountry in the least. Sure, there are a few mountain trails on the peninsula that allow such camping, but for the most part, you're going to be setting up tents right next to someone else. I have not been to Jisan yet, so I have no personal knowledge of the area. You might have plenty of room.

I pulled this from the festival website:

The festival provides many fields for camping, you can pitch your tent that most interest you in campsite. But please only take up the area that you need. If you have to bring a gazebo, please be considerate to your fellow campers and bear in mind that camping space is limited. If you take up more than your share there will be no space left for late-comers.

Camping tickets are KRW10,000 per person and only 2 day and 3 day ticket holders are able to purchase them. You may need to decide whether you'll need a camping ticket before buying festival tickets. Please purchase this along with your festival tickets, as they are limited in number and non transferable. Camping tickets can only be booked by telephoning our ticket sales line on 02-3444-9969(+82 2 3444 9969)

Camping fields are patrolled by security teams. However, if you are worried about something being stolen, don't keep it in your tent. We recommend all participants not to bring any valuables. Please note that cooking is strictly prohibited and bottled or canned beverages are not allowed to bring in from outside of festival site.

I assume you read that already and have booked camping tickets. As far as showers go, I have found no information on that, but I would imagine that since Koreans typically aren't that fond of roughing it, there will be bathing facilities. They have them on every street corner, so why not there? If there isn't a shower, I'm certain there will be running water for to brush your teeth, so washing up there will be fine. They do have a nearby stream though just in case.



As you said, you do not have tents, so you gotta buy one. The festival provided rental tents, but they should have been reserved by the 15th of July. It'll be too late for you on that front, so you'll need to find them online.

You can check all the big forums like Daves, Facebook, Worknplay, Club4teacher, Youloveit, The Yeogiyo. And if they don't yield anything, I would hunt around Dongdaemun or give in, pay a little more and go to Costco.

So to all festival-goers this weekend, have a great time, drink plenty of water (and beer) and stay dry. And in case there are any K-Bloggers going, please make sure you post plenty of pics, write-up a little review and help make Korea a location for international acts to drop by regularly.

***Update 7/28/2009: I've been loooking for reviews of the show, but have had limited sucess. A commentor on this post also writes a blog and wrote a little description. She seemed to have liked it, but (and I'm not being an ass) she's relatively new to Korea, so that excitement might interfer with her objectivety. Regardless, I'm happy to have her input.

Western Music Festivals in South Korea this Summer

Here's the question:

I missed the DJ fest earlier this month. I didn't even know it was going on actually. Are there any other Western rock or dj festivals this summer? Is there a festival guide?

"Some Dude"

With the apparent success of the 3rd Seoul World DJ Festival, I figured I would be getting a few questions about upcoming festivals. And just as the questioner said, missing shows and festivals is all too common since there is very little public advertisement for any non K-pop musical acts or event. I'm a little surprised that you missed the DJ Fest. They aggressively promoted the event on facebook, myspace, twitter, naver, cyworld and just about every other major social networking site. They even emailed me and asked if ESL Teachers in Korea could "host" the event. They had it right and maybe some other ad teams will take a few cues.

There are two western-ish music festivals coming up this summer. There's the Jisan Valley Rock Festival in late July.



I was surprised to see they had attracted some relatively well-known western acts. And of course, there's the Pentaport Rock Festival.



Notice anything? The powers that be decided that since Korea has so many international rock festivals, it would be okay to hold two on the same weekend. The reason for this is just as I've said before, Japan's Fuji Rock Festival, which attracts tons of major acts, is held the same weekend and Korea tries to take advantage of the musical presence in the region. All of the big names playing at Jisan and Pentaport are also playing at Fuji. I would suggest taking a long weekend and cruise over to Japan for their fest. It looks excellent.

Honestly, Korea isn't a festival destination yet. There are issues with pay, location, venue, turnout and organization that have yet to be sorted out or understood here, so until then, you must make-do with the local acts and dive bar bands.

For a more comprehensive list of good resources, check this out.

If anybody has any questions, just send me an email at asktheexpat@yahoo.com or leave a comment.

Concerts, Shows and Live Music in Korea

Click here for a complete list of resources for music on the Korean peninsula.

Here's the question:

Hey, ive been in korea for 2 months now and havent been able to find a website that lists concerts in the country. Do you know any good links?

Excellent question and one that I was very frustrated with when I first arrived. Most of your favorite bands who happen to be doing an Asian tour will likely skip over Korea or will play at odd times. I remember when Prodigy came here a couple years ago and their set time was supposed to begin at 3pm on Thursday. It's unfortunate, but the market is just not big enough to attract most musicians. The music scene in Korea is awashed with very carefully manufactured pop music, so easy access to online resources and concert posters for everything else is something that is a little harder to come across. However, there are a few solid resources.

Depending on your musical preferences, there should be something out there for you. For instance 02 Pro lists big names of DJs coming to Seoul. The artists will more than likely be playing at popular clubs in the area, so you can always visit their websites as well. However, if you're looking to see some live tunes or are in search of a more diverse array of music, you'll probably need to head to Hongdae. There, you can find the occasional concert poster or some sort of flier detailing venue, time and artist info.

You can also check out Broke In Korea for "punk, ska, oi and other underground music".

I like to use Korea Gig Guide for the most part though. It's easily the best Korean gig site because it not only lists international acts, but it also lists good expat bands and non-K-pop Korean bands. There's also of forum (although a little weak) and map of venue locations in Hongdae for your convenience.



Most of the shows listed on the site are in Hongdae and quite a few genres are represented. You'll find punk, rock, metal, hip-hop, trance and house. For the most part, however, you will not find many jambands making the trip to Korea. I mention that because it happens to be my preference, but every time I check Jambase, it yields nothing for Korea. As frustrating as it might be, Japan seems to attract loads of bands, so for the really dedicated followers, a trip to Japan might be worth it. And honestly, Asia just isn't a big destination for Western acts, so if you're a dedicated music fan, be prepared to try some new sounds or get ready for a big break from live music.

I should mention that Korea does have a couple annual events that always attract Western acts. The World DJ Festival in Nanji-do, Seoul takes place every year in early May. This is a great show because it's an all-weekend thing and there is camping at Nanji campgrounds. Click here, here, here, here and here for some videos.

The other major Western music festival is The Pentaport Rock Festival (Wiki here) in Incheon. The original aim of the festival was to attract major names that had just finished playing at the extremely popular Fuji Rock Festival to Korea, but have had limited success.(My favorite band, Umphrey's Mcgee, played in 2006 and Disco Biscuits are playing this year.) In fact, each year produces less and less quality international artists. 2009's lineup has not be released yet, but I'm not expecting much. Still, it's a big festival, a lot of fun and some people really love it.

While Korea might seem like a black hole for international acts, it's not. There have been some major acts perform here (Eric Clapton, Oasis, Beyonce, Jay Z, etc...), but in the end, it's a country where there are very little counter-culture elements and yet they still manage to have a full line-up of relatively unknown bands and musicians headlining every night. It might take a little while to get adjusted, but there's never a shortage of tunes to be heard.

And plus, Korea has Jung Sungha. He's amazing and has over 53,000,000 views on youtube. That's pretty good for an 11 year old.

If anybody has any questions, just send me an email at asktheexpat@yahoo.com or leave a comment.