The Korea Times

Diaspora musician Janice Jo Lee brings 'Ancestor Songs' to Korea

In order to perform in the land of her ancestors, Korean Canadian folk musician Janice Jo Lee had to cast aside a part of herself: her citizenship. "Because at the time of my birth in Canada, my parents both held Korean citizenship, I held a claim to Korean citizenship," she said. "For the year of my birth, Korea does not allow me to hold dual citizenship. So Korea required me to renounce my claim to Korean citizenship, and apply for a work visa solely as a Canadian. It was a bureaucratic nightmare." This problem derailed earlier tour plans for her cute and radical folk-fusion band, Toronto-based Janice Jo Lee and the QTs. "We had to cancel our tour last year because of how long the process ended up taking," she said. "My bandmates who are Canadian without Korean heritage, it was easier for them to get a work visa than me." The bitter ironies are compounded by the circumstances that led Lee to plan a Korea tour. Kim Hee-sun, then the artistic director of Jeonju International Sori Festival, caught a performance by the QTs in Ottawa and extended an invitation. "She came backstage and told m

2d agoBy Jon Dunbar

Diaspora musician Janice Jo Lee brings 'Ancestor Songs' to Korea

Global Community

RAS Korea explores downtown Seoul's Hoehyeon, Myeong-dong, Namdaemun

In the search for things to do indoors amid the summer heat, Royal Asiatic Society (RAS) Korea is taking its excursions program indoors. Wandering through central Seoul's Myeong-dong, Hoehyeon-dong and Namdaemun Market, longtime member Jun Shin will lead participants to three museums in the area, as well as other indoor destinations plus a few other points of interest along the way — and refreshments afterward for those willing to stick around. The walk begins in Hoehyeon-dong with a visit to a 400-year-old ginkgo tree, before visiting the Woori Bank Museum and Money Box Gallery. After, the group will go through Hoehyeon Underground Shopping Center and enter Shinsegae Department Store. The group will go to the historic department store's rooftop garden, where Shin will explain the Japanese origins of the building's surroundings, which were developed during imperial Japan's 1910-45 occupation of Korea. After that, Shin will lead the way to the Korea Postage Stamp Museum, and then to the nearby Myeong-dong Market, where there is a small Chinatown surrounding the Chinese Embassy. The fina

2d agoBy Jon Dunbar

RAS Korea explores downtown Seoul's Hoehyeon, Myeong-dong, Namdaemun

Global Community

Seoul band Pop Ents says 'Anything is Fine' ... but is it?

On the Seoul-based rock band Pop Ents' latest mini-album, "Anything is Fine," released in April, the title track offers a catchy, poppy mantra, but something beneath the melodies doesn't quite feel right. "No, but yeah, the title is ironic," David Palmer, the band's guitarist-vocalist and lead songwriter, confirmed to The Korea Times. He explained that the song is about the current state of the music industry, and the song goes into what the band would do if they ever had a chance to level up. "The music industry is worse than ever. Everyone successful is a plant. Everything is a scam. Audiences are less engaged than ever with artists because of the insanity of the attention economy," he said. "So as a local Seoul band that writes and plays with close friends in the audience in mind, it's just a discussion about how terrible the music industry is and how we'd love to be a part of it but if not we never wanted to anyway." The song clashes with another standout track on the album, "Mogi Saeki," that seems to be about mosquitos ("mogi" in Korean, while "saeki" is a profanity). "At the time of

Jul 31, 2026By Jon Dunbar

Seoul band Pop Ents says 'Anything is Fine' ... but is it?

Global Community

Xen Sapphire to host fundraiser for YongsanCats

One of the best music duos in Seoul's foreign music scene almost didn't come together. It started in 2024 when Rob Nichols came to an open mic event at Taco Amigo, located near Noksapyeong Station on Seoul Metro Line 6. After he played his 2018 song "Noksapyeong," the event host, Xen Sapphire, approached him. "As soon as he had gotten off the stage, I said to him, listen, that song, absolutely incredible, makes me cry," Sapphire told The Korea Times. "It's probably one of my top five songs of all time. Could I cover it?" He refused at first, saying the song is too personal for him to share with another singer. She asked him again after seeing him perform it another time, suggesting that they could just do it as a private rehearsal. But Nichols told her not to sing the second verse, which contains lyrics referencing his childhood trauma involving a father who deserted him. "And I said, OK, let's do it. As long as I can just sing a little bit, I'll be happy," she recalled. Afterward, Nichols changed his mind, telling her that she does it justice. "She just makes it her own," he said. "It’s

Jul 21, 2026By Jon Dunbar

Xen Sapphire to host fundraiser for YongsanCats

Global Community

Sinchon skate shop hosts Korean punk zine fair

Spin and Grind, a skate shop newly opened in western Seoul's Sinchon area, is holding a zine fair this weekend. "CUT & PASTE: A Korean Punk & Hardcore Zine Fair" celebrates the history and culture of zines documenting Korea's punk and hardcore scene. A curated selection of zines dating back to the early 2000s will be on display, alongside newly released and reprinted titles available for purchase. "I wanted to inspire more people to start making their own zines," Victor Ha, Spin and Grind's proprietor, told The Korea Times. "I also wanted to archive as many zines published in Korea as possible and create a snapshot of the Korean zine scene as it exists today." The zine titles he's rounded up so far include "Army Life" (2005) by Geeks guitarist Kang Jun-sung, "Red Flag" by Rux frontman Won Jong-hee (2004-06) and "Faithful Youth" (2004-10) by Lee Geon-hee of Busan hardcore band All I Have. There are zines in Korean and English. Some of the zines are closer to full-scale books, such as the photo books "Seoul Punx" (2017) by Jung You-jin and "The More I See" (2011-15) by Scumraid drummer Lee

Jul 13, 2026By Jon Dunbar

Sinchon skate shop hosts Korean punk zine fair

Global Community

History book pits 2 Korean Catholic martyrs against each other

The Korean Peninsula's Catholic history is surprisingly fascinating, even if you're a nonbeliever — like I am. Its history traces back to the 1700s, midway through the 1390-1910 Joseon Dynasty, an isolationist state. Rather than arriving via foreign missionaries, Catholicism was brought to the country by Koreans who discovered it while abroad in China. As it spread throughout Korea, the government tried to stop its expansion, leading to persecution resulting in somewhere between 8,000 and 10,000 deaths. This horrific history also led to an unusually high number of saints, with 103 martyred Korean Catholics officially canonized by the Church in 1984. A new book by Brothers Anthony and Han-Yol of the French ecumenical community of Taize analyzes the lives of two early Korean Catholic figures: Saint Andrew Kim Dae-geon and Ven. Father Thomas Choe Yang-eop. Titled "Martyr of Blood, Martyr of Sweat," the book presents annotated letters by the two figures, both born in 1821. Most of the correspondence is being published in English translation for the first time, with the letters previously

Jul 5, 2026By Jon Dunbar

History book pits 2 Korean Catholic martyrs against each other

Global Community

RESTAURANT OF THE WEEK Nomercy Wurst finally opens

That new currywurst restaurant in front of Gyeongnidan's front gate is finally open, but was it worth the wait? All the people crowding in seem to say so. For the past six months, the brightly glowing but empty storefront has been a landmark of the intersection between central Seoul's Gyeongnidan and Haebangchon neighborhoods. That digital marquee promising to open soon has been taunting residents since last December. Finally, after overcoming an interminable delay in construction, the place opened last month. Despite the big red "Berliner Currywurst" sign glowing prominently, the place is actually named Nomercy Wurst, and it shares ownership with Nomercy Burger over in Itaewon's Quy Nhon-gil area. Nomercy Wurst has several standout dishes, served with what appear to be pretty authentic flavors. The currywurst is a handsome meal, offering up two sausages — Nürnberger and Regensberger pork sausages — served drowning in curry ketchup, with a side of aioli and a helping of pretty good quality sauerkraut. Each plate also comes with a cornichon, plus a chunk of bread that is perfect for

Jun 28, 2026By Jon Dunbar

[RESTAURANT OF THE WEEK] Nomercy Wurst finally opens

Global Community

Busan rock band Daisy Gun wants you to put down the phone

When you go to a concert these days, it seems like everyone around you has their cellphone out — capturing what everyone else is recording, messaging friends or maybe just doomscrolling on social media. With the new single "Square Eyes," the Busan-based rock band Daisy Gun takes aim at this culture that is consumed through smart devices. "It's a bit of a political number, and is basically about how people spend too much time on their phones making them susceptible to a whole lot of nonsense," Louis Cilliers, the band's South African guitarist and vocalist, told The Korea Times. "After a few heated arguments about not trusting everything you read online, I started writing the lyrics with the idea of disinformation spreading through social media. People are very comfortable in their echo chambers and are naive enough to believe anyone with a strong enough rhetoric." He added that the lyrics also touch on our overreliance on phones. "There's a phrase in the chorus, 'with square eyes, and a turtleneck,' that references the posture that develops from the overuse of phones," he said. But he wa

Jun 17, 2026By Jon Dunbar

Busan rock band Daisy Gun wants you to put down the phone

Global Community

Indie music festival answers Busan's calling

Five music venues across Busan will unite to host over 30 live music acts for the first-ever Busan Calling Music Festival on Friday and Saturday. Although seemingly only in its first year, the festival is actually a rebrand of last year's Debaser Fest, run by Jamie Finn, editor of Debaser Magazine. "I was never super keen on the name Debaser Fest. It was a decision made with deadlines approaching. So, to keep things simple, I named it after the mag," Finn admitted. "We've called it Busan Calling to reflect the aims of the fest, which is to build a bridge between the really underrated Busan music community and other musical places." Finn has been heavily active for years supporting the local music scene across Korea, publishing his own magazine, running a massive English-language Kakao group chat and organizing music festivals. As well as Busan Calling and Debaser Fest, he's also been running Block Party, a similar multivenue event in Seoul, for the last four years. Finn added that planning has already begun for Block Party's return to central Seoul's Haebangchon and Gyeongnidan in Septemb

Jun 15, 2026By Jon Dunbar

Indie music festival answers Busan's calling

Global Community

RESTAURANT OF THE WEEK Namsan Deli keeps reinventing itself

Something is different with the menu at Namsan Deli every time I come back. It's been a wild ride since its soft opening last October. It's always been in flux and ready to reinvent itself, and I'm starting to get the impression that that's its permanent identity: a work in progress. I was cautious at first about this deli-slash-bakery-slash-cafe, because sandwich places in Korea can be extremely hit-or-miss. But the more I've explored the menu, the more Namsan Deli has grown on me. Located at the top of a steep road leading up from the Seoul Station area into central Seoul's cozy, quiet Huam-dong neighborhood, with N Seoul Tower looming above, Namsan Deli is in a strange spot. I've had many chances while waiting for orders to observe the foot traffic passing by, and it's certainly much less lively than similar places over the hill, like Haebangchon or Itaewon. This isn't a place where many people walk — it's more of an intersection where cars race by, only stopping if they have to at a red light. The owner, who suitably goes by the English name Sandi, assures me that business is bri

Jun 9, 2026By Jon Dunbar

Jon Dunbar

Read more

Diaspora musician Janice Jo Lee brings 'Ancestor Songs' to Korea

RAS Korea explores downtown Seoul's Hoehyeon, Myeong-dong, Namdaemun

Seoul band Pop Ents says 'Anything is Fine' ... but is it?

Xen Sapphire to host fundraiser for YongsanCats

Sinchon skate shop hosts Korean punk zine fair

History book pits 2 Korean Catholic martyrs against each other

RESTAURANT OF THE WEEK Nomercy Wurst finally opens

Busan rock band Daisy Gun wants you to put down the phone

Indie music festival answers Busan's calling

RESTAURANT OF THE WEEK Namsan Deli keeps reinventing itself

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