BROKE: How long were you in Korea?
SEAN: 3.5 years, with little 2-3 month holidays in between contracts and such.

BROKE: When did you start going to shows? How long after did you get into Join the Circle and Things We Say? Tell me a bit about your experiences in the punk/hardcore scene.
SEAN: Quite a few months after being here I found Skunk Hell through the k-punk/hc Myspace. I was told by people back home to seek out Victor and Ki-Seok as they were the "hardcore guys". I did, and they became great friends.

Victor and Youngjoon asked me to join JTC pretty much as soon as they started, but I hemmed and hawed for a few months. When I returned from holidays in Canaduh I joined up and we started rocking. It was a fun time, and I really love that band. I think it was Ki's idea to get me to join TWS a few months before I left for good, just so we all have a chance to play together more. I don't think it was very groundbreaking, but we had a fuck of a lot of fun and made some music that I'm damned proud of.

In fact, Ki and Victor helped me through quite a few scrapes, you know those situations where you need to communicate with someone for something... there was always the call "Hey Victor, this cop has an issue with my (unlicensed) scooter, can you talk to him?" and Victor would smooth things over for me. The two dudes were kind of my personal ambassadors at times. I never would have had a chance to play with a drummer like MyungHoon without their help. Another good reason to be appreciative - I love playing with good drummers.

BROKE: As a foreign punk, did you fit in with the Korean punks? Are there big differences from here and where you were raised?
SEAN: I think I fit in as well as I possibly could. I was often too busy to attend shows with any real frequency, and I think that in any small community, regular attendance itself is a real issue for being "down", especially for people who bene fit by having a place for their band to play.

I seldom came out to shows unless it was bands I really wanted to see. Therefore I think that if the Korean punks even noticed me, perhaps maybe they had a bit of a vibe up about "that guy who only comes out when hardcore bands play". There are certainly many foreigners who were more "down" than I was. You, Grant, Verv, Anne-Marie, and many others are more dedicated than I ever had the chance to be.

In that, it seems very similar to Vancouver, because in the past there has often been a serious vibe thrown at people who claim to be a part of the hardcore scene but only contribute by coming to shows when Bane or Comeback Kid roll through town. Perhaps it's Vancouver baggage on my part. Maybe the more dedicated folks never noticed me. Perhaps it's just a guilty conscience.

What's funny is that I never saw Suck Stuff. Not even once. It seems they played almost every week, but I never saw them. I think I saw pretty much every other Korean punk band that played regularly, but I never once saw Suck Stuff. If I was doing that on purpose, it'd take some pretty impeccable timing, I think.

BROKE: Why did you leave Korea?
SEAN: I was very comfortable in Korea. However, I believe that unless you're a foreigner who is happily married and you have a nice place and a job that isn't that demanding of your time, the ceiling of happiness that is attainable in Korea is very low. I had opportunities to get involved and even married while in Korea, and am damned happy I dodged that bullet.

I respect and understand Korean culture, and I love being part of a strong family. However I cannot see myself participating in Chuseok or Seolnal for a millisecond. I'm into respecting culture and family - but fuck blind duty in the face. I'm just too independent, cocksure and headstrong to become part of it. I've never accepted anything in my own culture that involves doing things "because that's what we do."

I need challenges to be happy. I wasn't challenged anymore in Korea, nor interested in any of the challenges I could have sought out there, i.e. learning more of the language, tae-kwon-slapfighting, a second-rate online master's degree... as well, I can't see myself being any more a part of the Korean education system than I was.

BROKE: What do you miss about Korea?
SEAN: My friends, first and foremost. I made some incredible friends while in Korea. Lifelong friends. The food is a close second. I love Korean food.

I'll miss Seoul as a city. It's both ordered and predictable, yet fucked up and fascinating. Coming back to Vancouver, which has bullshit pretensions about being a "world-class" city, you can see just how different things can be. yes, things can run efficiently and cheaply. I'm paying about 3x for public transit than I was a month ago. The Vancouver transit system is an overpriced shitshow run by retards.

I'll also miss how easy it is to get out of the city and see ancient shit. I'm a history buff, so being able to get to some place like Gyeongju or Andong in 4-5 hours was really great.

BROKE: What did you dislike about living in Korea?
SEAN: I had the same gripes any foreigner has. I think that you're going to encounter grumpy assholes in your hometown too, but you take it on a little more when you're an expat because you think that it's "Ooh, foreigner, tut tut" - when it's the same disease as back home - "Ooh, i'm an asshole, and I want to make another person feel shitty about themselves". I was able to not let that bother me too much, or at least turn it into a joke at the perpetrator's expense. But it does wear on the psyche.

Certain things about government bureaucracy and decision making irked me, I can't think of any examples offhand, except maybe the new visa restrictions for English teachers, which look very high-handed and poorly-thought-out. Mostly I get frustrated with Korea's place in global politics. Korea has legitimate gripes about big issues, but when Koreans get their chance to voice their gripes on a global scale, they tend to act like spastic children. I'm talking specifically about those fruitbag idiots who cut their fingers off and eat flags.

I have a good friend who suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. She spazzes out a lot and says and does over-dramatic and irrational shit when she feels wronged. Apart from that, she leads a productive, relatively normal life. Is there such thing as national PTSD? Do years of colonization and war lead to a damaged national psyche? A lot of Canadians seem to have their back up about a lot of really hokey shit when we talk about the USA, and constantly try to prove how we're not a big snowy Mexico. It all seems like a little-brother complex. I get the same feeling from Canada as I do from Korea when it comes to people feeling dong-saeng'd. It's boring, and I haven't really encountered it anywhere else. Maybe I just haven't travelled enough.

BROKE: What are your plans now? Going to Japan? Will you play music there?
SEAN: I am going to Japan. At this point I am close to being accepted for a job that sounds rather similar to the JET Program, only it's run locally by a private company. I've got my fingers crossed, because it's only 5 minutes from the beach. My main focus right now is being in a place where I can teach English in a developed Asian country while being able to surf, and Japan seems like the place for that.

BROKE: Ever coming back to Korea?
SEAN: Definitely. I have a really good relationship with my former boss and may come back for little stints to make some exquisite flashcash. And of course to rock out in Hongdae with all the maniacs in the punk and hardcore scene.

Korea's punk and hardcore scene has a very special thing going on, and for that I will miss the country very much. There are so many good bands, and what people need to do¡¦ all the spoiled crybaby English teacher fruits who are here for a 1 or 2 year sojourn - get involved! Contribute! I saw so many people at shows when the foreign bands came. "Oh wow, The Queers are here! Now I have a chance to let my hair down!" Yet there's so much quality homegrown music in Korea. Rux are as good as any band of their genre from any country. Same with 13 Steps, Kingston Rudieska and so many others. Thing is, with the amount of money English teachers make, you could be participating in a much greater capacity. Contact your favorite bands. See when they're touring Japan. Say to them - "Hey, what would it take to get you guys to Korea?" and pool your funds with your friends. You may lose 500 bucks, but think of the experience. We pretty much broke even when Champion came. The band certainly made a profit, and if you ask Aram or any of those guys, Korea is still one of their fondest touring memories. I'm sure The Queers, Outbreak and The Slackers would say similar things. It's possible to at least make Seoul a major stop for any band in Asia, on par with Hong Kong. Getting out to smaller cities could be problematic, but Seoul could be a lot more desirable for a touring band if bands just fucking knew it existed.

I'd mostly like all my friends' bands from back home to have as good an experience in Korea as I have.