Target: Jacob VervilleI decided to make the choose-your-own-adventure story from Broke 9 available online for easy reading for those of you who don't have corporeal bodies. See if you can spot cameos of me and Tel.You are a cold-blooded assassin. An anonymous client just gave you a contract to travel to Seoul, South Korea to kill a man.
NAME: Jacob Verville You’ve never heard of this turkey before— all you know is he’s got to die. You arrive in Seoul on Friday and begin your work. Verville’s known hangout, Skunk Hell, is in a district known as Hongdae. You find out about a punk show happening on Saturday, where Verville is likely to appear. The perfect opportunity for a killing. Saturday rolls around, and you invest in a pair of steel-toed boots and a leather jacket so you’ll fit in. In the pockets you conceal a dagger, switchblade, syringe, and poison. Now to find Verville. When you arrive at 7pm, the alley in front of Skunk Hell is already filled with Korean and foreign punks with mohawks, shaved heads, leather jackets, and spikes. Standing in the midst of the crowd is a tall white guy with a bald head, glasses, and a Polish football scarf. It’s Verville alright. He kind of meets your eyes and gives you a welcoming look. It’s really not a good idea to talk to the target, but if you walk away now he might get suspicious. Will you go over to him?
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June 6 2009Mom, I don't want to go to Hell! Jung has got the videos up on Youtube for the opening party at Space Beam. I noted when they started playing that Verv was outside complaining, but then you can see him in some of these videos singing along. Did Mateo turn him into a heathen? Visit her profile and you can see videos from all four bands. Also, while we're at it, if you had a fun time at Space Beam, want to know about more that's happening there, or you're an artist and want to convince the City of Incheon to fund a project, you're free to join us at the Space Beam Facebook page. I know Facebook pages don't really change the world, but hopefully we'll put together a way to reach more people. |
June 6 2009 Mateo in Space Beam For the opening party of my photo exhibition, we had four bands play. There was a lot of forethought into where they should play, with me initially wanting the show inside and many other people preferring an outdoor show, either like last time or in the park nearby. We tried to compromise by having the bands set up right inside the front doorway, but after some noise complaints the equipment was brought inside. The first band to play was Mateo, who put on another amusing show. Never Daniel's not the most talented singer, but his energy and the band's excellent setlist make them a very enjoyable band.
June 6 2009 Pornotarium in Space Beam Next up was Pornotarium. Verv was really excited to play this show but Jason wasn't feeling in top shape, so they did a slightly shorter set. They really stirred up the crowd, particularly of course the musicians from the other bands. Verv stuck around after the show and listened in as a reporter interviewed me, adding his own opinions as well. Unfortunately the reporter didn't quote him, because he had some interesting things to say.
June 6 2009 Chadburger in Space Beam Third band was Chadburger, who played a predictably short set again. After the last time I saw them play, during which Tel dove off the bar at DGBD, tripped in midair over Never Daniel, and landed headfirst on the floor, I was worried this show would kill him. Especially with that tempting staircase up to nowhere. He went up the stairs but fortunately he didn't dive into the concrete. Though that would've made a very artistic pattern. Oddly, Chadburger arrived at Space Beam before I did, and Tel claimed they had no trouble whatsoever finding it. I'm not sure how they were able to pull that off without superpowers.
June 6 2009 Master Musik in Space Beam Ending the show by piercing everyone's eardrums and basically dismantling the setup was Master Musik. They're the kind of band you don't want to go on after, so they make a good choice for show ender. After they finished, everyone left for Seoul, except me, Jung, Verv, and Nik, who drank out back and talked about abandoned stuff. Then at 8 a reporter showed up to interview me for this article Next Saturday I'll be back in Space Beam, and I'm planning a trip over to an abandoned neighbourhood that Nik discovered a long time ago. If you want to come along, show up around 1pm. |
May 31 2009 Yogiga I went to the Yogiga show knowing there'd be people there who would probably come to my photo exhibition next week. I didn't see as much of the show as I'd planned, as I ran into Miru Kim (warning, possibly NSFW) and we talked about underground Seoul. Literally underground, not as in music. |
June 6 2009 Abandoned Places Photo Exhibition Come out to Incheon on June 6 for an afternoon show and a photo exhibition. There will be four great bands playing, and you can see my photos printed out and professional looking. Plus you can pick up a bilingual guide to urban exploration in Korea. It will be worth the trip. Space Beam is an art gallery inside an abandoned soy factory in an unusual part of Incheon. It was slated for demolition, but now the area is home to one of Korea's few art communities. |
May 16 2009 Chaos Class in DGBD There were a lot of great bands together in DGBD for the first Chaos Class show in forever. I only saw the first bands, Mateo, Chadburger, Paryumchiakdan, and Axcutor from Daegu. Too much to do that night. Mateo put on an even better show than last time, featuring a full-time backup singer and lots more of Never Daniel's antics. Chadburger were intense as ever, with Tel leaping off the stage numerous times and nearly killing several people in the audience. After one jump off the bar, Never Daniel attempted to catch him and he sort of catapulted himself headfirst into the floor. What a noise. Nik was looking at his phone momentarily and was startled by it. This was the first time I saw Paryumchiakdan, the new band of Sidney from MR27 featuring the lead singer of Invisible Man (who is neither a man nor invisible). Like Never Daniel and Tel before her, she took her act onto the floor where she could interact with the audience. Fortunately the lead singer of Axcutor didn't. He caused a lot of pain for the audience just by looking at him and his extensive facial piercings. Now there's a guy who must get some looks walking around Daegu.
And of course this was the release day of Broke in Korea #9, which I was handing out throughout the night. My favourite part of it is the choose your own adventure story I made in which you're an assassin sent to Skunk Hell to kill Verv. Featuring of course cameos from several of the punk scene regulars, including myself. |
May 10 2009 Space Beam This Sunday I headed to Incheon to visit Space Beam, the factory that was converted into an art gallery. If you follow my other site, you might know I'm going to have a photo exhibition here next month. We're going to have a few bands play, so it should be a good time. So far I've gotten a definite yes from Chadburger, and it sounds like Master Musik or one of Seungjun's many projects will be there. I'm also waiting to hear back from a couple other bands, so this should be a great daytime show. This one I just went to had taekwondo, traditional drums, high school bands, and Hongdae-grade bands. It was actually a lot more than I was expecting, and I'm looking forward to taking advantage of Space Beam's resources more in the future.
It seems like all this equipment comes straight from Seungjun's supply.
I've been hearing Stretching Journey's name a lot lately, but this was the first time I saw them. They played twice, but the first time was just a sound check. Kind of a bad first impression, but when they played the real time, they sounded great. They're kind of similar stylistically to Galaxy Express, although with completely different personalities. I would be surprised if they don't become very well known by the end of the year. I picked up a CD from them and it's probably the only CD I reviewed for the upcoming issue of Broke that I won't pan. Though it should be noted that Hellking reviewed Chadburger/Find the Spot.
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April 14 2009 Another report from Paul This time Paul didn't send a journal entry, but sent captions with his photos. All the captions in this gallery are written by him, not me. |
April 10 2009
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April 4 2009 Pornotarium I went to the Beards show at DGBD hoping to see Pornotarium at 12:30 and then get out of Hongdae. Unfortunately, when Verv went to get his vocalist Jason from Sangsu Station, he was so drunk he couldn't find his way back. And Jason had no idea where it was. I called him up when he was long past overdue, and he wailed "I'm lost! We're in a taxi!" Sangsu Station is about five minutes away. But you know Verv. He may have had enough alcohol in his blood to pickle an elephant carcass, but there's nothing that can knock this guy off his feet. The band kept getting bumped back and back and back until they were the last band of the night. Most of their friends had left but they still managed to get a show going. |
April 4 2009 Skasucks & Mateo I was interested to see Mateo, the band of Never Daniel, one of the most memorable punks in Korea. In an upcoming issue of Broke you can read an interview with him and see some of his lyrics translated. I'm told they're pretty good. The set was basically him on stage belting out in his usual deep voice at a bunch of schoolgirls while wearing skull makeup. Not what I was expecting but kind of what I should've expected anyway. With the amount of energy he has on stage it's too bad he didn't get started sooner. Next: Pornotarium. |
April 2 2009 Sadr City Hospitality The next report from Paul. Actually, the next two reports. He adds a few more vivid pictures--both visual and textual--to his Iraq experience. Sounds like it's been mostly uneventful, and he's grateful for that. Oh yeah, and he wasn't really back in Korea, and Skunk Hell really didn't reopen. Welcome to April 2. |
April Fools' Day 2009 Skunk Hell Reopening I really wanted to spread the word about this show, but Jonghee swore me to secrecy. Apparently he wasn't satisfied with the "final" show, what with it being packed to the rafters. Even with all the cloak-and-dagger stuff, it was still fucking packed inside. It's like these teenage girls have Crying-Nut Sense. Still, it was better than the other show. Plus, they had more bands play who really mattered to Skunk Hell's history, including a couple very surprising reunions from former Skunk bands. Are they here to stay? Well, Couch is history once Sharon returns to Japan, and I doubt Shorty Cat would stay together for very long. This time around, Jonghee's letting the bigwigs at Dope Records have a more active role in the venue. Apparently it was decided that it's just too important a place to keep closed. This probably means bigger shows, more touring bands, and also probably more metal down there. I'm unsure what I think of that last one, but as long as they don't repeat Skunk II's sins of clustering together bands of the same genre, I'll be happy. They haven't announced if there's a show this weekend, but I know for sure that they'll get back into the weekly routine soon enough. I'll try to post something on the Facebook group if there's more news. |
March 21 2009Jung managed to get a video online of Verv's walk across the rope bridge at Beckham San Land, featuring a very acrobatic fall. Or what's the opposite of acrobatic?She started an account just for urban exploration themed videos, so be sure to subscribe. She has older videos I've been urging her to get online, going back to 2005. |
March 21 2009 Abandoned School The bus trip down consisted of five hours and 20 minutes of Verv pounding soj and belting out whatever absurdities crossed his mind. Fortunately, we were not kicked off, despite probably deserving it. Near the end of the trip, the bus passed by a clearly abandoned school. I looked at Nik and said "We need to find that." Then the bus pulled into the bus depot right next door. Easier than we thought. First we got a motel room, then we had lunch. Verv, a little too full of soju, started berating Will for having said something meaningless about the US army. Oh yeah, and I saw two guys in fursuits, but I may have been the only one. One had a fursuit almost identical to this.
Before we reached it, we found a surprise even bigger than the abandoned school. An abandoned monastery. Or not monastery, but something strange. It was decorated like a Buddhist temple but at the same time wasn't one. Inside we found a photo book of visits from world leaders. In another building, we found pallets of booklets dated December 2008 that were all about the glory of Park Junghee. Where were we?
In a chicken hof, Verv started to crash, but then all of a sudden he hit his third wind and leapt out at us, interrupting us as we ate our fruit platter with a magnificent "Wae-gook-in!" We split into two motel rooms, one in which they couldn't sleep due to Matt's snoring, and the other in which they couldn't sleep due to my snoring.
It was a great final destination of our voyage. Then, in the souvenir shop, Will fell in love with this toy rifle that makes sound effects and lights when you shoot it, and proceeded to shoot at everyone who passed by. He got a variety of reactions, from shocked exclamations and total snubbings to smiles. One soldier in a convenience store thought it was pretty funny. We talked him out of shooting at a cop. The thing really brought out a certain characteristic of his personality. Verv was sitting on the bench next to me looking like he was ready to die as Will kept shooting this thing, and just when I thought he was about to end Will's life, he bellowed, "Will, you're magnificent" and was back on his feet again for a while.
The bus was too full, so I got off along with Jung, Will, and Nik, and the others stayed on. We caught the next one, where the bus driver was a real psycho who yelled at us for anything, and tailgated other buses on the highway. For the first leg of the journey it was only us four Vervonauts, as well as two girls who at first seemed to like when Will shot at them. Then at the next stop the bus filled up with ajummas, and we had to hide the beer, soju, and porn. Here are the photos from some of the other Vervonauts.
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March 12 2009 Update from Paul Paul sent some pictures of himself from the US, Kuwait, and Iraq, so I'm hosting them here for him, along with a report. The only description I have of the photos is in the file names, so it's not much to go on. I also threw in a few he sent me from the US of hunting, fishing, and hanging out with Jay in Texas. |
March 7 2009 Unidentified Flying Welshman Somebody stick a wallet in his mouth! Once again Tel made chadburger meat out of everyone in Club Badabie. Unfortunately I didn't have much time to stick around, and only managed to get photos of three bands. Fortunately this time I didn't end up with broken glasses (at least not caused by Tel's violent fits). |
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Jon underscore Dunbar at Hotmail
010-3212-2812
No long distance calls please; they won't work.
Seriously, don't ask me right now.
Please remember that these photos are all copyrighted to me. If you want to use them in any way, there's a 90 per cent chance I'll give you my permission, and be able to give you a copy with a higher DPI.Copyright Jon Dunbar 2004
Photos taken by
Nikon CoolPix 950
digital camera.