Incheon beach punk festival faces cancellation, escapes to Seoul's Sinchon

People dance to the ska-punk band Monkey Gang War at last year's IT'S A FEST! on June 18, 2023. Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar

The local punk label World Domination, Inc. (WDI) has released devastating news: IT'S A FEST! (IAF!), its beach music festival, held last year and in 2019 on Incheon's Hanagae Beach, will not be proceeding as planned. Instead, it will be moved to indoor venues in Seoul, where it will be held under the subtitle "Escape to Sinchon."

"We are very sad to announce that due to some problems with (Incheon and Hanagae), IT’S A FEST! will not be able to happen at Hanagae Beach this year," Jeff and Trash Moses, organizers of IAF, said in an online statement released in English and Korean April 30.

The cancellation turned out to be no fault of their own, and the festival was merely collateral damage in an unrelated bureaucratic kerfuffle. The organizers stressed that they look forward to cooperating with Hanagae again in the future.

"Hanagae was having some problems with the local government. So they decided not to have any big events this year. That included IT’S A FEST! but they’ve already said they want us back next year and for the long term," Jeff Moses told The Korea Times on May 17.

Although IAF was held at a public stage and charged no entry fee, WDI had been selling rentals for bungalows at the beach. They promised to refund everyone who had made reservations for this year's festival, which was scheduled for June 14 to 16.

"IAF! will carry on as a weekend-long event at a brand new live music venue in Sinchon," they said. "All the international bands are still coming, and the lineup is mostly unchanged. Because we are moving to a live house for this year’s festival, we will be selling tickets. We promise to keep it affordable."

The festival will begin on Friday, June 14, with an acoustic show held at Beer O'Clock. For Saturday and Sunday, the festival moves to the newly opened venue Baby Doll. The acoustic night is free, but the second and third days are not. One-day tickets cost 30,000 won and two-day tickets are 50,000 won. The organizers emphasized that the venue capacity is limited, so people wishing to attend should book their tickets early in advance.

"We are all disappointed to not be at Hanagae Beach this year, but we can still make this one of the best weekends of the year," Jeff, who is also the frontman of the punk band ... Whatever That Means (WTM), said in a follow-up statement released May 8.

"We're not frustrated or resentful about the situation with Hanagae and Incheon," said Trash, who is in the bands WTM and Monkey Gang War. "We're just going to focus on having a precious and joyful weekend together in June."

This year's festival has three bands from overseas — Singaporean skate punk band Iman's League, and Japanese bands the Skippers and Tortionals.

"The show must go on!" Iman's League said in an online post. "Thumbs up to (WDI) for pulling this off despite the setbacks."

It also includes 15 local acts playing various styles of punk, hardcore, reggae and ska. There have been a few changes to the lineup since it was first announced back in March. For one, the Geeks and Tom Tom Tom have dropped out.

"When the plan for IAF! changed, we gave every band the chance to opt out," Jeff told The Korea Times. "And for them, it was better to opt out. We were sad to lose them, but life happens. No hard feelings."

On the bright side, 444 and Redemptions have been added.

The organizers expressed hope that the festival will be able to return to Hanagae Beach next year.

"Building a punk rock festival for our scene has not been easy, but we promise to keep working hard and are thankful for your continued support," they said.

Visit wdikorea.com/store to book tickets.