The members of the Seoul punk band ...Whatever That Means pose at Binary Studios in western Seoul's Mangwon-dong. / Courtesy of World Domination, Inc.

By Jon Dunbar

The Seoul-based punk label World Domination, Inc. (WDI) will host its second-ever label party this Saturday, and is also in talks to resume its beach punk festival, IT'S A FEST!

The show this weekend at Club SHARP in western Seoul's Mangwon-dong will gather as many WDI-affiliated bands as possible, including the band of the label's founders, …Whatever That Means (WTM), plus labelmates Beacon, WinningShot, Daejeon-based Smoking Goose and Busan band Sidecar, plus guest band Daisy Gun also from Busan. Also on the bill are two new additions to the DIY label, the ska-punk supergroups Monkey Gang War and Dolphin Pants Brothers made up of members of other bands, including Crying Nut, Green Flame Boys and Rudy Guns.

WTM will play its first show with its new lineup, featuring new drummer Hwangyong, who also drums for The Apop.

"He was actually the first person I ever met at a show here in Korea 15 years ago," said Jeff Moses, frontman of WTM and co-founder of WDI. "We've talked for years about playing together, but the timing was never right. Thankfully, this time it was. Member changes almost always feel like a huge setback because it usually takes so much time to get the new person up to speed on everything you've already been doing, so there's no time to work on new things or plan ahead, but this has been the most seamless member change we've ever had, which is a real blessing."

This eight-band show is intended to kick off WDI's activities for 2023, during which the label hopes to emerge from the pandemic.

"Now that COVID restrictions are mostly behind us and there is a lot more stability, we decided that we needed to have another WDI label showcase," Moses said. "Live music was only completely shuttered for a very short time in 2020. There were always a lot of restrictions, but I still spent most of the pandemic going to shows. But there were a lot of people who just weren't comfortable with that, so I think many of them got comfortable staying at home, and now that shows are back in full swing, they're still content just staying in on the weekends."

Moses and his wife Trash, who plays bass in WTM, started booking shows under the WDI brand in 2009, shortly after forming the band, which had its debut on their wedding night in February of that year. They got more serious about the label in 2015, when they started helping bands release albums and go on tours around Korea, the U.S. and Southeast Asia.

Jeff and Trash Moses share the stage during ...Whatever That Means' first show, Feb. 28, 2009, in Club Spot. / Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar

In 2019, WDI held its first official label party, celebrating 10 years since it all started. "It was the first time every WDI band in Korea played a show together and was one of the most fun nights I've ever had at a punk rock show," Moses said.

But then the pandemic hit early the next year, and everything was put on hold. The pause killed much of the momentum they'd built up, as well as closing many of the city's live music venues.

"Throughout the pandemic, some bands were able to keep playing, but others weren't. Beyond that, there was always a big question mark about any show we booked, because things could be shut down again at any time," he said.

In the first year of the pandemic, he started focusing more on the recording side of things. In 2020 he founded a home studio he named Binary Studios, and last February he moved it out of his spare room after signing a lease on a space in western Seoul's Mangwon-dong.

Binary Studios is used for recording, as well as a practice room and also a small performance venue once every month or two. After the Mullae-dong venue GBN Live House sadly shut down, Moses bought its PA system for use at Binary.

"The shows are really fun because the space is small enough that you don't need many people for there to be great energy in the crowd," he said. "We usually cap it around 50 people, which really fills up the live room without being too crammed and uncomfortable."

The next show there will be the second in WDI's "Punk vs HxC" series, with WTM and Gwangju band Monkey Pee Quartet representing punk and No Shelter and Chain Reaction representing hardcore. It will be held on Jan. 28 and only 50 tickets are available.

Working full-time as a professor at a university in Seoul, Moses had a lot more free time at home during the pandemic as his classes moved online. He used the time to complete a one-year engineer training program with Hardcore Music Studio in Canada. He's also recorded full-length albums for WinningShot and Bearfoot in the Garden, as well as EPs and singles for Sweet Gasoline, Punk on Fire and ADxHD, and he's producing and mixing an album remotely for Singaporean band Iman's League.

"I think 2023 is going to be a really exciting year for WDI," Moses said.

WinningShot is planning for a Japan tour next month, with further thoughts on finally touring the U.S. He mentioned Monkey Gang War will start recording a debut EP in a few weeks, and he's already mixing the first EP of Dolphin Pants Brothers. He added that WTM is working on new music and planning to record another EP, before doing some international touring later this year.

"Beyond that, we're just hoping for a lot of shows and new music from everyone else on the label, too," he said. "As far as overall recovery, I think it just comes down to putting on good shows, everyone working hard to spread the word about the shows they're playing, and then hoping people come out."

One of the biggest plans for the year will be the revival of IT'S A FEST! which had its first two-day run in June 2019 at Hanagae Beach on Incheon's Muui Island.

The stage at Hanagae Beach during IT'S A FEST! on June 16, 2019. / Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar

"The only thing I can officially say about IT'S A FEST! right now is that it will definitely be happening again in 2023," Moses said, before adding that they're planning to hold the next one in June.

"The festival will have the same vibe as last time: a fun-filled weekend with lots of great punk, ska, hardcore and other 'punk-adjacent' bands," he added. "We're planning to have some of Korea's best-known acts playing next to some of the scene's newcomers and will be bringing in a few bands from overseas again too. We will be crowdfunding the festival again this year by selling packages that include weekend beach lodging, T-shirts and other festival merch, so any and all support is greatly appreciated. WDI is a small independent record label, so we can't do something this big on our own."

Visit wdikorea.com or follow the label and festival on Instagram at @wdikorea and @itsafestkorea.