Big Day South 2018 Coming to Busan

Written by Anastasia Traynin
Photographed by Kim Hee-sung

 

Many people think of Seoul as the nexus of independent music and art culture in Korea, but for those living in the cities anywhere south of the capital, the biggest-kept secret is the burgeoning number of scenes in Daejeon, Busan, Daegu, and right here in Gwangju. In fact, it’s probably not a secret anymore, as Busan’s surf-rock band, Say Sue Me, has made it all the way to this year’s South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin, Texas.

In any case, Busan-based Angle Magazine, spearheaded by Ireland native Philip Brett, who co-founded the project in Ulsan back in 2013, has been connecting the immense talents of local Korean and foreign musicians, theater groups, and visual artists working outside of Seoul. Angle’s flagship event, the annual Big Day South Festival, is an audiovisual feast showcasing indie bands and incorporating work by visual artists as well as interactive art created collectively by attendees.

On April 30, 2016, Angle brought the Big Day South Festival here to Gwangju, making ample use of the city’s Barim and Nevermind venues for a full day of performances, and culminating with an impromptu group run through the Saturday night Daein Arts Market led by well-known Seoul-based performer and activist Yamagata Tweakster.

After a one-year hiatus, the Big Day South Festival is on again, this time coming home to Busan where Brett has relocated and joined up with longtime co-organizer and dancer Cindi L’Abbe, who hails from the U.S. Pusan National University-area venues Basement, Interplay, Someday and art gallery Open, will host Big Day South Festival 2018 on Saturday, April 28, starting at 10 a.m. and going late into the night with no shortage of talent on display.

As the festival grows and develops, Brett continues to emphasize the importance of each city’s local scene.

“One of the original concepts behind the festival was celebrating local community and showcasing the creativity that is in the south. As part of that, we’ve always tried to collaborate with people from each city we visit. In Daegu, we invited Bracket Magazine and I Like Many Records. In Ulsan we worked with local arts group Moim. This time around, we’ve revisited how we define community, and we’ve asked DoIndie to invite some acts from Seoul. We’ve also joined up with Hillbilly Tattoo, who’ve created some great flash specifically with the festival in mind. The flash is available at a 50% discount, and we’re offering those who get the ink 75% off the cost of a festival ticket.”

This year’s decision to have nearly all organizers and performers based in Busan has given Brett the opportunity to create the biggest Big Day South to date.

“Personally, I’ve always found Busan shows to be more exciting than Seoul shows – the audience here gets in your face, and really interacts with shows. The festival has always been about showcasing artists of all kinds, and this year, we have a designated performance art stage with dance, theater, and movement arts.”

Among the many Busan and Seoul-based musicians who often play in the south, two longtime Gwangju groups – punk rock trio Dirty Rockhon and dance rock duo Windy Cat – will travel to the southeastern city to play for a diverse crowd coming from all over Korea.

Windy Cat said that regional bands outside of central Seoul often feel left out of the music scene there.

“The Big Day South Festival gives us hope that our music could be spread more widely,” said guitarist and vocalist Oh Young-seok.

Having been to Busan once for a big rock festival, this time the members of Windy Cat hope to meet people who love to see music in live clubs. They are also expecting a similar event to happen again in Gwangju.

“I have been watching and hearing about a scheduled performance like Hongdae’s Club Day in Gwangju. Gwangju has places for live music, but it doesn’t have many chances to have unique live indie music. It would be nice to have a concert where people who are new to live indie music can play comfortably.”

Dirty Rockhon leader Yang Hong-jun referred to the Big Day South Festival as a kind of “much-needed rain during a drought,” as the current state of difficulty in getting new audiences for local bands outside of Seoul makes everyone set their sights on the vibrant Hongdae indie scene.

“New encounters between bands and audiences in a live concert setting is always nothing but joyful and invigorating,” Yong said. “In Gwangju also, we’ve always hoped for more than just a one-off event, but a continuous festival like this where many people can take part and get into rock music. Despite this, Gwangju is still a bit cheap when it comes to concert culture. People don’t want to pay entrance fees and avoid the live clubs. I think we need to come up with a way to give more easy access to citizens, such as an outdoor festival.”

Looking back on Big Day South Festival 2016, where I joined a small experimental theater group, I asked some of my fellow performers to share their memories of participating in and attending the event.

“Big Day South is a day of creative and artistic flavor, flare, and fun in one place,” said South Africa native Thando Mlambo, a regular performer with the Gwangju Performance Project, director of the No Man’s Land production, and community Zumba class teacher. “There are no words to describe the diversity and how it opens you up to a world that you never thought existed in Korea.”

Mlambo suggested a stronger choice of daytime venue and planning, but was impressed with the inclusion of a variety of community acts.
Fellow South African Boipelo Seswane, who performs in theater productions in both Gwangju and Seoul, gave similarly positive feedback about the variety of acts.

“I really liked how there were multiple things happening at once, and they didn’t take away from each other but allowed a kind of seamless experience inside and outside. The change of venues was good too because I got to experience a side of Gwangju I hadn’t before. Considering it was my first time attending [a Big Day South Festival], I felt like I was getting an experience similar to a well-balanced and layered perfume. Each note elevated the one before it for a wonderful experience and moment.”

U.S. native Jordan Mathis, also an accomplished dancer and actress, said she was happy to be celebrating her birthday during the evening performances.

“The bands that played at night were amazing. It was an awesome thing to get my friends from out of town to experience.”

For more information on Big Day South Festival 2018, visit anglemagazine.co.kr.

The Author
Anastasia (Ana) Traynin has been a contributor to the Gwangju News since 2013. She has passions for Korean social movements, alternative education, live music, languages, and writing.