August 5 - 14: The Seoul International New Media Festival - combining video and art to get experimental stuff on art's bleeding edge for the last 10 years. Check out the English-language website at nemaf.net - three locations around Hongdae will be hosting the event.

August 6-8 - Busan International Rock Festival - Dadaepo Beach, Busan. koreagigguide.com describes some of the acts: "Friday just has Japan’s Nontroppo & Yellow monsters, but Saturday has King Lychee (HK), Crying Nut, Americans Firehouse, Windy City & others. Sunday will see performances form YB, Guckasten, Super Kidd, Ynot?, Pia. What better way to set out of Seoul."

August 6-8 - Peace at the DMZ - a pretty cool-sounding concert. Just don't call it Woodstock. No English information as of yet on their website, but English booking is available through [email protected]. CANCELLED - SEE koreagigguide.com

August 7-15 - Gangjin Celadon Festival - get about as far from Seoul as you can, make some celadon pottery, and see some pottery from the Goryeo area. The English language website has some useful information; expect the bus ride to take over four hours.

August 7-8 - The Han River Leisure Sports Festival - staying in Seoul but want to take in the water? Ttukseom Resort will have windsurfing, water skiing, wakeboarding, kayaking, etc. Saturday night will also feature an acapella concert, a movie showing (no word as to what movie), and a swimwear fashion show. For more information, check out hangangfest.com - no English information available, though.

August 7-8 - Just in case you didn't get enough live concerts last month, the Summer Week&T concert festival is this weekend. Kanye West is the biggest name, Calvin Harris, Irish electro/indie group Two Door Cinema Club, Gildas, Does it Offend You, Yeah?, dance duo autokratz, 80Kids, and DIM will all be performing at Naksan Beach, on Korea's east coast. Find English information on their website.

August 10: Stevie Wonder. His first appearance in Korea since 1995, he'll be performing at Jamsil Indoor Stadium in Seoul. Tickets are guaranteed to be expensive - but worth it. Check out hyundaicard.com or Interpark for more information. SOLD OUT - c'mon, don't be too surprised. Look for the scalpers if you're dying to go.

August 11: A screening of 'Food Matters' - a documentary about eating / living healthier - at Suji's in Itaewon. From one press release:

Are you sick, overweight, tired, depressed, looking old before your time - or just want to stay healthy and happy? You might want to see this film.

FOODMATTERS is a hard hitting, fast paced look at our current state of health. Despite the billions of dollars of funding and research into new so-called cures we continue to suffer from a raft of chronic ills and every day maladies.

This groundbreaking documentary sets about uncovering the trillion dollar worldwide 'Sickness Industry' and exposes a growing body of scientific evidence proving that nutritional therapy can be more effective, more economical, less harmful and less invasive than most conventional medical treatments.

FOODMATTERS features interviews with leading medical experts from around the world who discuss natural approaches to preventing and reversing cancer, obesity, heart disease, depression, mental illness and many other chronic conditions.

View the trailer here, then RSVP here (15,000 won covers snacks and a drink).

August 12 - 17: The 6th Jecheon International Music and Film Festival. You won't confuse this with larger or more well-known music festivals, nor will you see many 'international' acts being brought in. You also won't see many specifics on who's performing as of this post, but keep your eyes open all the same.

August 13 - 15: The Seoul E-Sports Tournament. Watch geeks of a whole different level compete against each other in computer games. The rest of us mere mortals can participate in a cyber game theme park, which sounds potentially interesting. COEX Mall, hall D. The official website has some English on it.

August 13 - 15: Pusan Summer Swing Fest - swing dancing, not the other kind of swinging. A great chance to meet hundreds of people who jitterbug, lindy hop, Charleston, or just plain swing. See this Facebook page for more information.

August 14: Smashing Pumpkins come to Jamsil in Seoul. It's possible you haven't heard of the alt-rock band, but I doubt it. Get your tickets at Interpark.

August 14: The first installment of the Seoul Encyclopedia Show - performers combine fact with poetry in hilarious and unusual ways. From the announcement: "...Our first installment for this series is Gravity. We have an amazing line up of poets, songwriters, painters and performance artists to create an inspired description of the force that keeps our feet married to the Earth and the planets in orbit."

For more information, check out the Facebook page. RUFXXX Art Space in the Namsan Area near Noksapyeong Station, 8pm-11pm.

August 15: Liberation Day - call it Korea's Independence Day if you like. As this is the 100th anniversary of the start of Japanese liberation, there's bound to be more than a few patriotic things happening.

August 15: Gwanghwamun - the great gate guarding Gyeongbokgung palace in downtown Seoul - will reopen. After years of reconstruction, it'll be nice to see the authentic recreation. As a bonus, seven new buildings will be opened to the public. For more information, check out one official tourist page.

August 21 - 29: Get down to Daegu to witness the 2010 World Firefighting Games. Never heard of them? You might have seen a previous contest on ESPN2, running up stairs, putting out fires, or other sorts of physical / mental contests - but there's 75 events to watch if you're so inclined. The official website has a pretty good English page.

August 27 - 29: If firefighters playing sports isn't a reason to check out Daegu, let's try the Daegu International Bodypainting Festival. Yes, the same thing that's done for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. Try to think of it as art - it's not that hard. Duryu Park, Daegu - check out the official website for more information.



August 27 - October 10: Folks, it's time - time to get your Rocky Horror Picture Show on. This isn't just a showing of the movie - the original cast of the stage musical will perform the cult classic IN ENGLISH (a Korean narrator). Tickets range from 66,000 to 110,000 won - reserve them on the appropriately-named website. No word on whether callbacks and throwing things will be part of the festivities - but I'd bet more than a few people will come dressed... correctly...

August 28 - September 5: Chuncheon 2010 World Leisure Congress and Leisure Games - where else can you watch the grand sports of in-line skating, dancesport, jokgu (think volleyball with your feet and a soccer ball), danggu (Korean pool), paragliding, model aircraft, and rock climbing? A quick hour bus trip from Seoul makes it happen.

(DEADLINE) August 31 - the Autumn Shorts Show - if you're looking to get involved in the creative community around Seoul, this is your chance. The actual show will be October 16th, but August 31st is the deadline to get involved. From the announcement:

The Shorts Show might be for you!

Why not put together a snippet of your ideas in front of a loving audience?!

We will do the advertising, sort out the space, provide lighting, sound equipment and a technician; you bring the show!

The Shorts Show is a night designed to provide an opportunity for individuals or groups to showcase or try out new work. Each short performance must last a maximum of 20 minutes. The idea is just to give it a go in front of an enthusiastic audience.

If you would like to do a performance, please email probationarytheatre [at] gmail [dot] com with your name, contact number, name of performance (just a working title would be fine), number of people involved (it doesn’t matter if you don’t know for certain yet, just an estimate), and your idea (explain in no more than 200 words what you would like to do with your 20 minutes).

© Chris Backe - 2010