With Sound City showcasing an array of British artists at South Korea’s ZANDARI FESTA, we asked Merseyside melancholic psych-poppers SHE DREW THE GUN to keep a photo diary of their time soaking up Seoul’s culture. Here’s their take on a whirlwind week in the land of K-pop.
“We left Old Blighty and, after thirteen hours in the sky, landed in Seoul, by which time it was half of the band’s birthday. Sian [Monaghan, drums] and Jack [Turner, guitars] both happen to be 29th September birthday twins, so after a taxi ride full of wild goose chases we checked into our hostel and hit the town to celebrate.”
“The food ranged from scatty to scrumptious, to ‘sweet Jesus, what the fuck is that?!’ Our first encounter with the local cuisine was an amazing Korean barbecue. There was street food everywhere you walked, with interesting ways of advertising what was on offer like cuddly toys having dinner, or live octopi in a tank waiting to be scranned on.”
“Ah, Soju. Possibly our favourite item from the treasure chest of Korean culture. At first we gasped in horror at the £5 price tag of a single bud, but thankfully Nicko from Sound City showed us the way. At 1 bullet a bottle, this 12% vodka like tipple sorted out all of our beverage needs.”
“Ignoring Gangnam style completely, we had no idea what to expect from Korean music, especially with names like National Pigeon Unity and Wasted Johnny’s. They were mostly big on showmanship and belter riffs, with some otherworldly pedals and effects thrown in the mix.”
“Despite being only 20 miles from North Korea, Seoul felt like one of the safest places you could be on earth. We didn’t see any police or any need for one throughout the whole trip, until we took a trip downtown and stumbled across a herd of bizzies.”
“Our parting gift from South Korea was the breath-taking view of the city from the top of the 236m high Seoul Tower, a multi-coloured spire on top of a massive hill bang in the middle of the city. Unforgettable sights and times, we toasted our trip with a final Soju up there.”
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