All you need is love, a pair of guys and 10,000 won

The duo “Wood Bicycle” has been holding 10,000 won ($11) concerts since the beginning of this year. Since they sing 25 songs per concert, the rate equals 400 won per song for each member of the audience. The musicians begin their concerts by making a self-deprecating joke about this rate and saying, “Since the concert is cheap, please do some work.” The audience usually breaks into laughter and applause.
Around two weeks ago, they finished their nationwide tour with a final concert in Suwon city and, from today, they plan to start their nationwide tour all over again. The two compared their concerts to ramen. “Fancy course meals are all well and good but sometimes, everyone craves ramen. It’s the same for gigs. We think there is meaning to broadening the scope of the kinds of concerts held in Korea,” said Bicycle’s Gang In-bong.
“Do we get criticized? On the contrary, musicians say they envy the fact that we have a minimal stage and basic equipment because it forces the audience to focus more on the music,” said Kim Hyeong-sup, the other member of the duo.
For them, 10,000 won is a symbolic number. For the singers, it represents the minimum amount required for them to put on a performance and, for the audience, it is a small way for them to show their appreciation. Their first performance on January 14th was sold out and, in rural areas, there have been repeated requests for encores.
“We initially only wanted to do performances in Seoul, but because of this unexpected enthusiasm from the audience, we decided to do a nationwide tour,” said Kim. “At first we were really worried, thinking, ‘What if nobody comes, even though the admission price has been lowered to 10,000 won?’”
The duo said they felt most satisfied when they read a posting on their homepage by a father who wrote, “I secretly bought four tickets for my wife and children. At the concert, I saw my wife being giddy like a girl, a sight which I haven’t seen for a long time.”
Kim and Gang believe that the power of music lies in the fact that it can help someone and be a bright addition to their life.
“Among the audience members, there were many who said that it was their first time at a concert,” said Gang. “Those people have happy faces and concentrate on the concert. For a musician, there is no reward that comes closer to the feeling of seeing these faces. We are going to keep singing bright songs which carry the warmth of human life.” The duo will have a concert this Saturday, at Seoul’s Naru Art Center in Gwangjin district, titled “Family Love Concert.”

By Jung Hyun-mok JoongAng Ilbo [jainnie@joongang.co.kr]