Happy almost-Halloween! I’m glad you have been enjoying La Carmina’s Global Gothic tour of the world’s darkest fashion capitals. Please keep the feedback coming; I’ll gladly answer your questions in upcoming columns.
A reader wrote: “My best friend has been living in Korea and I want to go visit her. She said most of Korea is still like 1950s America… Do you know if there is a Goth scene in Seoul? Where can I go for alternative fashion and shopping?”
No, Virginia, there isn’t a Santa Claus. However, reader,
there IS indeed a burgeoning Gothic community in Korea! For the scoop, I turned to
Kit Ten Ita, a comrade of Saito, my
Singapore Goth guide. Ready? Or as they say in tae kwon do, 준비 (Junbi)? Let’s sail forth to Seoul and Busan…
La Carmina: First, can you tell me a bit about who you are, and what you do?
Kit Ten Ita: I’m an amateur bellydancer, has-been blogger and passionate about improving my photography & consuming more music, a polyglot, and general oddball misanthrope. I define myself by my context, having lived in 6 different countries, moved more than 21 times before the age of 21. I lived in Korea for 6 years, participated in nearly all the BRHF goth parties (except for 2 summer parties when I was revisiting Switzerland) My involvement has ranged from dancefloor participant, dark fusion performer, drunk bartender, helpful decorator and supportive volunteer. I am currently pursuing a degree in Interactive Art at LASALLE.
La Carmina: How did you first become interested and involved in Goth / underground subcultures in Korea? Which cities and areas are hotspots?
Kit Ten Ita: My first interactions with the culture were with music when I was in my early teens – starting with Ministry, Skinny Puppy, Aphex Twin, and of course NIN. Many years later when I first arrived in Korea, my first contact was a metalhead named Sungwon who introduced me to both the Death Metal and Korean Goth scene. I had a Goth MeetUp Group and Counter Culture Forum and brought in the expats to the local scene.
Seoul and Busan both have a scene to my knowledge Seoul has a large population, but I hear the one in Busan has better attendance. But I could be incorrect about that since I’ve never been to the parties down South.
La Carmina: Can you tell me how the Gothic scene in Korea originated and evolved? Are there aspects that are distinct to the country?
Kit Ten Ita: To my knowledge the BRHF started with Hye In and Dosu, who are an indomitable pair in charge of organizing the Goth and Metal festivals. They had quite a challenge in trying to please all the participants from the ones who wanted somewhere to be entertained, have somewhere to sit and chat, to the ones who wanted to dance. But with an influx of people who wanted to dance, that soon changed. And it has transformed once again the past year…
The musical choices have usually been more thrash and metal, though now through cultural intermingling we are seeing more and hearing more EBM. But the musical choices are still generally more thrash and metal, and the culture is laced with death metal philosophies and antichristian rhetoric. It makes sense, considering Korea has the the highest number of Church attendees and Christian devotees.
What makes Korea special and particular is the prolific smoking and drinking culture, and after most concerts there are after parties that are open to people to mingle with the band members. An interesting fact to note are the laws against skirts above the knee and men with long hair (both of which are prevalent in the scene). Only recently has the former been amended. The tattoo culture was never really big until 2 years ago and since then it has really exploded. Stars and words are common. The piercing culture is very normalized with university students and it’s common to see very drastic piercings on very unassuming people. Androgynous men are viewed with a great degree of appeal.
La Carmina: How would you describe Gothic fashion in Korea? Which styles, brands, looks are popular? Has it changed over the years?
Kit Ten Ita: Gothic fashion in Korea is similar and influenced by Japan – whether aware of it or not, the Lolita look was extremely well adopted and popular in early 2000. But often with minimal makeup. These days the people in the scene are becoming more and more adventurous with their clothing choices, makeup choices and are more prone to putting on more makeup, predominantly thanks to a doom and Alex. Alternative fashion always goes into the mainstream so zippers, black and have become trendy post 80s fashion revival the past few years. But with the younger local goth crowd they tend to dress really pretty and sharp, new and clean clothing.
La Carmina: Can you recommend some Korean Gothic clothing brands, designers and shops?
Kit Ten Ita: Beetlejuice is perhaps the most well-known in both local and expat circles. They’ve held quite a few fashion shows. It is also the most-easily found and most well-priced, unless considering a Japanese import. The owner is a woman in her thirties who decided to bring back some of her designs influenced by being in London. Unfortunately for anyone above a UK size 14 or US size 12, which includes me, will have difficulty finding clothing that fits. Unless you have close connections with the tailor. The shopping areas of Ewha, Sinchon, Dongdaemun, Apgujeong all have affordable punk and Goth influenced wear, especially accessories. And imported clothing from Japan. So you really gotta explore the little nooks and crannies.
But if you’re interested in having tailor made boots, they start from 60 to as much as 250 dollars. Just make sure to have them redo anything you’re not happy with. There are several leather shops, and Dongdaemun for fabric if you make your own clothing or need new drapes. There was a place in Dongdaemun that had a variety of platform shoes but I’m not sure if its still there. (Address: Migliore 7th floor #122-126 02 3393 1995)
La Carmina: If I came to Korea and you were my tour guide, where would you take me? What is the club scene like?
Kit Ten Ita: Seoul is limitless in terms of how many places there are to go, the number of distractions, entertainment and festivals, multimedia and interactive installations throughout the city – but to get a whole experience you would definitely have to experience the PC BANG (internet and gaming cafes) JIMJILBANG (public baths and saunas) NORAEBANG (karaoke) DVDBANG (rent and watch DVDs in your own personal stereo surround room with projector) and check out a MOTEL. All of these places are practically on every corner of the city.
As for shopping, university shopping areas such as Ewha, Sinchon, Hongdae provide a suitable variety of affordable clothing and shoes (both under American size 8) and more upscale areas in Cheongdam and Apgujeong. As for parties and events, there is a limit to the scale of parties in the Goth scene. There is a great availability of trendy clubs playing house, RnB, techno, rock, etc. Keep an eye out for posters on the streets of Hongdae – there are usually several in a row. And keep an eye out for plastic surgery and prostitution! There’s plenty of diversity as well in Itaewon – where homo hill and hooker hill (near a shopping area commonly populated by tourists and local American army base people) lead to a mosque on top.
For Goth parties in Seoul, check out BRHF Blood Red Halo (Hallow) Festival. Hye In is THE organiser for Gothic/Industrial events, and Sungwon (Bilingual & Biracial) is prominent in the scene.
As for music, I recommend a doom (Pain’s Goth Rock Band), KOM-POUND (EBM/Electro/Industrial) and Dosu & Oathean (Dosu’s Death Metal Band).
La Carmina: What do you predict for the dark fashion / scene in Korea? Is it growing, changing?
Kit Ten Ita: As for the people within the scene itself, makeup usage and experimentation in general has usually been limited in the past to simple eyeliner and powder, but I’ve seen them experimenting more and more recently thanks to external influences, such as our Korean-fluent German friend Alex, which have made theatrical makeup more accessible and acceptable. I’ve also seen more and more people modifying and tinkering their clothing rather than buying it ready-made. This particular feminine style of Gothic fashion itself has always been appealing and as people enjoy dressing up it’s more than obvious and likely that both fashion and the scene will continue to grow – especially with better exposure through bloggers. ;-)
La Carmina: Thank you to the lovely Kit Ten Ita for the comprehensive answers! As for me… I’m continuing to blog every day on www.lacarmina.com/blog. And I’ve launched a Japanese TV fixing & coolhunting business: La Carmina & The Pirates. Translating, connecting, consulting, production coordinating for TV crews — we do it all. Already, we have a mission… NRK (Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation) is flying us to Tokyo to host and arrange a TV show. So we’ll be celebrating Halloween in spooky Japan — can’t wait.
Please keep the comments and emails coming; let me know which country’s Goth scene you’d like to see featured next time. Have a wonderful Halloween — I’ll be rocking my skimpy Lip Service Goth Nun outfit!
† Dark Wishes †
LA CARMINA
