Podcast hosts to hold live show Sunday

Chance Dorland, left, host of the “Chance & Dan Do Korea” podcast, and his co-host Dan Wiberg will hold a live show at Phillies Pub in Haebongchon, Seoul, Sunday. / Courtesy of Clayton Jones

By David Keelaghan

The expat-centric podcast “Chance & Dan Do Korea” comes to Phillies bar in Haebangchon, Seoul, at 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 25 for the fourth edition of their live variety show.

Created by Americans Chance Dorland and Dan Wiberg, the show, which began in 2011, gives its listeners plenty of food for thought on the foreigner experience in Korea.

Speaking to The Korea Times, Chance Dorland, from the small town of Woodward, Iowa, outlined what newcomers to the show can expect.

“For guests we usually have a local journalist, a comedian, and then we’ll often have a band at the end of the show. Each guest brings their own expertise,” he said.

“Recently we had John Power from Yonhap on; he spoke about an article he wrote for Groove magazine about the Korean media. He talked about the media here not reporting the stories they should and the close relationships they have with big companies.”

That is not to suggest the podcast is all po-faced debate, comedian Dan Wiberg ensures humor plays a major part in the proceedings too.

“The comedians we have usually do 10 minutes of standup and after that we talk to them about the comedy scene in Korea. For the band, I usually talk to them about their music, their influences, and what they like about Korea; then they’ll play live,” said Dorland.

In a broadcasting career that has taken him from his local station in Iowa, to New York, Los Angeles, Berlin and even Colombia, where he hosted a bilingual show during his time in the Peace Corps, the well-traveled journalist now finds himself in another major global metropolis: Seoul.

It has been a move he has enjoyed immensely; in fact the primary reason “Chance & Dan Do Korea” came into existence was because of their mutual love for their adoptive country. Looking at Korea impartially often means in a critical manner; however, the overriding theme of the show remains how great “doing Korea” still remains.

A TV and radio journalist by trade, podcasting is a medium that has both its advantages and disadvantages, according to the program host.

“I like the freedom that we can design the show how we want it, whereas on radio there would be certain rules. I am pretty old school when it comes to radio though. I like sitting in a booth with the microphone and the on-air sign. I’ve been doing that for 10 years now and with live radio there is a certain level of excitement. Podcasts are good, but live radio is my first love,” Dorland said.

This Sunday sees the show continue its serious/silly dynamic, with local photographer Clayton Jones being joined by renowned Canadian comic and veteran of the Seoul standup scene Brian Aylward.

“Our next guests are Brian Aylward, who’ll do some standup and that will be huge, and Clayton Jones who runs Left Hand Right Hand Photography. He does a lot of photography for bands, parties and MMA fighting. You can find the podcast on iTunes or through our Facebook page for Chance & Dan,” he said.