Korea's 'loudest band' will stage final show

Punk band Yuppie Killer / Courtesy of Jon Dunbar

By Jon Dunbar

It has been a lousy year for expat bands in Korea, first with indie-pop trio Nice Legs’ breakup, and this week with hardcore punk band Yuppie Killer calling it quits.

Yuppie Killer, once described by Groove Magazine as “possibly the loudest band in Korea,” has one final show and album in them, both due this weekend.

“The average life expectancy of a hardcore band is demo, EP, LP,” said guitarist Ian, who’s been with the band since its start in 2012. “So by that metric, we’re senile and retired to a farm upstate.”

“Yuppie Killer is breaking up because it’s time,” said vocalist Tim. “I mean, c’mon, is a band like Yuppie Killer, in any universe supposed to last this long? We wrote the songs we wanted and that’s that.”

Ian is returning to Toronto, Canada, and Tim, also a Canadian, is moving on to Europe. The remaining two members plan to stay in Korea, continuing to make music on their own projects.

The band’s breakup has been known for months, though its inevitable arrival has affected friends and fans. Many have reminisced on social media about their favorite Yuppie Killer moments, from hosting concerts in their tiny basement practice room and mixing memory-wiping cocktails with random liquors, to dogging energy drink maker Hot6 for an endorsement deal and advertising their shows on Craigslist.

“Never saw them actually killing a yuppie,” one friend joked. “Very disappointed.”

“We had a lot of great memories doing this, a lot which can never see print, but man, you can’t say the Yuppie Killer crew didn’t bring the party,” Tim said. “I’m real proud of what we did. I hope we showed Seoul you don’t have to be this type or that type and limit yourself to one style of music or community.”

Yuppie Killer takes the stage one last time at GBN Live Hall in Mullae-dong, southwestern Seoul, with seven other bands, Saturday. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and entry costs 10,000 won, or 7,000 won for minors.

Their album, a split with Ian’s other band Tokki Jot, will be their fourth album since forming in 2012. Proceeds made from offline sales will be donated to the Citizens' Alliance for North Korean Human Rights (NKHR).

“We directly sounded like no other band ever and that’s something I’m proud of,” Ian said. “When we were on, we were feral.”

Visit facebook.com/YuppieKillers for more.