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www.groovekorea.com / December 2014 90 Edited by Jenny Na (jenny@groovekorea.com) COMMuNITy culTural enTerPriSeS A gripe heard from many people living outside of Seoul is that most other cities in Korea have few, if any, cul- tural enterprises. Changwon has you covered. Over the last couple of years there have been numerous plays arranged and performed by the expat community, in- cluding “The Vagina Monologues,” “The Foursome” and “Lend Me a Tenor.” There has also been an art exhibition, “Through the Eyes of Others,” organized by Mike Han at the Gowoon Gallery, featuring 12 expat artists’ works based on their experiences in Korea. With regards to music, there have been several bands based in Changwon. Though it is hard to maintain a music scene with people constantly leaving, there is currently a healthy selection of places to satiate your aural cravings; the foreign bar Next is the first place to come to mind, with its open mic every month and a great sound system. Another venue called Monk has a large stage, a baby grand piano and shows by frequent high-quality acts. On top of that, there is a live venue/ practice space called Feedback with the feel of an un- derground rock club. For listening to music there is a vinyl bar, one of the few outside of Seoul, called Drum, with a cracking selection of vintage albums. Stuart Thompson is a popular local musician who has been a resident in Changwon for the past two years. Despite playing guitar since age 11, the U.K. native had only tested his performance skills at a few open mics; since arriving, however, he has been a large part of the burgeoning music scene. “My favorite place to play music, bizarrely, is at an un- derpass beneath a main road, Jungang-daero, which has the most amazing acoustics,” he says. “I love taking my gui- tar down there and trying to get the locals, usually sauced, dancing on a Friday or Satur- day.” He says that although the music scene is coming along, it can be difficult to maintain momentum with such a high turnover rate. “I’d love more people to get behind it, as the city has so much potential with the sense of community and number of venues,” he says. ‘the people In changwon are the reason (I wanted to help). I loved beIng actIve In a warm communIty.’ heather heInrIchs, cofounder of changwonderful.com