"Gumx is back!!" proclaimed the T-shirt for Seoul punk band Gumx's short Japan jaunt in late February. The band's first foreign gigs in more than three years, it had good reason to be excited about returning to the live circuit in its biggest market.
Its hiatus from touring was not by choice. One of more than 70 countries with mandatory military service, South Korea requires all men between the ages of 19 and 29 spend a minimum of two years in its armed forces. Having delayed their Constitutional commitment until they were 25, the trio enlisted in March 2005. Drummer Choi Gun was the last to complete his duty, in August 2007.
"It was s**t," groans frontman Lee Yong Won before the band's show at Seoul punk venue Club Spot. "It was our obligation as Koreans. I just wanted to play guitar, but I couldn't. It was frustrating."