HBC's Studio ready for Halloween

Talk of celebrating Halloween this year seems to be taboo or at least uncomfortable among most people in Korea, but a few are pushing on.

One of those is The Studio HBC in central Seoul's Haebangchon (HBC) neighborhood, just one valley away from Itaewon where a deadly crowd disaster killed at least 158 people during last year's Halloween weekend.

As the anniversary of that tragic event approaches, Studio's American owner Ryan Goessl decided the Halloween show must go on.

"I think it is very important to remember the tragedy, and learn from it. However, it is important for us to move on, and responsibly put on shows that support musicians, performers, venues and small businesses as well," he told The Korea Times. "Shutting down small businesses who rely on nights and events like this in order to survive is not the answer. Rather, let's support each other during times like this to help ensure that the businesses also affected by this unfortunate tragedy don't suffer more than they already have."

The show is a fundraiser, with the 20,000 won door fees collected going to support a couple of charities tied to the Itaewon Halloween victims and their families.

One of the recipients will use the donated money to offer scholarships in the names of the victims.

"We want to make sure that our donation is being used for something that will better the lives of those who benefit from it, and also benefit society," Goessl said.

He got 10 bands to agree to play at The Studio HBC's Halloween Live Band Benefit show, with the first band starting at 4:15 p.m. and the last scheduled to go on at midnight. This includes Dabda, The Wons, The What, One Bad Mother, Escaping Neverland, TieCh, Vampire Hotel, Incestrul Lust, Absolute Monsters and Materials Pound.

"When I brought up the idea of creating a benefit show, not a single band hesitated. In fact, we had to turn away some bands. That is something special, and speaks volumes to the kindness and generosity of the indie band scene," Goessl said. "We have an amazing lineup of 10 bands, and some really amazing headliners. I really hope that the Korean general population sees and experiences soon the kindness, compassion and, honestly, the amazing talent that is in the indie rock scene."

There are no rules listed on the event invitations, such as discouraging people from celebrating Halloween in any particular way, but Goessl hopes people use their best judgment.

"We are leaving the idea of costumes, etc as a decision on patrons," said Goessl, who is also the resident conductor and artistic director of Camarata Music. "I do expect people to dress up ― maybe not as many, but I do expect it. And personally, I encourage it. I just ask that people are respectful to the tragedy, and make sure that costumes are in good taste."

The Studio HBC also has two other Halloween events planned. First, there's a show on Friday with Hidden Elephant, Sally Everywhere, Hazi and Kimchi Cowboys. Although entry is free, the venue will be accepting donations to be put toward charitable causes.

And on Tuesday next week, Halloween night, Arthur Minsu will host a "Nightmare Movie Night" showing Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and horror classic "A Nightmare on Elm Street."

Goessl expects Itaewon will still be crowded this year, even if many people opt for other neighborhoods less impacted by the disaster, such as Hongdae and Gangnam. He also thinks HBC could be one of them.

"I do think that this year, crowd control from the government perspective is going to be very heavy, in response to the lack of it last year," he said.

He called out the government and police for their inadequate preparations for Halloween weekend last year, which he said they must have known would draw huge crowds.

"Halloween in Itaewon has been one of the largest international parties for the past 10 years, yet nothing was done," he said. "It was unfortunate that the government did not step in earlier for crowd control. The backlash, if any, should be on the lack of government and police response, both before and after last year's tragedy, not on the small businesses that are trying to survive. Unfortunately, a lot of the fallout has been on the businesses, not the people responsible. The government needs to admit and accept responsibility, and further, should protect the small businesses that have also been impacted."

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