LARA IN KOREA!: AT LAST, A KOREAN MUSIC FESTIVAL!

Or..How Korean people go to a festival!

Last weekend I was so fortunate to attend a Korean music festival, namely Jarasum International Jazz Festival. One of my Korean language classmates, Net, invited me to join him since he could get free tickets. After class on Friday we took the subway and headed towards Kapyeong (가평), it’s a village about 2 hours from Seoul by subway. When we arrived there we met the mother of Net’s friend Minsu, who is a local in Kapyeong. She gave us tickets to enter the festival. I have experienced Belgium festivals like Rock Werchter, The Gentse Feesten, Dranouter,... for many years in a row, but never had the chance to enjoy a big music festival in Korea. So I thought this is something "om over naar huis te schrijven'! And I must write: it was an interesting experience.

If you would compare Belgium festival behavior with Korean festival behavior it’s easy to say that it differs a lot! First of all everything is so logic! Korean people in general are mostly well organized and follow the rules. This meaning that the festival in overall is well organized. All the concerts and stage performances start exactly on the time they are supposed to start. People get plastic bags for collecting and putting their personal garbage waste. So no throwing on the floor, no 'bekerkes rapen' (collecting cups) for free drinks. The toilets are all clean even after three days! It is allowed to bring your own food and drinks. However the most surprising thing for me was that they even had a 7even Eleven on the festival field. I just couldn't believe they even made a small convenient store where you can buy snacks, beers and mostly all of the stuff you can find in any regular convenient store. Another thing that surprised me was that so many big companies have their own stall on the festival and put a lot of effort in merchandising their products. A lot of things people can win by playing some games or just stand in line: cotton bags, fleece blankets, instant cameras, wine etc. You can also print some pictures from your mobile phone and make a Soju bottle with your name tag on it.

Yet another thing that was strange to me was that festival people are so damn well prepared here: they come with big picnic blankets, food (like cheese, BBQ, kimchi, you name it, it was all there), drinks (wine, beer) and even picnic tables! They stall it all out, buy extra snacks and wine from the small stores on the festival… and then they sit there and relax while listening to music. In Belgium most people when they are lying down it means they are either drunk, are having a sun stroke or are tired of dancing. Korean festival people are rather passive, so that even the festival organizers made an announcement, later in the evening, requesting people to not keep on sitting down and stand up to dance. However whenever they played the tune made by the festival organization which actively urges people to dance by showing them which moves to do at what time, everybody jumps up and starts imitating the dance. It seems many Korean people tend to like to be told what to do and also to like choreography when dancing. (This is also reflected in the huge amount of dance clubs where everybody learns to do the same choreography .. You know, this K-Pop style stuff!) Luckily, later in the evening people were more willing to dance as it cooled down and the only way to stay warm is to move that body! Check the dance here! It's retro, the tun eis catchy and the dance cool, especially when you see Korean festival people jump up and dance on it! To see the Jarasum theme dance, click here!

We were drinking a lot of soju with the parents and friends of Minsu. Even after the festival was finished we ended up in a local bar called “Midnight” and got to hang out with the local folks till we got all tipsy and somewhere lost in our minds and decided to take a cab home to Minsu’s parents’ house. What a night!

The next morning we eat Korean breakfast with Minsu’s parents. Minsu left already to do his weekend job in construction. Poor him… must have felt miserable working with an hangover. :D

The festival’s atmosphere was great: great music; nice weather, campfires; BBQ, food; and plenty of free things to get. The sound installations were marvelous and the volume was just perfect, not too loud not too low. It was so nice we decided to stay another day. My favorite concert was the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, straight from New Orleans and with a lead singer who could be Tom Hanks' Doppelgänger!

The next day Net and I discover Kapyeong. The local barista is kind of famous as the girl working there won a price in a world competition for it in 2011. In fact, I was rather following Net to here and there. He had been living and teaching English in Kapyeong for two years before and became a local celebrity because of that. ;) We went to the local market and ate fruits at the river. In the afternoon we were able to sneak in for free again and enjoyed another day and night at the festival. However we are still recovering from the previous heavy night and decided wisely not to touch any alcohol. Another friend also joined us, Dongju. He’s a cool guy, also playing in a band. I like him a lot and he’s cute too. :) We listened to some concerts together and watched the beautiful sunset. The festival continued till maybe 12 or 1am. People danced but it wasn't as crazy as it would get in Belgium. There is visibly no trace of drugs anywhere, except for the abundant alcohol supplies. However, Net and I have smelled some marihuana… So it must be out there somewhere! ;)

The next morning it's fresh crab and homemade wine for breakfast, and of course with Kimchi! People in the countryside really know how to kick start a day, no doubt!!!

What a great experience: hanging out with Korean people on a Korean festival! (I love the way they swear when they are among themselves! :D) An experience I will not forget too soon!

So long,

Lara aka 라라

Official website of the Jarasum International Jazz Festival: www.jarasumworld.net/‎