78page

www.groovekorea.com / July 2014 78 MuSIC & ARTS Edited by Jenny Na (jenny@groovekorea.com) Illustrations by niall ruddy and Clint stamatovich / Photo and interview courtesy of arC korea off the beaten trac k ARC mAgAzine pRovides outlet foR CountRy’s quiRks And ContRAdiCtions ‘foR some it is A deeply fRightening unknown beAst we hAve Awoken; otheRs know it As An expAnsive woRld wheRe you CAn ColleCt the best minds And set them the tAsk of CReAting puRely And simply foR the joy of it.’ niAll Ruddy A RC is a new Web-based magazine full of free content that explores offbeat and interesting ideas, and was born on a cold winter day last year. Created by Niall Ruddy and Conrad Hughes, it was inspired by the Korea they know and love, and its name comes from the acronym every foreigner will as- sociate with the Alien Registration Card. Beyond that, however, they associate the word arc with the evolution of a story; a developing parabola, with no one knowing where it will end. Groove Korea: What was the inspiration for the magazine? Niall Ruddy: Korea has provided the free time, the financial security and the opportunity to meet like-minded, creative individuals, so in some respects she is the reluctant mother of this venture. Most importantly, however, Korea has proven to be the inspiration for the philoso- phy behind the magazine through bizarre quirks, unique humor, contradictions, glorious wilds and superfluous centers. Conrad Hughes: Two, three or 10 years can pass and still the unsuspecting resident will col- lide with unexpected experiences on street cor- ners, mountain paths or river beaches. it seems that everyone and their dog has a blog these days — not merely a cliché, con- sidering the number of actual pet blogs. With so many outlets to compete with in a world apparently experiencing the grue- some death of the print media, why start a Webzine in the frst place? And isn’t a Web- zine just a fancy name for a blog? Ruddy: The simple answer is because we can. This is a transitional period in many ways; the world has never been smaller. Society is still try- ing to get to grips with the unexpected ubiquity of the Internet. For some, it is a deeply fright- ening, unknown beast we have awoken; others know it as an expansive world where you can collect the best minds and set them the task of creating purely and simply for the joy of it.