I played walking bass in South Korea.
October 1–2, 2015. I joined a local jazz band and played two nights in Geumsan (Kumsan), a small town in South Korea. Here’s the full story — travel log and live report.
Contents
Day 1 — Getting There
Left Haneda at 9:00 AM, landed at Seoul Gimpo Airport by 11:30.
I’d been to Seoul the year before, so I had a rough sense of the city. I headed to Yeongdeungpo-Gu Office station on subway line 7, where my friend Hansoo lives. Hansoo was a classmate at a language school when I lived in New York — a 20-year-old fresh out of mandatory military service.
He took me to a famous naengmyeon (cold buckwheat noodle) restaurant in Seoul, apparently popular with celebrities.
I love how they start you with kimchi before anything else.
The noodles come incredibly long, so you cut them with scissors at the table.
After catching up over the meal, we wandered through the city. I love the busy, layered feel of Seoul streets — very much that classic Asian city energy.
I hadn’t slept the night before, so I crashed at Hansoo’s for about three hours. Dinner was home-cooked kimchi jjigae — delicious.
(Apparently every Korean household has a dedicated kimchi refrigerator separate from the regular fridge. Hansoo had two, about the size of a dryer each.)
Club Evans — Jazz in Hongdae
That evening we went to a jazz club in Hongdae called Club Evans. Named after Bill Evans — I couldn’t not go. I’d actually visited the year before too.
That night’s act was a piano quartet playing violin, cello, upright bass, and piano — original arrangements of classical and fusion pieces rather than straight jazz.
Honestly I was hoping for hard bop, so it wasn’t quite what I’d had in mind — but the quality was high, the room was packed, and I genuinely enjoyed it. Cover charge: 8,000 won. Beer: 5,000 won. About 1,300 yen total. The room felt roughly like a medium-sized Tokyo basement jazz club — comfortable and easy to take in.
Day 2 — Show Day
October 1st. Up early, then a 2-hour bus from the Express Bus Terminal to Geumsan.
Geumsan is a town of about 10,000 people, roughly two hours from Seoul — similar to the Tokyo-Maebashi distance. It’s known throughout Korea for its high-quality ginseng, called “jinseng” locally. The drummer who invited me, Jinwoo, lives there. We’d met in New York playing jazz together.
Breakfast at the bus terminal:
Instant ramen, served in the pot. 4,000 won.
Arrived. Very rural.
Then we ate again.
Kimchi jjigae again. Spicy. But completely addictive.
The venue for both nights was “Cafe Estate.” Here’s the space:
Jinwoo offered to lend me an electric bass, which saved me a huge amount of hassle — I traveled with just two backpacks and no bass case.
The bass was a jazz-type with two single-coil pickups — high action, very punchy and growly. It reminded me of an Atelier Z in feel. It blended into the ensemble beautifully. Easily one of the best-playing basses I’ve ever gigged on.
I couldn’t quite make out the brand name. Jinwoo said he’d paid $1,000 for it in New York.
The Ginseng Festival
Before soundcheck, we had some time so we walked around the town. It happened to be the annual Jinseng Festival — stalls everywhere selling ginseng in every form.
Ginseng is quite bitter on its own, but deep-frying it makes it much easier to eat.
Goes well with makgeolli (Korean rice wine).
The actual live report from the show continues in Part 2.
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