Korean DJ brings British sound to appreciative crowd

DJ Kang Hyun-nin poses at the Bulldog Pub in Itaewon, Seoul. / Korea Times

By John Redmond

For DJ Kang Hyun-min, entertaining club and pub audiences through popular mainstream tunes was not an option he chose when embarking on his music career.

Like many in the highly competitive industry, Kang (known as DJ Min) sought to specialize in a genre not well known to Koreans and (to a certain extent) many Western crowds: British punk, ska and indie rock from the late 1970s through most of the 80s.

In an era where most pubs are content to download a selection of greatest hits and play them on a constant loop, DJ Min takes requests from the enthusiastic clientele of the Bulldog Pub in Itaewon, Seoul, seven nights a week, ensuring that no two nights of music are repeated.

The music enthusiast is surprisingly fluent in early British punk, considering he was only eight years old when highly influential albums by The Sex Pistols and The Clash were being banned from radio airplay worldwide.

“I really like the rawness of the music from that era,” he told The Korea Times in an interview.

Not content to play popular tracks from those years, the DJ spends time chasing down vinyl, CDs and related content (even video footage) from very obscure bands.

“As many DJs are content to just play commercial songs or show video clips, I also like to create my own mash ups of sound from one source and video images from another,” he said.

For such a powerful mix of sounds, it of interest that the first record the DJ spun back in 1979 at the age of 10 was ABBA’s “Dancing Queen” on his father’s record player. The vinyl record belonged to his brother.

From there he began to search for music through a variety of sources, often taking his portable Sony Walkman into class listening to music he’d taped off the radio, saying he was listening to English homework.

At the time his primary source of music was the Armed Forces Radio Network, specializing songs by popular bands of the time such as Spandau Ballet, Duran Duran and The Cure.

Today his playlist features everything from Stiff Little Fingers, the Specials, Madness, Sigue Sigue Sputnik and obviously The Clash and The Sex Pistols.

DJ Min has a strong, enthusiastic following in the expat community, based on his taste and willingness to bring forgotten gems to the surface. He has been a DJ for over 22 years and was educated in the U.S.

“I really enjoy it when people complement me on a song they haven’t in ages,” he said smiling.

His set begins at around 7 p.m. and goes till late.

To get to the Bulldog Pub leave Itaewon Station via exit 4 and enter the building on the corner. The Bulldog is located on the third floor.