Bringing a band to Korea is a complicated process. A lot of people ask me how to do it, and usually it’s too much to ask someone else to sacrifice too much for your tour. This guide will help you through booking a tour with a foreign band to Korea. It’s aimed mainly toward bringing in bands from outside Asia.

Which band should I bring?
I would only bring a band I have a personal connection with. The next most important thing is that they’re already playing a tour in Japan. You will bring them over here at the end of their Japan tour, saving yourself a ton of money.

How do I contact a band?
Diplomatically. Whatever band you’re contacting will probably not know anything about Korea, let alone about its music scene.

How can I convince them to come to Korea?
Probably the biggest selling point is that they’d be the first of their kind in Korea, unless they’re youth crew hardcore, traditional ska, or frat-poppunk. Be honest that the crowds are small, but people appreciate touring bands because they don’t come often.

They’re asking for a ton of money. What should I do?
Tell them to go fuck themselves. If they want to make money they’re free to tour up to Canada and work on the oil rigs for six months. They won’t make money here. Joey asked Rancid, Dropkick Murphys, and a ton of other bands he thought would be cool to come here, and they all asked for a ton of money.

How much money will I make?
If you’re doing this to make money, I heard Britney Spears is getting out of rehab soon. Bringing a punk band is not a good investment. Chances are you’ll get back most of what you spent, but if you turn a profit I’d be very surprised.

What should I promise them?
You will most likely cover their airfare. Expect to cover their lodging and probably living expenses. Don’t cover souvenirs. Once the band has sold some merch they’ll be less dependent on you for pocket cash.

How much is airfare?
It could be as high as 400 000 won per person. Airfare will be your largest expense.

How do I buy plane tickets?
Find the cheapest travel agent you can. You might need a Japanese travel agent. Book them to come as early as you can get them. For their return flight, you need to know when they’ll be leaving Japan for their home country. Have them arrive several hours before that.

How can I get help from others?
Most importantly you have to be self-reliant. You are in a leadership role here. Other people can help out in simple ways, such as donating money, offering to put up the band for the night, or taking them around, but the big details like flight times, tickets, and booking shows have to be your responsibility. If something goes wrong, it’s between you and the band.

How do I make a budget?
To calculate your costs and profits, make a list of how much everything will run you: airline tickets, hotel rental, hall rental, transportation, and even food. Then figure out how much you’ll make based on ticket sales. You might not get as many people as you think. Be prepared for that.

What should I have done before they arrive?
Of course the round trip tickets to Incheon and back to Japan are necessary. Book hotels. Have all the tour dates planned, with opening bands, prices, times, and posters already up.

What should I do about visas?
If it’s going to be a big show, you’ll probably need entertainer visas. Otherwise, slipping them in on tourist visas should be fine. It’s worked for every other band, including Outbreak who brought several metric assloads of obvious merch through customs.

Should I give them any special instructions for customs?
Tell them they’re just tourists come to visit a friend. They have musical instruments because they’re all students. Their jobs are not English teachers or musicians. They’re, I don’t know, landscapers.

Should I meet them at the airport?
Uh, yeah. As soon as they land, all the way until they leave, they are your children. Treat them as such. Don’t let them take the shuttle bus by themselves or catch an airport taxi. Go down to meet them.

What kind of transportation should I arrange?
You only have a few choices. Getting them all into a shuttle bus will stack up. That’s 7000 won per person, both ways. Another option is you could rent a van. Skunk Hell owns a van, and if you’re collaborating with them you could probably rent the van for a few days.

Where should they stay?
Unless they’re cunts, they won’t mind staying somewhere cheap. There are two guesthouses near Hongdae that you can find online. The Slackers stayed at Kim’s Guesthouse all in one six-man dormitory room and it was satisfactory. That kind of lodging is only 15 000 won per night. An even cheaper option is to find homes for them to crash at. A great way to save money, but inconvenient if they’re staying in different places.

What happens if one of them gets lost?
Give them your phone number, the number of a Korean who can help, and a business card for the hotel. They can always just hand the business card to a taxi driver and get driven back there.

What sort of things should we do while they’re here?
There are a lot of options, and it’s probably best to give them a mix of ideas. Take them to a market, such as Dongdaemoon, Namdaemoon, Insadong, or Ehwa. Take them somewhere traditional and touristy like Gyungbokgoong. Take them somewhere adventurous like Namsan or one of the other mountain peaks. But make sure they’re never late for sound checks.

What if they want drugs?
Tell them to save it for a country where drug laws are more lax, like China, Canada, Japan, the US, North Korea, or Taiwan. If they get busted for drugs here, they’re probably bringing you with them, maybe the clubs and maybe other bands. We don’t need that scandal. Even NoFX didn’t get any drugs while the were here, despite how much they blubbered about it.

How do I book shows?
Contact the venue owner. You will need to pay rent, which is usually collected at the end of the show when you have money. Expect it to be 5-600 000 won for a medium sized place like DGBD or Skunk.

What bands should open?
It’s your choice, but don’t go overboard on the number of bands. Two or three openers is best. Too many and your headliners might not have time for a full set. Korean bands rarely ask if they can play shows. They want you to ask them. For the Slackers show I made sure we never had too many ska bands on the bill (well, mostly too many ska-punk bands).

What are my duties at the show?
First make sure the band doesn’t miss soundcheck. Also make sure you have volunteers to work the doors and possibly the merch table. You will need to be able to roam. Make sure the show is running according to schedule. Don’t forget to stop by the door periodically to collect the money to put in a safer place.

When should I have the band back at the airport?
Make sure they’re at least two hours early. If this is in the morning, make sure they’re awake and ready to go at least three hours before departure, if not more. They’re a touring band so they probably know how to do this. How to Manage a Foreign Tour