A “Salsa in Bangkok” column by Dr. Roland
My Salsa adventure in Korea started in Bangkok at Noriega’s. I was Deejaying one Sunday night, when Giani (our Italian Salsa guy) tipped me. “There is girl from Korea here you should dance with her.”

We were soon introduced to each other and I invited her for a dance. I noticed the characteristic body movement and dance attitude of Korean girls. Very feminine, good timing and precise footwork influenced by LA or New York Styles.

“I’m visiting Korea soon,” I whispered between two cross-body leads.

“Really?” she said. “Please contact me when you are in Seoul. I will show you around to the salsa scene.”

The following week I was in Seoul on professional duty. The city has changed a lot since my last visit five years ago. The 2002 Football World Cup has contributed a lot in that transformation. Seoul is increasingly modern and high tech. Korean themselves admit that their capital is much more open and hospitable than ever.

Nevertheless, just like China, Korea is not (yet) a prime destination for Latin dance lovers. Seoul is better known as the “Mecca” of Taekwondo the famous Korean Martial Art which was adopted as an Olympic game in 1998. As far as Salsa is concerned, there are a growing number of people who are successfully using Salsa to shake up the capital of “Calm Mornings.”

I was very fortunate to have Yvette (she is a well-known Latin event promoter in Seoul) as a “Salsa tourist guide”. Without her, I would have wasted a lot of time searching for Salsa clubs by myself. Indeed, it took nearly an hour from Gangnam business area where I was residing, to reach the district of Hongdae where the most popular salsa venues (Bonita, Macondo and Bahia) were located. Taxis were not convenient because Seoul is a very large city and the fares are much higher than in Bangkok. Gatchi in Apgujeon was also recommended but I didn’t have time to go there.

Based on my personal perception of the Salsa scene in Seoul I would say that it is energetic, dynamic and challenging. The girls are not only gorgeous. It seems that they have understood some of the secrets of the hottest Salsa places around the world. As a result, the dance floors are “electric” and very stimulating. The Guys are so good that any “Visiting Salsero” may be intimidated and may have to “think twice” before adventuring on the dance floor…Alberto Torres himself (the famous promoter of “Salsa Congress”) has declared that “Korean are among the best Salsa dancers in the world, I’m not kidding…” (See http://www.dancefreak.com/features/korea_congress.html )

When trying to understand why the “Latin side” of Seoul has expanded so surprisingly, the following reasons are usually given by many observers. Firstly, decades of presence of American soldiers, some of whom were Salsa dancers or musicians from New York, LA, Miami or Puerto-Rico my have been the starting point for Salsa success story in South Korea.

Secondly, it appears from the twelve “Salsa City Profile Indicators” (SCPI) below, that Seoul emerges as one of the most attractive “Salsa cities” in Asia (except Japan):

1. Number of active Salsa venues in the main city (more than 5)
2. Number of local Male Salsa Deejays (more than 5)
3. Number of local Female Salsa Deejays (more than 2. One of them, Gi-Jeon of Macondo is unanimously considered as one of the best DJs in town)
4. Number of dedicated Salsa instructors (more than 10)
5. Number of Salsa websites (more than 5)
6. Ratio of local dancers to foreigners on Salsa dance floors (10 to 3)
7. Number of Salsa or Latin Associations (more than 300 are registered in Korea)
8. Population of regular salsa dancers (hundreds)
9. Ability of dancers to dance on beats (excellent)
10. International recognition as Salsa venue (increasing)
11. xistence of local Salsa or Latin bands (yes)
12. Creation and production of a “Korean Salsa or Latin music” (Yes)

Though these indicators were selected arbitrarily, they appear very useful for having a good picture of a “Salsa City Profile” in Asia.

Last but not least, the striking aspect of the Korean Salsa scene is that increasing young South Korean go to Salsa as some of them go to the “Do Jang” (the venue for practicing Taekwondo) or to the gym. Given the energy and hard work they seem to put in their Salsa routines, it appeared to me that Korean have adopted Salsa as a social substitute or complement to their national Taekwondo. That is what I referred to as “Salsakwondo”. As Yvette (my Korean Salsa friend) pointed out:

“To me, it seems that there is a gradual shift in Korean leisure culture especially for the young generation who is embracing Salsa and Latin activities…Before…All the leisure culture after work was heavy drinking and chatting…. Now as the country is opening to foreign cultures, the new generation is adopting new enjoyments…At the moment Salsa dance appears to be well received…”

The result is quite amazing in that on the dance floors, Korean dancers give the impression of awesome fitness, sharpness and harmony of their combinations as if they were performing their “Poom Se” (Taekwondo forms). As I’m myself a black belt of the Kukkiwon Salsa Academy in Korea, I find this way of working out with Salsa very stimulating and healthy. If they succeed in adding more emotion and creativity to their Salsa, Korean will certainly be hard to compete with, in the next future.

Contacts and Venues for Salsa and Latin dance, Music and Culture in Korea

Salsa portals

• All information on Salsa in Korea can be found easily on the Salsa portal www.daum.net with 300 different salsa clubs (see http://cafe.daum.net/KLDA)

Salsa Congress

• Spin (Won Gee) Lee is the leading Male figure of Salsa in Korea. He is the third time as event organizer for the Korea Salsa Congress

Fire of Latin

• Candela Productions Inc. (Hyun Pilhwan : 82-2-565-0883, pilhwan@yahoo.com) is an organizer of “Fire of Latin”, one of the two major latin festivals in Korea (http://www.fireoflatin.com). Every Spring (April 29~May 1), famous international dancers perform, organize workshops and local dancers compete for awards. Salsa and Latin parties last until dawn.

Salsain

• Justin Fineis, is the person behind Salsainkorea.com. I have to give credit to him for the very useful information he gave me on Salsa in Korea.
• Son Na Ri, is director of the Salsain Dance Academy. She is one of the leading Female Salsa figures in Korea.

Latin culture promoters

• Yvette YBac (82-(0)10-8355-5698, idance@empal.com), organized “Rhythm of World”, one of the programs in “Hi Seoul Festival 2005”, the biggest street festival in South Korea. She is also a promoter for a local Latin band, “Orquesta Esencia” and several Latin dancers including a Colombian couple dancers, as weel as Spanish Flamenco dancer. Yvette is also a columnist in a dance magazine, promoting the Latin culture in Korea, especially the Latin music and dance litterature.
• Ino Ko, (ino@salsapower.com) SalsaPower correspondent for Korea, now lives in Mexico. Lot of information about salsa scene in Korea are available on http://salsapower.com/cities/seoul.htm
• Choi Myung Ho, author of one salsa essay book in Korea, is a columnist for online magazine in www.cyworld.com. He is supposed to go to Latin America to continue his study on Latin Culture.

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