I remember when I first moved to Korea, I hated it.

I was raised in sunny California, and was raised with the ideals of Beverly Hills 90210. My parents sent me to an ordinary Korean public school, and I found Koreans and Korean society to be very nationalistic, xenophobic, and conservative. In addition, it didn’t help that all of my classmates listened to music made by plastic teen boy-bands that looked like girls. Through junior high and high school, I braced for the chance to get out of the country.

I first found there was a punk scene in Korea through Crying Nut. I lived in Daejon when I first saw them in concert. Not only was I surprised that there was a band that played decent punk music at that time, but I was also surprised that there were several other decent bands in the underground scene. I got involved in the punk scene after I graduated high school and moved to Seoul. I discovered a whole new world inside Korea.

It was mesmerising. I was surprised that in such a conservative country, kids had the courage to dye their hair red and grow mohawks. But most of all, I was amazed that in a country of homogenic culture, there were people who knew a lot more music than I did.And, many of them had not even visited a foreign country. It was an exceptionally small scene, but I wanted to see it grow. I wanted to see it grow to the extent that, when my parents announced they were moving out of the country during my freshman year in college that I refused to go. I had known the people in the scene for only a few months, and I wanted to see how it would evolve. As a result, I stayed in Korea 5 more years, and finished my college degree in the country.

I have left Korea for Atlanta two months ago, and I find that I have a lot to thank the Korean punk scene. First, it introduced me to indie music. Before, I got involved in the punk scene, I knew more music than the average Korean, but most of the music that I knew were the bands that came out on MTV and K-ROQ.By listening to the stuff that the punk kids listened to, I got more extensive knowledge on punk and hardcore music.I got to know the legendary bands, and the indie labels that released great music.

But most of all, I have to thank the Punk scene for allowing me to open my mind and see Korea for what it really is.It is a country that has its shitty parts, but it is also a country that has alot of culture. And the people are generally narrow-minded, but the people can also be exceptionally warm, once you get to know them.