Live music club rolls on another year

Won Jong-hee, lead singer of Korean punk band Rux, gives bassist Yoon Hyung-sick an affectionate shove during a performance in Rolling Hall on June 10, 2012. / Photo by Jon Dunbar

By Jon Dunbar

If Rolling Hall were a human living in America, it would now be old enough to drink. That's impressive for a venue in a country whose modern live music history only goes back the same amount of time, to around 1995.

After a two-decade dark age, in which Korea’s live music community was censored, blacklisted and oppressed by strict authoritarian governments, its re-emergence came about in the mid-‘90s in underground clubs across western Seoul around Yonsei and Hongik universities, in places like Rolling Hall, Drug and Skunk Hell.

Rolling Hall should especially be celebrated, staying open in Hongdae, a neighborhood where rising rents seems to force out another club each month; in February, Rolling Hall's tinier neighbor Ruailrock closes its doors.

This venue, with a capacity of 600, is one of Hongdae's larger music halls, along with Lezhincomics V-Hall, KT&G Sangsang Madang and yes24 MUV Hall. But unlike those three, Rolling Hall's name remains conspicuously non-corporate.

All this should paint a picture of a music venue that's remained dedicated to Korea's live music community for 21 years and counting. It once nourished young upstart acts in the mid-'90s before they found success, including YB, Cherry Filter and Jaurim. It's also hosted foreign touring bands such as Andrew WK, Napalm Death and NoFX.

It may come as a shock to those familiar with this staple of the Hongdae music scene that Rolling Hall originally started over in the nearby neighborhood of Sinchon. Originally founded in 1995 as "Rolling Stones," it was purchased in 1997 by current owner Kim Cheon-seong, brother of the founder.

In the '90s, live music venues faced myriad legal restrictions, limiting their profits and leading to frequent crackdowns. The laws were revised at the turn of the century, allowing venues to offer live music and sell food and drinks.

But shortly after that in 2000, the club was destroyed in an accidental fire. Bands and music companies came together in an act of charity, motivating Kim to relocate to its new basement location in the Hongdae district. Since then, it has continued to thrive as a venue for medium-sized performances by bands with a solid reputation in the local scene.

"I didn't know I would do this for so long," Kim told The Korea Times in an interview last year.

The basement club celebrates its birthday this year throughout January and February, with a full schedule of 18 shows on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays of most weeks.

This weekend, ten bands will play over three days, headlined by electronic/house duo Peppertones, psychedelic rockers Guckkasten and 19-year veterans Cherry Filter. On Jan. 30, the last Saturday of the month, the stage welcomes Korea's oldest punk bands, Crying Nut and No Brain, among others. A full schedule is available on the club's Facebook page, facebook.com/rollinghall1995.