Big Day South lets Busan's indie scene shine
An artist from Plexiglass Portrait holds up a caricature next to the model during last year's Big Day South festival in Busan. / Courtesy of Kim Joo-chan
By Jon Dunbar
Southeastern Korea's music scene is growing harder to forget. Even though the capital region often ignores it, bands representing Busan and Daegu are finding success overseas.
It's clear this region is doing something right that Seoul has forgotten how to do. This year's
returns for its fifth and biggest year this weekend for three days of music and art at six participating venues in Busan.
“The landscape has very much changed from when we made the first Big Day South,” said Philip Brett, an Irish expat who co-founded
, which operates the festival. “It's become less about trying to get people to pay attention to what's happening in the south and more about doing what we can to build on what's already going on, and having a bit of fun while we're at it.”
Despite the festival's increased scale for this year, it is receiving extra help from new co-organizer Busan Indiens, as well as sponsorship from Busan Metropolitan City and Busan Cultural Foundation. In previous years, the festival has been held in Daegu, Ulsan and Gwangju before
.
“This year I'm mostly excited to be able to see the entire festival!” Brett said. “Most years I'm working nonstop for the entirety of the event and rarely have a chance to relax and watch anything, even with the help of volunteers. Luckily this year I can take a back seat and enjoy the show.”
The festival starts Friday with performances on Gwangan Beach, where Daejeon punk band Smoking Goose and Daegu punk band Gukryeol will perform alongside Wink Child Tappers and Bust Orchestra, accompanied by live painting and visual art. After, the festivities move to nearby HQ Bar for Daegu band Hon'z, Busan's Banana Monkey Spanner and hip-hop acts Masstige and Kritik.
The next day, festivities get into swing at 1 p.m. at Node Art Hall with spoken word, dance, performance art and music performances. The highlight will be Bye Bye Fish, an avant-garde folk project flying in from Beijing, the first time in the festival's history for performers to come from overseas.
“As an alien, I am very much looking forward to discovering new treasures of the Earth on this trip,” the band said. “Even the two humans who lend me the shell wish me success and fly away soon. I heard that Big Day South is very crowded with humans. Great energy, very nutritious. I specially designed my experimental equipment to get more energy, I can't predict what sounds. I really hope the strangest and most cool people who love music and aliens can go see the show. Stars can go to the scene, tell your friends to come and provide energy to accompany me to repair the spacecraft. I thank the Koreans for their willingness to help byebyefish return to the universe. And thanks for all the fish!”
Later in the afternoon, the fun moves to Ovantgarde and Club Realize for more live music, and Ol' 55 for spoken word performances by poets and storytellers living in the region. Participating local bands include Bosudong Cooler, Platform Stereo, The Vastards, M.B. Jones and Soumbalgwang, along with Pakk, Airy and 57 coming from Seoul.
Then it will convene back at Node for the headline stage. Busan band Say Sue Me, returned recently from a U.K.-Ireland tour, undoubtedly takes top billing, supported by Busan punks Sidecar, Seoul electronic/psychedelic act Tengger and synth group Band88.
Sunday starts at 4 p.m. at open arts space MERGE? with performance art, acoustic music, and industry seminars, with performances by folk acts Wussami, Ulsan's Kim Yi-hwa and Seoul's Danpyunsun. After, everyone moves to a closing party at Basement featuring hip-hop and DJs.
Unlike similar multi-venue events in Seoul, such as Live Club Day and Zandari Festa, Big Day South mostly hops from venue to venue, keeping all participants together.
“I can remember the 2015 festival in Ulsan, where all venues were within one block of each other,” Brett said. “There was a lot of overflow onto the streets, and it really added an overall feeling of community to the event. Especially when one of the children attending the event got lost, and half of the attendees took to the streets to help find them. This year we have a similar set up on Saturday in KSU, when all the venues are very close to each other, and hopefully it will have a similar vibe again, without any missing children.”
Full-day passes are 25,000 won in advance, or 30,000 won at the door. Single-entry tickets to each stage are 15,000 won. All Friday and Sunday performances are free.