A lot of bands here in Korea sing in English. For the ignorant assholes like me that don’t speak Korean past ordering beer, it’s great to get an idea of what a song is about. So have the majority of the Korean bands been singing in English so that I can understand them? For some reason I don’t think so, but I had to find out.

“I grew up listening to music from America, England, Canada—and all those countries use English. I fell in love with that music.” says Sean from 99Anger. “I would listen to the American Top 40 every Saturday and tape it, listen to it all day long, search for the musicians and the albums, go to record stores and buy ‘em, listen to them, sing along and play them with my guitar. I had no idea what they were singing about (well, mostly about love) but it touched my heart, made me cry, made me angry, gave me inspirations.”

I guess a lot of it has to do with the American music influence. “Rock and roll is American culture” says Chul-Hwan from Suck Stuff. “Because of that, pretty much all the music we listen to is from foreign bands and we form our own rock bands to copy (or cover) them.”

Some of the Korean bands’ songs might have only the chorus in English or they may have half a verse or a few sentences in English. Some examples would be Couch’s drunk punk anthem “Fuck it Shit” and “Pogo ‘Til We Fuckin Die”. Suck Stuff has their own “Just like a Punk Rocker” and the skaish tiff “Go outside,” and the Explode has its combat-boot-to-the-teeth streetpunk songs “Social Victim” and “Where is Freedom?”. Then there’s the bands that have songs largely composed in English like the Geeks with their tempo swinging “Let it Fade” and Samchung with their brutal and anything but peaceful “Rest in Peace”. Roughly half of Rux’s songs are all in English, like their new song “Knock You Down” and the anthemic “Walk Along.” Then there’s the Spiky Brats with their bouncy “Together Moshing” and “We Never Change”.

I wondered if it had anything to do with getting picked up by a label overseas. English is fast becoming an almost “standard” language and if you wanted international attention singing in English would make sense. Or would it?

With the help of AltaVista’s Babel Fish I talked with Chul-Hwan about it. “Originally rock music was born in America, so in my case I think it’s easiest singing in English.”

When asked if it was a hurdle with the Korean audience, he said “Some people easy, some people difficult.” So I suppose it’s the same with any situation—but I don’t want to suppose, I want to know.

“Punk music is a culture shared by people all over the world. The reason that Korean bands use English lyrics is, first, we personally think that it’s there (that we are part of an international scene). Second it’s because we are used to this style being in English, so we begin to think that the lyrics have to be in English or else they sound awkward. Several people in the scene here feel that way.”

Sean from 99Anger had some more answers for me. “It’s sort of a natural thing. Bands I look up to were all American or sang in English.”

I asked if maybe punk sounded strange in Korean to him: “No no, not at all. Like Rux, they sound really good. And of course, some bands sound worse singing in English. Well, sometimes in punk or hardcore music, lyrics are important so...”

So does the Korean audience have a hard time understanding the lyrics? “Yeah, definitely. Even my own band’s members didn’t know what I was saying. But sometimes, lyrics are part of music. Voice is part of music. You know what I mean? Sometimes, you don’t need to understand lyrics to understand music, to enjoy music, and even to sing along.”

For someone to sing in a language that’s not your native tongue... that must be hard. I have problems with drunken versions of “La Bamba,” but then again but I’m a dumbass. Nonetheless, I don’t know what it would be like to listen to music predominately in another language.

I called Jonghee, the owner of Skunk, lead singer of Rux, and very good friend of mine. Getting a hold of him is a feat and a half itself, but he had some insight and experience to offer. “They (the other bands) have many influences from English-speaking bands, so that’s what they want to sound like. Because I lived in the States, sometimes I think in English, and sometimes English is easier to express my feelings”

Korean, from what I’m told, is a language that is heavy in emotional expression but lacking in logical expression.

“Sometimes that is right. Sometimes the translation in Korean just sounds silly. Addicted is weird, it (the word “addicted”) doesn’t make the right picture in the mind (in Korean); it’s too deep. But if you say addicted (in English), it’s just that.”

“Korean words don’t sound as good in songs. If you want to make lyrics in Korean, it’s too long. Some songs made in English, you can tell a whole story in one song, but in Korean you need like twelve minutes.”

Jonghee has also kept in mind the English speakers around the world. “Broken Nose,” I wanted to say that to all the English speakers. I’m talking about ‘It doesn’t matter if you’re black or white;’ I’m talking to those people from all over the world. English is simpler.”

So do other Koreans have a hard time with lyrics in English? “I don’t think so. If they translate it they can get it.”

Seems Jonghee is fielding questions himself about English lyrics. “They ask me what such and such song is about. Lots of people ask. They want to know what they’re saying when they cover the songs.”

Something I always wondered about was Samchung. They have been around as long as anyone and have garnered more scene points than your momma. I always admired them as a band, but there were lots of rumours on the wind about their various political affiliations. Out of all the bands they seem to be the most nationalist out there. Despite this, their latest album, “United We Stand”—a split with hardcore heavyweights 13 Steps—is almost completely in English. Do you lose any Korean national identity by singing in a language other than Korean? So about the nationalist attitudes and everything...let’s kill some rumours and get the facts.

“What would you say is Nationalism? We just hate PC bullshit.” Straight from the horse’s mouth, so to speak. “Maybe right wing but I do not know about Nationalist,” says Boram, the bassist. “I hate North Korea and PC stuff. We sing in English because that is the sound we always have listened to.”

So would any national identity be lost if you sing in a language other than Korean? “I do not think so.” Makes sense to me.

Playing in a vastly western style would be bad enough, but these boys aren’t about to give up guitars and drums for Kayagum(s) and Changgo drums. That would be pretty cool though wouldn’t it?

Minju is a punk about my age, and is actually the first to show me Skunk when I was a younger pup. He is now the bass player for the Explode, an upstart band of the Chaos Class record label. Being what I consider a brother I wanted to get his take on Korean punk bands using English in songs.

“There are several different reasons; one is that many punks live in English-speaking countries. And punk was first started by bands that spoke English. Also, there are a lot of people who speak English and we want to understand each others lyrics.”

An interesting tidbit about the recording of their first release: “We first wrote the lyrics in English and then changed them all into Korean before recording.” The Explode’s lyrics are for the most part in Korean, but a few of the choruses are in English. He said about singing in Korean: “English is okay, but…it’s not because I love Korea, but Korean has been my native language since birth and using Korean seems better.”

So punk in English or Korean, which is your poison? Well, for me personally, I like a little of both. Some ideas or expressions in Korean don’t translate very easily, and some English words have no real Korean equivalent. Being bilingual is a good way to express your ideas to a wide range of people. Don’t hate a band for saying something that may sound stupid in English I’m sure you (and—I know—I) sound stupid making attempts of getting ideas across in Korean. When you’re used to hearing a type of music in a different language, you can’t help but emulate it to some degree. Pansori would sound awkward at best in English and sometimes Korean may not be the best language to use in punk or hardcore. But you gotta admit one thing: it sounds damn good.