Big bashes ring in the New Year

Where, how to hail the Year of Dragon


Every year has witnessed a progressive growth in the scale and breadth of Seoul’s countdown parties.

Single and double star events gave way to multiple act showdowns, then, last year, two game-changers busted out the big guns.

Countdown Seoul 2011 transformed the massive Yeongdeungpo shopping complex, Times Square, into a multi-floor over 15-act music bonanza featuring former Daft Punk manager-and-Ed Banger Records’ head Pedro Winter a.k.a. Busy P, the late DJ Mehdi and South Korean boy band 2PM.

The Seoul Electronic Music Festival catered to hard-core revelers with 25 artists in two venues ― Sheraton Grande Walkerhill’s Walkerhill Theatre and Vista Hall ― for a seven-hour fiesta.

Both are slated to return this winter, with a strong round-up of high profile acts.

While Countdown Seoul is sticking to the same venue and date, the Seoul Electronic Music Festival has nudged its date to Jan. 14, leaving Walkerhill Theatre and Vista Hall open to takers.

Apparently the double venue was simply too good to pass up and has attracted a brand new party, the HIGH LIGHT FESTIVAL, whose acts include the Billboard chart-topping group, Far East Movement, and former K-pop boy band member-gone-solo Jay Park.

Meanwhile, neighboring WooBar is staying faithful to its long tradition of putting out a DJ-fronted countdown party.

At last year’s Countdown Seoul 2011 at Times Square thousands of balloons showered down on partygoers. This year’s fiesta promises to top that. (LOCKSMITH by SHYOSHYO type)

Countdown Seoul 2012 at Times Square
Bigger is not always better, but it is when it comes to Countdown Seoul’s second installment.

Co-organizer LOCKSMITH by SHYOSHYO type’s planning team head Kim Soo-hyang said the upcoming party has expanded to an extra floor of the shopping complex.

Kim also promises to top last year’s balloon shower, only going so far as to say “an amazing countdown show is in the works.”

Amped-up nosh and drinks will include vodka cocktails, beer and coffee, and a special menu served up on the fifth floor at the Seoul New Rave stage.

When it comes to the 10-hour, 20-act bash itself, no doubt, Korean spoof heavy duo UV will be one of the most-anticipated acts of the night.

Thanks, in part, to the duo’s ability to seamlessly meld parody-driven humor with pseudo reality on cable TV while continuously churning out catchy, retro singles like their more recent “Itaewon Freedom” (ft. music mogul Park Jin-young), comedian Yoo Sae-yoon and artist-friend Muzie have skyrocketed to fame since their 2010 tongue-in-cheek, R&B debut “No Cool, I’m Sorry” ― a riot that came complete with a guffaw-inducing music video.

Korean spoof heavy duo UV (Muzie on the left, Yoo Sae-yoon on the right) will be performing at Countdown Seoul 2012. (LOCKSMITH by SHYOSHYO type)

While UV is sure to bring the laughs, French DJ-producer Breakbot will have partygoers chilling to his addictive infusion of a ‘70s-style groove into songs and remixes like “Baby I’m Yours” and Metronomy’s “A Thing For Me.”

Joining Breakbot is fellow Ed Banger Records label artist and art director SO ME, French duo Housse de Racket and Japanese electronic act 80kidz. Two-man indie band Goonamguayeoridingstella will also be bringing their dreamy, guitar strumming, soft vocal-laden sound to the show.

Countdown Seoul 2012 runs from Dec. 31 to Jan. 1 from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. at Times Square in Yeongdeungpo. Tickets cost 77,000 won if purchased in advance and 99,000 won at the door. For more information visit www.countdownseoul.com
 

Billboard chart-topping group Far East Movement is coming to perform at the HIGH LIGHT FESTIVAL 2012. (CJ E&M)

HIGH LIGHT FESTIVAL 2012
Far East Movement, need we say more?

Surely the group, whose single “Like a G6” topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2010 and made them the first Asian-American act to do so, holds enough clout to attract plenty of fans to this party.

According to organizer CJ E&M’s music business division marketing team deputy chief Lee Jae-hyang not only are all four members (Kev Nish, Prohgress, J-Splif, and DJ Virman) coming to perform but K-pop idol Jay Park will be joining them at W Seoul-Walkerhill’s Vista Hall.

Both acts have fresh singles out, Far East Movement’s “Jello” featuring rapper Rye Rye and Park’s R&B charmer “Girlfriend,” meaning those tracks might be featured on their set lists.

At Walkerhill Theatre, French DJ-producer SebastiAn will be putting his aggressive, ear-splitting, staccato flavor to his mixes and tracks.

The line-up for both venues will also feature French DJ Feadz and Korean electronic artists IDIOTAPE.

The HIGH LIGHT FESTIVAL 2012 runs from Dec. 31 to Jan. 1 from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. at the Sheraton Grande Walkerhill’s Walkerhill Theatre and Vista Hall. Tickets for both venues cost 132,000 won in advance and 143,000 won at the door. For more information visit highlightfestival.mnet.com

Seoul Electronic Music Festival 2012
Last year, the fledgling event brought in Etienne de Crecy, the DJ who has been credited with pioneering French house music. This year the Seoul Electronic Music Festival sends a nod to trance with Above & Beyond. The over decade-old group nabbed fifth place in the DJ Mag 2011 Top 100 DJs poll, cementing their status in the disc jockey firmament.

Joining them is French duo Justice of Grammy Award fame. Ready to unleash tracks off their sophomore album “Audio, Video, Disco” (surely they will), Xavier de Rosnay and Gaspard Auge are returning to South Korean soil for a “full live set.”

Hot property Crystal Castles ― the Canada-based two-member band ― is also set to perform. Vocalist Alice Glass’ reported stage-diving tendencies promise that this act will be anything but boring.

All action can be caught at Ilsan’s KINTEX, but why the change in venue?

“The first event was a pilot indoor fest so we did it as a countdown,” said a representative of organizer VU Entertainment. “This time we want to do it for real and make it a big indoor festival, and KINTEX is the most appropriate space for that.“

The Seoul Electronic Music Festival 2012 will run on Jan. 14 from 3 p.m. to 4 a.m. the following day at Ilsan’s KINTEX. Tickets cost 121,000 at the door. For more information visit www.semf.co.kr

New Year Party with DJ Belzebass
This year, Italy-based duo Belzebass will be sending partygoers into the New Year with an ear-blasting concoction of pulsating mixes at the W Seoul-Walkerhill’s WooBar.

Loud and fast-paced seems to be this act’s calling card. So for those who want to hang onto their cocktails and go for a beat-driven joyride, this might be the bash for you.

The party will run from Dec. 31 to Jan. 1 from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. Tickets cost 50,000 won in advance and 60,000 won at the door. One free drink included. For more information call (02) 2022-0333.

By Jean Oh (oh_jean@heraldm.com)

Lee, Hyun delegations return to Seoul

Lee briefly spoke with Kim Jong-un, Hyun only expressed condolences

The widows of former President Kim Dae-jung and former Hyundai Asan chairman Chung Mong-hun returned home on Tuesday after their high-profile trip to Pyongyang to express condolences over the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.

Lee Hee-ho, widow of former President Kim Dae-jung, shakes hands with Kim Jong-un at the Kumsusan Memorial Palace in Pyongyang on Monday. (The North’s Korean Central Television

In the morning, former First Lady Lee Hee-ho and Hyundai Group chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun met the North’s titular head Kim Yong-nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly, and expressed “deep condolences” over Kim’s demise, according to the North’s official Korean Central News Agency.

During the meeting at the Mansudae Assembly Hall, the two women expressed hope the joint declarations signed during inter-Korean summits in June 2000 and October 2007 will be implemented, and said that they will make efforts for this, the KCNA reported.

On Monday, they met Kim Jong-il’s heir, Jong-un, and paid tributes to the late leader at the Kumsusan Memorial Palace where his body is laid in a glass coffin ahead of his funeral set for Wednesday.

There, Lee talked with Jong-un for about 10 minutes while Hyun said she had no private talks with the heir, who state media in the North have referred to as the top leader both in the military and ruling Workers’ Party.

“(Kim Jong-un) thanked her for visiting (the North) from far away,” Yun Cheol-gu, secretary general of the Kim Dae-jung Peace Center, told reporters on behalf of the 89-year-old Lee at the Dorasan immigration office near the border.

“(To mourn his death, she) waited for 40-50 minutes and then talked with (Jong-un) for about 10 minutes.”

Hyun stressed that her visit to Pyongyang was “purely for the mourning purpose,” dismissing speculation that there might have been talks with Pyongyang officials over cross-border businesses.

“(I) just expressed my sympathy. I had no separate talks (with Jong-un) and did not meet him separately,” she said.

“We (Hyun and Kim Yong-nam) talked about general issues as I visited the North purely for the purpose of mourning.”

The two delegations they led crossed the heavily fortified border on Monday for a two-day visit. Seoul allowed only them to visit Pyongyang to reciprocate the North’s delegations that attended the funerals for Kim and Chung in 2009 and 2003, respectively.

Their visit drew keen attention here as the heir, currently serving as vice chairman of the ruling party’s Central Military Commission, could convey a significant message to South Korea.

Observers attached special meaning to their visits to the grieving country as their late husbands were a symbol of inter-Korean cooperation. Kim Dae-jung and Kim Jong-il held the first-ever North-South summit in 2000, and the Hyundai Group pioneered business exchanges between the two Koreas.

Before returning to Seoul, the two delegations also toured the Gaeseong Industrial Complex, the last remaining symbol of bilateral cooperation. Ties between the two Koreas have soured since the two deadly attacks by the North killed 50 South Koreans last year including two civilians.

After meeting Jong-un on Monday, the two women wrote messages of condolence, according to the North’s state media.

“Although Kim Jong-il, chairman of the National Defense Commission, has passed away, I hope that we can achieve national reunification at an early date by upholding the spirit of the June 15 inter-Korean declaration (signed in 2000 during the first inter-Korean summit),” Lee said in her message.

Hyun’s message read: “The National Defense Commission chairman who has made efforts for inter-Korean reconciliation and cooperation will be remembered in our hearts for good.”

The North Korean media reported in detail their visits as top stories. The article on the South Korean mourning delegations appeared on the front page of the Rodong Sinmun, the official daily publication of the ruling party, on Tuesday. Its television also showed footage of the two shaking hands with the sad-looking Jong-un.

The North announced last Monday that Kim, who ruled the state with an iron fist for some 17 years, died of a heart attack on a train ride on Dec. 17.

South Korea has decided not to send a government delegation to the North to prevent an ideological division of public opinion over the issue. It has expressed “consolation” to the North Korean people, but fallen short of offering condolences to Pyongyang.

By Song Sang-ho
(sshluck@heraldm.com)

Liberal party picks 9 candidates for leadership

Podcast star politician gets jail term over rumors about Lee

The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled against Chung Bong-ju, former opposition lawmaker and popular podcast host, for spreading false rumors about President Lee Myung-bak during the 2007 presidential election.

The ruling makes him ineligible to run for an elected office for the next 10 years. The ex-lawmaker from the Democratic Party, which preceded the Democratic Unified Party, had already registered his candidacy for April general elections, but he will instead go behind bars.

(Yonhap News)

  The top court upheld the Seoul High Court’s one year prison term for Chung, who was accused of distributing false information in 2007 that then presidential candidate Lee led a large-scale stock manipulation and other financial fraud in 2001.

During the presidential election campaign period, Chung suggested documents, photos and other evidence as what he claims to be proof showing Lee co-owned BBK and LKE investment banks, which were later caught for stock manipulation.

Lee denied the accusation, saying he had terminated his ownership before the breakout of the fraud. The “BBK scandal” was one of the most controversial issues questioning Lee’s morality. A local court and a special prosecutor appointed by the National Assembly cleared Lee of charges before he took office in February 2008.

Currently, Kim Kyung-joon, Lee’s former business partner and the core culprit behind the financial fraud, has been imprisoned. Kim also alleged that Lee took a major role in his scam.

Chung, who served at the National Assembly from 2004 to 2008, shot to overnight stardom when he sat on the panel of “Naneun Ggomsuda, (I am a slacker),” this May. The podcast program reveals the alleged shoddy aspects of the Lee Myung-bak administration. Favored by people frustrated with the administration, the program is one of the most frequently downloaded political shows on iTunes.

On Thursday, hundreds of his fans waited for the ruling outside the Supreme Court. They said they will struggle for his pardon and reinstatement. 

“This ruling is monumental because it shows the court still being influenced by the administration,” said Kim Eo-jun, co-host of the podcast program.

On Thursday, the top court also convicted Rep. Kang Ki-gap, leader of the minor opposition Unified Progressive Party, for interfering in the execution of parliamentary officials’ duties.

Justice Lee Sang-hoon confirmed a lower court’s ruling of a 3 million won ($2,600) fine for grabbing a parliamentary guard by the collar and destroying property of the National Assembly at its secretary-general’s office in 2009 while Kang was protesting against the passage of the Media Law revision.

He opposed the bill that allowed newspaper companies to run broadcasting networks and gained a moniker of “yogic flier” for jumping up on a table.

But Kang will be able to maintain his seat in the parliament since he did not violate the Election Law, which strips violators of elected seats if they get a more than 1 million won fine or a more severe penalty.

The top court also upheld an appellate court’s decision to slap a 3 million won fine against social critic Chin Jung-kwon for defaming another critic, Byun Hee-jae, by calling him, “No one knows who he is.”

In 2009, he wrote on an online bulletin: “Why is the conservative newspaper Chosun Ilbo so keen on this ‘no one knows who he is’?” He also degraded Byun for making sloppy business decisions and used other aggressive expressions.

By Bae Ji-sook (baejisook@heraldm.com)

'Naggomsu' host put behind bars