There can be no denying that punk scenes tend to be heavily male dominated—testosterone, mosh-pits, and pounding guitars aside, I want to resist the temptation to say it’s only natural. A notion that would instantly be shot down by Korea’s newest girl band, Shorty Cat. Actually they aren’t breaking any terribly new ground; anyone familiar with the scene could quickly list off a whole string of bands containing female members. However these girls are catching eyes and have been building up an extremely loyal fan base. Recently I cornered the members of Shorty Cat to ask them how they formed and what it’s like to be female in the scene.

Shorty Cat is currently made up of four females, all fairly young, but not inexperienced when it comes to playing punk. Eunjin, the guitarist, explained to me that the band rose out of the ashes of former girl band Rouge Bonnet. Both Eunjin and drummer Minchae, who had also been involved in the band, dissolved it in order to create something a little more active, eventually hooking up with friends Yoojung (vocals) and Nayun (bass) to solidify the current line-up. Their primary goal, according to Eunjin, was to create an “active and positive girl band” while incorporating their varied tastes. But what are these “varied tastes?” When asked about their influences, most members decline to mention any particular bands, preferring instead to emphasise, like Minchae, an eclectic range of influences: “I gather my influence from everything that surrounds me and the feelings and thoughts I have about those things.”

I was thinking that there might be more to it than that, and when pressed most of the members did mention some interest in the Riot Grrl movement. But don’t worry, fellows, Yoojung assures us that Shorty Cat “isn’t one of those bands hostile to society cursing men unconditionally.”

“It’s not about attacking men,” Eunjin continues. “However, we don’t want to be only about music, but also hope to carry a positive message with our band. Where there are boundaries set against women, especially in Korea, we want to push through them and say hey, women can do this too!” For Shorty Cat it’s not so much about rebellion as it is a natural element to what they are doing, “if we are a girl band naturally that includes ideas from Riot Grrl,” explains Yoojung, “if we are expressing our own thoughts and the thoughts of women then naturally we can be viewed as Riot Grrl.” Nayun agrees, “Even if we say we are only punk and not Riot Grrl, the act of speaking our thoughts candidly through the music includes the ideas of Riot Grrl.” Yet I still wondered how those very confrontational ideas translated in Korea.

Eunjin recognizes that there are very few active females in the Korean punk scene, but feels that this has less to do with girls being excluded from the scene and more with the size of the scene itself. She also attributes the warm response to her band as a sign that the scene is open to more involvement from females. “Because females in the scene are still fairly rare even when we only do a little people are very grateful. Whether females are starting a new band or contributing to the scene in another way, many kids are very excited and encouraging because we are girls.” This isn’t, however, always the kind of attention they want. “From the position of a female band we don’t want the attention simply because we are girls. Instead we would hope that people will evaluate our music and message objectively and support us out of their true feelings for the band.”

When I asked if it was easy for females to participate in the scene, Eunjin responded that she doesn’t see any difference between guys and girls. “It’s just that there aren’t many active girl bands in the scene so some people may feel, almost unconsciously, that it’s still the territory of the guys who started it. There is absolutely no reason why females can’t be part of the scene and the more girls who become active in the scene the easier it will be for new girls to get involved!”

So what does the future have in store for Shorty Cat? They have burst brightly onto the stage and just recently released a demo album; Eunjin however, isn’t one to feel complacent. She says the first recording is still a little too “unripe.” For the future, “We would like to perform as much as possible while gaining more experience and learning to craft songs closer to the idea we have for the band.” As the band matures it seems highly likely that they will become future role models for other girls looking to join the scene, but Shorty Cat isn’t just for girls; Eunjin concludes, “we hope to share our hope and our joy not only with other women but also with all our peers.”