Meet some of the people working day and night to bring your community to Korea.
GK GROOVE STAFF
Publisher: Sean Choi & MJ Kim
David Volodzko
sean@groovekorea.com
David Volodzko has been teaching philosophy and literature in Japanese and Korean universities for the past nine years. He is currently a graduate student at SUNY-Stony Brook, and living in western Jerusalem, where he spends his free time studying Hebrew and Arabic.
Editor-In-Chief: Matthew Lamers mattlamers@groovekorea.com
Music Editors: Summer Walker summer@groovekorea.com
Kathy Kearns kathy@groovekorea.com
Travel & Food Editor: Josh Foreman josh@groovekorea.com
Conor O’Reilly
Community Editor: Rob McGovern rob@groovekorea.com
Conner is a long(ish)-term resident of Korea and has been a regular contributor for Groove Korea since May 2010. He enjoys searching for decent, cheap wine, adding to his collection of unread books and trying to understand why he never learned to play guitar. He is happily married and lives in Suwon..
Art Director: Daniel Sanchez daniel@groovekorea.com
Senior Adviser: Chae-Moon Lim
chae@groovekorea.com
Sales & Marketing: Hana Lee hana@groovekorea.com
Chief Consultant: Michelle Farnsworth
Dan Himes Dan is a web nerd and Busan resident who has always lived near water. He grew up in Pennsylvania, but no he isn’t Amish. He loves long walks on Haeundae Beach, geeking out in front of his computer and sporting Hawaiian shirts each and every Friday. He enjoys these activities even more with a bottle of makgeolli.
farnsworth@shinhan.com
Intern: Charles Joonwoo Park intern@groovekorea.com
Webmaster: Dan Himes contriButors WRITERS Nathan Schwartzman, Mike Hurt, Romin Lee Johnson, John Brownlie, Read Urban, Daniel Vorderstrasse, Paloma Julian, Stephanie Potell, Elaine Knight, Elizabeth Groeschen, Dean Crawford, Christina Murphy, Connor O’Rilly, Nigil Gillis, Tyron Butler, Jenny Na, Flash Parker
Mike Hurt Michael Hurt came to Korea in 1994 and taught on the Fulbright ETA program for two years in Chejudo. After studying and doing dissertation work in UC Berkeley’s Department of Comparative Ethnic Studies, he returned to Korea in 2002 as a documentary and street photographer. He plans to finish his Ph.D in August 2012.
PHOTOGRAPHY Mike Hurt, Romin Lee Johnson.
COVER Mike Hurt
Matthew Lamers Matt lives with his family in beautiful Paju. When not taking care of his children, and sometimes while doing so, he holds the reins as Groove Korea’s editor-in-chief. He loves good sushi, cheap wine and fresh air.
To contact Groove Korea for advertising, submissions or general comments, please email: INFO@GROOVEKOREA.COM The articles are the sole property of GROOVE KOREA. No reproduction is permitted without the express written consent of GROOVE KOREA. The opinions expressed in the magazine are not necessarily those of the publisher. Issue Date: Vol. 8, Issue 10 - January 1, 2012 Registration Date: January 25, 2008 Registration No.: Seoul Ra 11806
©
All rights reserved Groove Korea Magazine 2012
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GROOVE KOREA January 2012
HIGH Lights
THE REMARKABLE and RECOMMENDED Look for the Bookmark Sign.
• Page 20
WE RECOMMEND
CONNECTING COMMUNITIES
HIGHLIGHTS • www.groovekorea.com
Liam: A story of adoption I was standing at the back of a small meeting room at Holt Adoption Services with a precocious 13-month-old Korean toddler and his foster family, my camera at the ready.
These are your stories. Groove strives to bring the community around you to the palm of your hands.
CREDITS • www.groovekorea.com
• Page 46 Dan Deacon in Korea You may not know Dan Deacon, but you should. He has paved his own way as a musician without the help of the traditional music industry and has been gradually cultivating an experimental music revolution.
• Page 28 Noodle madness January is noodle madness! Groove has: 5 custom ramyeons; the best ‘ramen’ restaurant in Myeong-dong; the noodles of Asia; and Hot days, cold noodles.
• Page 74 Elegance in the Elephant Kingdom Surrounded on all sides by bigger, bolder neighbors Thailand, China, Vietnam and Cambodia, Laos is all too often left off South East Asian travel itineraries.
• Page 66 Roller derby ROK Korea’s first roller derby league is close to its first bout. Combining fierceness and femininity, roller derby embraces hard-hitting action for what could be the baddest brawl this side of the DMZ.
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GROOVE KOREA January 2012
Cover Story