Summer’s here, get ready to rock

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Summer’s here, get ready to rock

If you can’t make it to the world-famous Fuji Rock Festival in Japan at the end of this month, Korea’s West Coast may be the substitute you’re looking for.
From July 22 through to Aug. 10, Cheongpodae Beach becomes home to a festival celebrating independent rock bands, the largest of its kind in Korea.
The World Independent Music Festival will feature about 90 bands on the beach in Tae-an county of South Chungcheong province.
If you attend the festival from July 30 to Aug. 2, you can also enjoy a concert-within-a-concert, featuring Korean, Chinese and Japanese rock bands. The kicker with this mini-show is that it is free to everyone, sponsored by the Tae-an county office, South Chungcheong province, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Korea National Tourism Organization.
The Korea, China and Japan concert showcases established rock bands from each country.
From Korea, 10 bands, including Crash, Sister’s Barbershop and Wiretap in My Ear, will heat up the stage, along with five bands each from Japan and China. Moonspell, a band from Portugal, will open the show.
Running at the same time, the International Independent Music Festival features less established yet up-and-coming underground rock bands like No Brain, Moby Dick, Africa and July.
The festival also provides an opportunity for amateur performers to make themselves known. Bands made up of college students and office workers will open the shows each day.
During the concert, the beach is transformed into a huge venue for the rock music festival. A giant building that can accommodate about 400 people will be available for festival-goers.
Additional attractions such as poetry readings and Korean traditional ink painting with calligraphy will be held at the same venue.
If twigging out to rock music on a crowded beach is not your cup of tea, perhaps you should head to Incheon city, just west of Seoul.
A three-day, two-night package tour to Seungbong island is available, completed with an oldies-but-goodies music performance by local singers and bands such as the acclaimed Sinchon Blues and Jo Deok-bae.
The packages are available on two occasions, July 26 and Aug. 3. Without lodging charges, the package, including concert admission, round-trip ferry to the island, sightseeing and meals, costs 120,000 won ($100) per person.


by Lee Kyong-hee

For more information on the World Independent Music Festival, call (02) 337-2876 or visit www.indearts.com.
For the island tour package, call (02) 454-6114
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