12/3/10 – On November 18, 2010, the concert hall near Seongsu station was filled with the sound of electric guitars, bass guitars, keyboards, and drums. Just before the concert started at 8 p.m., the 24 members of the Daewon Foreign Language High School (DFLH) band, Byeol-ak (which means “different music”), were busy checking their instruments. They looked nervous, but the underlying confidence showing on their faces never seemed to disappear. With the thunderous shouting from about 50 spectators, the band made its grand opening with “Song 2” by Blur.
After the splendid ending, I met with Junghan Woo, a junior at DFLH, who played the guitar. Still sweating profusely, he was exuding the excitement of the last performance, “Faint” by Linkin Park.
Q: “Please tell me about the purpose of this concert.”
A: “We do this annual concert because this is our tradition; this is what we have done so far. We all first gathered to play instruments, and this concert shows us as real musicians.”
Q: “I heard that this concert is prepared solely by the members of the band. Is that right?”
A: “Yes,” he said while wiping the sweat off his forehead.
Q: “Were there any difficulties in preparing for this concert?”
A: “Because we do everything by ourselves, from selecting the songs to play to renting this concert hall, there is sometimes discord between the members. But we try to find the middle point through conversations and mostly, we end up with better ideas that can benefit everyone. Byeol-ak’s internet website also works as a mediator.”
Q: “How do you come up with the money to pay for this concert?”
A: “Ah, about the cost,” Woo replied. “Did you see the back side of our ticket? Names written here are called supporters. We get some money from them, and for the rest of the expense, we use our club funds.”
Q: “What was special about today’s concert?”
A: “We played a song of our freshman’s own composition. He even wrote the lyrics. Also, today we had one performance where all the members played different instruments from their usual one. For example, a guy who usually plays a bass guitar played a drum, and the guy who usually plays the drum played a keyboard. That was quite interesting.”
Q: “Wow, wasn’t that hard?”
A: “We all practiced a lot for that set. Although it was hard, we used the chance to improve on our harmony by getting to know the characteristics of other instruments.”
Q: “That makes sense. I want to ask members of Byeol-ak do these kinds of activities even though they are all busy doing their school work.”
A: “Oh, that’s very simple. We all love music. We love playing instruments, listening to rock music, and watching famous rock star concerts. We are having a good time and making good memories while being in this band. That’s all!” he says with a laugh.
Q: “Wonderful. Okay, Junghan, thank you so much. It was so nice talking with you.”
Byeol-ak band members appear to balance the life of hardworking students at school and cool musicians on stage. They gave a wonderful concert, but knowing their efforts as student musicians made them admirable.
