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HBC Fest cancelled

By John Redmond The popular Haebangchon festival (HBC Fest), a twice-yearly gathering of local and foreign musicians and spectators, that takes place at venues along the main street in Haebangchon, has been cancelled by Yongsan authorities. The final blow came after negotiations broke down early last week over sticking legal issues concerning permits and licenses. However many feel the issues run much deeper. What started out as a good opportunity to pool the wealth of talent being witnessed by local music establishments blossomed into the first HBC Fest back in 2006 under the organizational skills of local musician Lance Reegan-Diehl. The first festival, in name only, took place in July of that year and involved some 23 acts performing at three local bars ― Phillies, Ssen and Orange tree. Attendances were good and the crowd got to experience a cross section of music and spoken word acts at venues in central Seoul. The evening was such a huge success that for bar owners it seemed a logical conclusion to hold a similar event later in the year. With word of mouth and

Australian football finals to be screened live

By John Redmond The grand finals of two of Australia’s most popular sporting events will be screened live at two venues in Seoul on Oct. 1 and 2. Under the theme “Festival of the Boot Parts I and II,” the Australian Football League (AFL) and National Rugby League (NRL) grand finals will be shown at JJ Mahoney’s Music Room at the Grand Hyatt Seoul and 3 Alley Pub in Itaewon, respectively. With the event beginning at 11:30 p.m. on Saturday, sports fans can watch the game between AFL giants Geelong and Collingwood, which kicks off at 12.30. The AFL is both the governing body and the major professional competition in Australian rules football. The term is sometimes mistakenly used as the name of the code itself. For an entrance fee of 50,000 won fans can watch the game and enjoy a full BBQ with wine, beer and soft drinks. The match between the NZ Warriors and Manly Sea Eagles the following day will be featured at 3 Alley Pub in Itaewon, starting at 4 p.m. The National Rugby League (NRL) is the top flight of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia.

Expats give festival warm welcome

By John Redmond Thousands of foreigners throughout Korea flocked to the World Cup Stadium, west of Seoul, to be a part of a special expat festival, Saturday. Named “The Second Annual Expat’s Festival,” the day was a celebration of Korean pop culture together with a football match between K-League teams FC Seoul and Daejeon Citizen. The event began on a beautiful sunny afternoon at 2 p.m. with the stadium grounds resembling a street party. With a large selection of market stalls, restaurants and official club merchandise outlets, many spent the time browsing the goods on sale and catching up with friends. For those entering the stadium there was a special “foreign only” ticket booth (set up for the day only) that enabled patrons to enter the ground for a special price of 10,000 won that also included a free beer and hot dog. Once inside the 66,806 seat venue, the some 10,000 foreigners, along with twice that number of local supporters, were treated to B Boy performances, cheerleader shows, a pop concert and DJs. Other highlights were tattoo airbrush and body pa

(504) Workplace manners: Apologies (II)

(503) Workplace manners: excuses (I)

(502) Office Conversations

(501) Job search (II)

EuroAsia Players to perform charity concert

By John Redmond The EuroAsia Chamber Players will perform a series of works for the Jeon Jin Sang clinic at Bangbaedong Catholic Church on Sept. 23. The ensemble comprising of cellist Didier Poskin, Cho Hyun-young on piano, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium Pierre Clément Dubuisson on bassoon and violinist Kim Jung-ah will perform a selection of well known classical pieces beginning at 8 p.m. Belgian Dr. Marie-Helene Brasseur of Jeon Jin Sang clinic, also known as Dr. Bae Hyon-jeong or “the doctor with blue eyes,” has been working in Seoul for over 38 years, treating thousands of Seoul’s most desolate without demanding anything in return. She first set foot in Korea as a nurse and went on to complete studies at Chung Ang University Medical College (in Korean) to become a doctor. The EuroAsia Chamber Players have dedicated the concert to the “Belgian Doctor.” The concert will feature works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Johannes Brahms, Edward Elgar, Dmitri Shostakovich, Jacques Offenbach and Francois Adrien Servais. For more informat

Irish dance and music festival to take place in Seoul Sunday

By Conor O’Reilly In 1994, Irish step dancing exploded onto the world stage. The soon to be internationally recognized phenomenon by the name of Riverdance was first performed as an interval act during the Eurovision song contest. At the time, Irish dancing’s fame was confined to Ireland and its communities around the world. Following Riverdance’s international success, this style of dance has been recognized for the skill and agility required which can only be gained after many years of practice. Dance in Ireland has a long history that stretches back much further than Riverdance. While Irish dancing is often typified by this fast and skilful form of dance which requires rapid footwork and a straight, motionless posture, it often overshadows another style which is commonly known as céilí dancing. This Sunday, céilí dancing returns to Seoul courtesy of the Irish Association of Korea’s (IAK) Seoul Céilí: Irish Dance and Music Festival. This will be the second festival in as many years, with last year’s céilí taking plac

Foreign musicians invited to perform in Songdo

By John Redmond From a population free city center to a bustling market and pop concert, Songdo “Good Market” day is a unique experience. Songdo International Business District, the largest private real estate development in history, hosts a monthly event in an atmosphere that one can only describe as different. One Saturday every month, foreign musicians are asked to be a part of a music concert, an entertainment extension of Good Market in Songdo near Incheon. The ultramodern design and architecture of this brand new city, coupled with a complete absence of people, make walking through the wide deserted streets feel like being on a large, post-apocalyptic, deserted, film set. “It feels like being in ’28 Days Later,’” said Josh van Winkle, percussionist member of Different Gravy, of the feeling of isolation last Saturday. With the exception of the cars parked at the venue and along a stretch of buildings called Canal Walk, Songdo Central Park area is very quiet. With the one-meter tall grass and untended vegetation surrounded by huge state of the art glas