(Clockwise) Silica Gel, Lucy, Touched, YUDABINBAND, Jannabi, Crying Nut, Band Nah Photos: Taemin Ha/Magic Strawberry Sound; MYSTIC STORY; MPMG MUSIC; MPMG MUSIC; PEPONI MUSIC; courtesy of the artist; JanuarySouth Korea has a rich history with rock that dates back to the 1950s, and its deep and varied rock scene shouldn't be ignored. If you’re new to Korean rock, read on for 10 established and up-and-coming bands to add to your playlist.
Given K-pop’s global reach and explosive popularity in recent years, you’d be forgiven if you thought that girl groups and boy bands were the totality of South Korean popular music. But just like the U.S. (and many other countries), Korea boasts a plethora of music genres that are widely enjoyed — including rock.
South Korea has a rich history with rock that dates back to the 1950s, when American military bases throughout the country played Western music on the radio and invited local musicians like Shin Joong-hyun — known as the "Godfather of Korean Rock"—to perform for them. Shin founded many rock bands, including Add4 (one of Korea’s first rock bands) and produced psychedelic hits for artists like Pearl Sisters, Kim Choo-ja and Kim Jung-mi.
Countless Korean rock bands appeared between the mid-1960s and 1980s, with a few of the most notable ones being He6, Sanullim, Deulgukhwa, Songgolmae and Boohwal. The mid to late ‘90s saw the emergence of an indie rock scene in Korea, thanks to pioneering groups like Crying Nut, No Brain, Pippi Band, Deli Spice and others. Later bands like Kiha & the Faces, Nell and Hyukoh helped keep K-indie rock alive through the 2000s and 2010s, and are now some of the most respected and renowned artists in Korean music history.
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It’d probably be impossible to overstate the impact of these living legends on Korean rock. Crying Nut helped establish Korea’s indie music scene in the mid 1990s and are one of the founding fathers of Korean punk (known as "Joseon punk").
In 1996 they and fellow K-indie pioneers Yellow Kitchen jointly released Our Nation Vol. 1 — Korea’s first indie rock album. Two years later, Crying Nut's came out with their self-titled full-length album, which contained their smash hit "Speed Up Losers." The album sold over 100,000 copies and became the first successful album by a Korean indie act.
Their stunning achievement proved that an artist didn’t need to be signed to a major label to make it big and paved the way for other Korean artists to put out independent records, thereby further fostering the growth of Korea’s indie scene.
In the decades since their formation in 1993, Crying Nut — whose members include Park Yoon-sik (vocals, guitar), Lee Sang-hyuk (drums), Han Kyung-rok (bass), Kim In-soo (accordion, keyboard) and Lee Sang-myun (guitar) — have performed in numerous countries; they have performed at SXSW twice and headlined Lincoln Center’s K-indie Music Night last year.
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By Regina Kim
Featured Artist : Crying Nut