'England Belongs to' all-girl Korean punk band Rumkicks

Rumkicks / Courtesy of Rumkicks

By Jon Dunbar

One week ago, the three members of Korean punk band Rumkicks were covering "England Belongs to Me" by U.K. band Cock Sparrer in a Seoul basement venue. A little over a week later, they'll be playing the same song on stages across the U.K.

The all-girl band has been invited to this year's Rebellion Fest, where they'll be appearing alongside punk legends including the Buzzcocks, Bad Religion, the Boys, Billy Brag and ― yes ― Cock Sparrer.

It's about as much as any Korean underground band can ever hope for, so how are they doing now?

"I've been preparing for it for a long time, but unexpected things keep happening, so I'm actually running around a lot. Almost nothing is going as planned," laughed Yeawon, guitarist and vocalist of the band.

Rumkicks plays at Club SHARP in Mangwon-dong, western Seoul, June 20. / Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar

Rumkicks has been ubiquitous in the local scene for the last little while, as the band seems to be emerging out of the pandemic as the next exciting indie act hailing from Korea. The band sticks out like a sore thumb in the local scene, where the norm for punks has become muted fashion and dark colors. Meanwhile, Yeawon and bassist Dorothy go the other way, often putting their brightly dyed hair up in liberty spikes and proudly wearing leather jackets sporting the patches of their all-time favorite bands.

"As the times changed, it seems most people's fashion in the streets have become more unified, and it seems this influence has affected the music scene," drummer MJ said. "It's just the genre of music that most people do, and it's the same with fashion. I think the personality is disappearing."

Their physical appearance has gotten them quite a lot of attention, both positive and negative.

"It is children who react most purely and their parents who are most afraid of us," Yeawon said. "Many times I've seen children get pulled away from us after saying something like 'Mom, that hair is weird.'"

Members of Rumkicks pose for a selfie with a friend outside Club SHARP in Mangwon-dong, western Seoul, June 20. / Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar

Sometimes the Rumkicks members get more attention than they'd like, and the internet has certainly magnified that.

When a Facebook page titled "PUNK is everywhere" with over 125,000 followers worldwide began sharing images of the band last year ― without any advance notification ― the members suddenly found themselves the center of attention, as well as facing heightened scrutiny and even being confronted by internet bullies.

"It would be a lie to say that there was no mental harm," admitted Yeawon, who is also a member of the legendary Korean punk band Rux as well as skatepunk band About Jane. "I cried all night watching the increasing number of comments. I hope everyone dies."

In response, she came up with the song "PUNK is nowhere" released last month, composed of hate comments the band received.

"Too neat! No filth! Too fashion! Cosplay! Listen Avril songs!" the song goes. Then Yeawon retorts in Korean, "I won't do what you want me to! I won't wear what you want me to wear! I won't live how you want me to live! Until I die you won't be satisfied!"

"I don't really care about those haters," MJ said. "There's both interest and envy, and our popularity is growing. I think there are various people because the internet world is infinite. I don't take it very personally. The one who keeps going is the winner."

That wasn't the first time Rumkicks turned a bad experience into a great song.

In March 2021, they released "Don't Touch My Head," about a fight Yeawon got into once.

"'Don't Touch My Head' is a song I wrote that night because I was so angry," she said. "A few years ago, I was waiting in front of the bathroom door after a gig and felt someone touching my hair. I turned around in surprise and found a drunk man. He suddenly moved like he'd been trying to swat a mosquito, and claimed there was a mosquito on my head. A fight broke out on the spot."

Although she did not say exactly how the fight ended up, only that "everyone in the audience and the bands came out to help," this reporter would not want to be in the other guy's shoes.

Early this year, Rumkicks released "Proud of Madness," a tribute song for Mad Pride Seoul, a festival started in 2019 by ANTICA to raise awareness of mental health and destigmatize neurodivergent people. The song features guest vocals by Christmas Kwon and SAAE, two members of local punk band 18Fevers.

"We are proud of our madness, and our identities as mentally divergent people," the band said in a statement released with the song. "In 2019, the only mentally diverse people portrayed in Korean media were criminals. However, on Oct. 26, 2019, the representatives of mental diversity proudly stood at Gwanghwamun Square. Many media outlets had a lot of interest and covered the event. The way that mainstream media portrayed mentally ill people began to change."

"'Proud of Madness' was written with the hope that it could help improve the perception of people with mental health issues," Yeawon said. "Korea is a country where not only the mentally handicapped but also the physically handicapped struggle to live."

MJ added, "When you go abroad, you can meet various kinds of people, but Korea seems to be a country that does not want to admit change and difference because it is made up of people who are so uniform."

And so Rumkicks will go overseas, to a country where they might be better known than in their home country. But first, they'll play one more show this Saturday at Club Steel Face.

Rumkicks plays at The Studio HBC in Seoul, May 22. / Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar

When asked if the band members consider Rumkicks a part of, or at least a beneficiary of hallyu, or the Korean wave of culture spreading around the world, the three bandmates had radically different answers.

"I think Korea has become a more advanced country thanks to culture. Korea will be known more in the future," MJ said. "Rumkicks also appreciates that Korea is well-known, and Rumkicks is able to perform in England thanks to Korea's popularity."

But Dorothy didn't feel so close to the global cultural phenomenon. "I think we don't belong to the Korean wave because our style is so different," she said.

Yeawon had the most cynical answer: "It seems to have nothing to do with the Korean wave," she said. "Many people overseas still say they want to visit Japan to see Rumkicks."