The Korea Times

PHOTOS Block Party Music & Art Festival survives 5th year

Block Party Music & Art Festival 2026 took over central Seoul's multicultural Haebangchon and Gyeongnidan neighborhoods last weekend, presenting more than 100 music acts and other performing artists at 10 participating venues. Now that the magic, glitter and even the hangovers are wearing off, here are photos of a very limited selection of the highlights from the three-day festivities. Visit debasermagazine.com or follow @blockpartykorea on Instagram for more information.

1d agoBy Jon Dunbar

[PHOTOS] Block Party Music & Art Festival survives 5th year

Global Community

RESTAURANT OF THE WEEK Maple House returns strong after renovation

There's usually not much point in reviewing a restaurant a second time. I can only think of one restaurant that has been spotlighted in this column twice: CALI Kitchen, which got an initial rave in 2023 and then a farewell before closing a year later. The second Restaurant of the Week to wear that lofty accolade twice is going to be Maple House in central Seoul's Haebangchon, which was published almost two years ago. Formerly a Korean brunch cafe with an excellent food menu, it closed down a few months ago, and I probably wasn't the only one saddened. It reopened after a quick renovation, now taking on a bit more of the character of a Western-style diner, featuring great food — albeit with some changes. When factoring in price, quality and quantity, Maple House remains my favorite place for breakfast food in Seoul. The breakfast portion of the menu has been significantly expanded, providing more options without sacrificing the earlier selections. There have been a few other tweaks to the food preparation as well. One of my problems with the previous Maple House menu was how they prepa

Sep 6, 2026By Jon Dunbar

[RESTAURANT OF THE WEEK] Maple House returns strong after renovation

Global Community

Long-term foreign resident exhibits 50 years of photography in Korea

After half a century spent living in Korea, U.S. photographer Tom Coyner is exhibiting his work at his first solo gallery exhibition. Fifteen framed prints, several unframed prints for sale and a large number of his photos displayed on a large monitor, dating back to his arrival with the Peace Corps in 1975, will be displayed at KOTE Gallery in central Seoul's Insa-dong neighborhood from Sept. 15-20. Coyner came to Korea in August 1975, starting off training English teachers at a rural middle school, and later developing an advanced English and American society course for the Ministry of Agriculture. Throughout his two-year stint, he was busy snapping pictures with his camera. "It was an interesting challenge of temples, landscapes and people," he said of his photographic adventures in the 1970s. "Much of the time, I waited impatiently for people to get out of the way of my temple shots, only to regret years later, as they gave important time anchors to the timeless temples." Unlike today, when nearly everyone has a smartphone in their pocket capable of snapping good quality photos, the

Sep 6, 2026By Jon Dunbar

Long-term foreign resident exhibits 50 years of photography in Korea

Global Community

RAS Korea lecture takes aim at early 20th-century vernacular Korean humor

There's a lot of information out there about Korean history, whether through academic study, historical sites or even period K-dramas. We know, or at least think we know, how society functioned, how people dressed, where they lived and so on. But was Korea ever funny? The history of humor in Korea has been largely overlooked by historians. When a visiting professor at Korea University introduced a 1916-published joke book to his class, it got the attention of G.S. Hand, then a grad student, now a professional literature translator. "I decided to start translating these jokes the moment I saw them because they're hilarious — at least sometimes — and I don't think many people know about them," he said. "Scholars of Korean modern literature usually study things from later than that, classical literature scholars usually study things from earlier, and neither group is all that interested in humor." "Kkalkkal Useum" contains 72 short humorous texts that were considered funny in 1916, although many are likely much older, with clear indications they date back to the 1392-1910 Joseon Dynasty

Sep 3, 2026By Jon Dunbar

RAS Korea lecture takes aim at early 20th-century vernacular Korean humor

Global Community

In its 5th year, Block Party wants to bring 'dank' back to Haebangchon

It's that time of year again, when live music and other performing arts take over spots throughout central Seoul's multicultural Haebangchon and Gyeongnidan neighborhoods. This year marks Block Party's fifth run, lasting from Sept. 11-13, and returning at the helm is Jamie Finn, who exudes equal parts confidence and flop sweat every time he organizes the festival. This year's festival will take place across over eight local venues, including Uplift, Boogie Woogie, Casa Amigo, Pet Sounds, Sub Riot, Togul, Dialogue and Dankyard. Every year, the list changes as new venues open and others close down, a sign of the area's changing character. "It’s a bit weird, isn’t it?" Finn said as he described the state of Haebangchon. "Like it’s still Haebangchon, but it feels a bit uncanny. There’s loads of fun new fancy-pants restaurants, but where’s the dank? Block Party is a pro-dank festival, and we would like to see the dank return to Haebangchon." The lineup for this year's Block Party combines a selection of favorites from past festivals, including Leenalchi, Cadejo and Drinking Boys and

Sep 1, 2026By Jon Dunbar

In its 5th year, Block Party wants to bring 'dank' back to Haebangchon

Global Community

Australian punk rocker Ray Ahn embarks on long, hard journey back to Korea

Australian punk band the Hard-Ons are coming to Korea for the first time in September, but for bassist-vocalist Ray Ahn, it's a return to his birth country. Ahead of the tour, the band released a Korean-language EP, with Ahn singing four of their most memorable songs in Korean, including "Where Did She Come From?" and "Suck and Swallow." Ahn was born in Seoul, and emigrated to Australia at age 9 in 1974 with his family. Now in his early 60s, he still plays for the Hard-Ons, a legendary Sydney punk band known for its multicultural lineup when it was formed in 1982. The band also became notorious because of the name — which shouldn't shock anyone in Korea, where there was once a mainstream band called DickPunks and nobody ever made it weird. For Ahn and his bandmates, who got sick long ago of having to keep justifying their name, calling themselves the Hard-Ons meant playing the music industry on a hard setting. They faced barriers where other bands might not have, and they seem to have thrived on controversy in their early days. "Our rudeness was wielded as performance art," Ahn said. "I

Aug 29, 2026By Jon Dunbar

Australian punk rocker Ray Ahn embarks on long, hard journey back to Korea

Society

'No Permission to Dance': Venue closure in Busan leads to petition to change laws on live performances

Korea may seem to the outsider like a land of K-pop idols and dancing, but the truth is different for those who live here. Due to restrictions, people in Korea have to be careful about where they dance, because if they bust a move in a cafe, bar, restaurant or live music venue, they could get it shut down. The latest victim of this "K-Footloose" regulation is Ovantgarde, a music venue and pub in the southeastern city of Busan. The venue was shut down after municipal authorities visited earlier this month to respond to an unrelated complaint. Although the complaint turned out to be nothing, the officials observed a band performing in front of an audience, and reported the venue for allowing "dancing," in violation of the rules governing its restaurant license. One of the owners of Ovantgarde disputed the officials' claim that patrons were dancing, calling it an "interpretation" and saying instead that audience members were merely "standing and naturally engaging with the performance." The venue was ordered to suspend its business for two months as a first-offense punishment. This is not th

Aug 25, 2026By Jon Dunbar

'No Permission to Dance': Venue closure in Busan leads to petition to change laws on live performances

Global Community

Julia Mellor's mission to globalize soju

Many people think of soju, Korea's iconic distilled alcoholic beverage, as a cheap, low-quality liquor that comes in a green bottle and causes a killer hangover. But Julia Mellor, founder of The Sool Company, has made it her mission to evangelize the traditional rice-based version of the drink. Recently, she set up a booth at the International Dutch Distillers Festival, where she gave two soju masterclasses for 110 guests introducing 3 craft sojus paired with Korean snacks. "It was a totally Dutch festival, so the audience was very green and probably 90 percent of attendees had never heard of soju, so it was a really great opportunity," Mellor said of the event. "The encouraging thing is that once people taste these premium Korean spirits without preconceived ideas, the quality speaks for itself. To have the opportunity to present Korean soju to such a new audience with no background knowledge was an exciting milestone and gave us a confidence boost that we are headed in the right direction." Mellor, an Australian, spent 17 years living in Korea, where she discovered her love for Korea'

Aug 15, 2026By Jon Dunbar

Julia Mellor's mission to globalize soju

Global Community

Itaewon's Lit Lounge prepares to break curfew with 'Pajama Party!'

Pete Grella and John Everett started making crowds laugh 16 years ago, when they both were living in Hong Kong. After Everett moved here last year, Grella decided to hop on a plane to Korea to reunite "P" and "J." The initials from their first names combine to make "PJ" which often stands for "pajamas." That's how they came up with the name for their improv show, throwing their first "Pajama Party!" in 2017. "We settled on Pajama Party! since that sounds fun!" Grella told The Korea Times, pointing out that they included the exclamation mark in the name to raise the fun level. "Basically, it's just a silly name that is meant to sound fun and full of energy. And that is what we hope to achieve in our shows ... fun, high energy and maybe a little silly." He added that they even wore pajamas for a while when performing. "If you look closely at the photos of us wearing those black suits, those were actually a special type of clothes called 'suitjamas' that a comedian friend of mine in Bangkok used to sell," he said. Pajama Party! has performed in shows and festivals across Asia, including in

Aug 10, 2026By Jon Dunbar

Itaewon's Lit Lounge prepares to break curfew with 'Pajama Party!'

Global Community

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

Aug 3, 2026By Jon Dunbar

Jon Dunbar

Read more

PHOTOS Block Party Music & Art Festival survives 5th year

RESTAURANT OF THE WEEK Maple House returns strong after renovation

Long-term foreign resident exhibits 50 years of photography in Korea

RAS Korea lecture takes aim at early 20th-century vernacular Korean humor

In its 5th year, Block Party wants to bring 'dank' back to Haebangchon

Australian punk rocker Ray Ahn embarks on long, hard journey back to Korea

'No Permission to Dance': Venue closure in Busan leads to petition to change laws on live performances

Julia Mellor's mission to globalize soju

Itaewon's Lit Lounge prepares to break curfew with 'Pajama Party!'

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

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