ROKon Magazine, the legitimate successor to the unmourned KScene, has been birthed for a third exciting time. Each issue, we creep ever closer to being a “real” magazine. Give us a few more months, and you won’t remember a time when you weren’t anxiously awaiting another mentally stimulating issue.
The issue came out Friday night and I tried to hit all the major places in Itaewon and Sinchon. Later, my partner in crime Annie distributed some in Hongdae, my design guy David distributed some in Incheon and former KScene writer Johnny Red worked his magic with folks he knows. Saturday afternoon I rode around most of Itaewon on Sean Watts’ motorbike, distributing issues. In my mind I was singing my own version of a Pet Shop Boy’s song, “You’ve got the bike, I’ve got the magazine, let’s make lots of money.” One area I’m kicking myself for not distributing to is the Gangnam/Apujang area. Next issue, however, we’re going to be all over that area.
Even I am shocked at the amount of momentum we have now. We really seem to be soaking up the media energy left by the death of KScene. Right now, our biggest problem is getting some reliable advertising. Once that’s straighted out, then the “virtuous cycle” will begin and we’ll be able to be a “real” magazine that folks depend on. Since we only come out once a month at this point, we’re going to be updating our blog on a pretty frequent basis.
17 Comments
Wait until you find out (oops, you just did) that publishing a magazine is illegal for foreign investors — it’s one of the “reserved sectors” under the Foreign Investment Promotion Act. There are just 26 such sectors totally closed or partially limited to minority-stake foreign investment, but media is one of the special, sensitive ones. If you’re really lucky you’ll go bankrupt before some Korean decides to rat you out in order to take over your business. It’ll be worse if you’ve built a thriving business despite the law and then suddenly lose it. Ask the publishers of China expat mags That’s Beijing/That’s Shanghai.
Let’s see, in the first issue I counted the words “fuck,” “bitches” and “twat.” Issues discussed included whores in noraebangs and, well, a bunch of crap. You guys should be swimming in advertising in no time.
Well, you know.
I have a hunch that through luck and pluck we’ll figure all that out. We’re not “real” yet. It’s pretty just me pushing forwards towards a goal where we could put stuff in a Korean’s name and so the issue you addressed would be moot.
As for the “foul language.” Um, yes, but. I feel that KScene died from a lack of a will to live if nothing else and it simply did not represent its audience well enough. My audience is young, educated and post-modern. I think a few fucks, bitches and talking about whores will help us build mindshare and trust with our audience. If it becomes an issue and I feel it’s hurting us, I’ll tone it down. Besides, we are generally respectful of Koreans and Korean culture — it’s just expats we like to talk trash about. I think Koreans will chuckle.
And remember, my audience is significantly different than that of The Marmot’s Hole. My audience is a 24-year-old Canadian girl who is just out of college, here for a year and wants to know where to have a good time with her friends. As I see it, The Marmot’s Hole is for the “opinion makers” of the expat community in Korea and its “demo” is probably older, more conservative and has been here a lot longer.
We’re extremely small right now, but we’re growing fast and open to suggestions. What you’re reading now is by no means the final form of the magazine. We’re extremely flexible right now about virtually everything so I’ll listen to any (not bitter and deranged) suggestions I’m given.
While I don’t blame you for targeting footloose drunken Canadian girls and their unbridled sexuality (but hey girls, call me — I’ve got an apartment and a good job!), I really have to wonder about whether you’ll attract that audience with the content of this magazine. Yessir, Shelton, you’ve got it pegged — chicks looove to read about “fucks”, “bitches”, “twat” and “whores”. That’s the mix that made HUSTLER such a runaway hit with the ladies.
Also, putting everything into the name of a “friendly” local stooge is similarly guaranteed to result in heartbreak. But best of luck to you.
Ummmm….Korean has broken my heart in so many ways, it’s managed to break it in ways I didn’t even know it was possible to get broken. Really, all of this is simple what I feel must be done. I don’t really have any control over it — something like ROKon must exist, so why not have something that doesn’t suck?
Additionally, my staff is mostly female and young and THEY are the one’s that want more fucks, bitches, twats and breasts (!) (don’t ask.)
Oh, Mr. Carr, up for any pro bono work for ROKon? We would be delighted to have access to your legal advice.
ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
I just happened to see a copy of that last Saturday…I’d had no idea you had a magazine project. Congratulations and good luck.
Hmm, sounds like you’re a bad businessman but a heck of a recruiter. Might I suggest you start emulating the employment practices of my hero Mr. Dov Charney?
i wonder about the market you’re looking to target, shelton. if you’re looking for the drunk canadian girls who are here for just a year, it’d be best to fill the magazine with at least some stuff that appears to be geared toward hip, in-the-know people who have been here a long time. people buy magazines based on who they want to be, not on who they are. (think Playboy or any of the lad mags.)
if nothing else, considering all the free advice you’re getting from Mr. Carr, you should at least print a map to his house in the next issue so that your young and drunk female readers will know how to find him.
“My audience is a 24-year-old Canadian girl” Talk about niche markets…. Before you put out the next one, try to get a few big advertisers for the inside front, inside back and back covers by offering them a free color full page. That way it looks like you’re successful and can draw in other advertisers. All it will cost you is a little production. Booze companies like Campari and Jagermeister want that target audience and may go for that, so contact their local reps.
That mag title sounds like its funded by USFK–sounds really dated for your po-mo 24-year-olds.
jd,
Yes, ok. Let me fill you guys in on what’s happening.
I have a “circuit” of people I talk to on a regular basis, and I use their collective wisdom to guide me about the future of the magazine. I use the “24-year-old Canuck” as our audience to get the point across that we’re not KScene and we want to be a magazine people look forward to reading.
I’m all for having stuff for old timers, too, it’s just I used to work as a freelancer for an alternative weekly magazine called Punchline in Richmond, Virginia. It was a lot like ROKon and it’s audience (people in their early 20s) loved it. It was really weird and different and kinda represented the life that people in Richmond that age felt they were living.
Anyway, I have a vision and I’m sticking to it. I want quality writing and photography and a magazine that is enjoyed and appriciated by the expat community as a whole, be they young, old, male, female, newbie or oldbie. It’s just folks about 24-year-old seem like the “sweet spot,” the audience we should keep in the back of our heads while moving forward. Maybe we’re a bit more crass than people were used to with KScene, but we’re going to have a great heart and try our damnest to serve our audience well.
I’m going with my gut right now and to quote a great song “I am beautiful, no matter what they said, words can’t bring me down…so don’t you bring me down today…”
i can fully respect your desire to make something new and good and i wish you luck.
i cannot respect your quoting a Christina Aguilera song to make a point or express your feelings. (it does not matter how post-anything you want to be. that’s just wrong.)
Given my history here, I feel I have the right to express myself any way I wish. Wink
Yawn.
That’s right — think of your magazine as a mirror that shows the reader what he or she wants to see in him/herself. Last week I spent some very enjoyable time getting an explanation of how the PLAYBOY reader is so much different from the [insert random lad mag title here] reader. It turns out, according to PLAYBOY, that the lad mag appeals to a very fearful, insecure, misogynist reader (no wonder they’re so successful here!), while the PLAYBOY reader embraces life and all its possibilities, wants to read and understand the world in depth, likes humor but is not all joke-joke-joke, and last but not least, likes women. The lad magazines don’t really, when you think about it, like or respect women.
What does ROKon say about its reader?
“What does ROKon say about its reader?” Fucks, bitches, twats and breasts, apparently.
Don’t 24-year-old “po-mo” women love to shop? The pre-modern and modern ones certainly did.
How about some map/shopping guide inserts? I realize that’s probably not too hip for the likes of Mr. Bum, yet it should keep you solvent a while if you do it right with local advertisers.
Don’t forget those free anchor ads, they’ll pay off in the long run by attracting ads.
Dude, you are preaching to the prayer corner on that one. I’m a long time fan of Playboy (I actually do read it for the articles…er..or actually do read the articles) and find the laddie magazines dumb and on the edge of being disrespectful to women.
In my mind, while ROKon aims to serve the entire expat audience, it’s really kinda comfort food for that person who has been here for about 3 months and they realize that they’re not on vacation and they’ve actually got nine more months in their contract.
A lot of youth culture (or alternative media, for that matter) back home is pretty much exactly like ROKon. Western life as a youth is kinda crass: you dig it when chicks trash talk like dudes and you seek out thought provoking things about stuff you care about.
My magazines says, “It’s ok. We know you’re thinking about grad school after your contract is up and you are starved for reading material in English. We know you read a lot of trashy websites from back home. We know what you’re thinking about. You’re different here in Korea and no matter what you’re always going to stick out. Yes, most of your fellow expats are totally batshit insane. We’ve been there, we feel your pain. We know you drink too much, smoke too much and generally lead a life that would be considered excessive back home. It’s ok, kiddo. You only got nine months left. Rock on!”
Now, along the way, I want to talk about the arts, museums, going to the DMZ, etc, etc. But I want to do it in a fun, oddball kind of way. A creative way that really gets peoples jucies flowing. Our name says it all, “ROKon.” In my mind, it’s saying this is about Korea and it’s fun. We “get it” about what it’s really like to be an expat.
I plan to tease my fellow expats a great deal. All the stupid things we do that make us look bad are going to be the thing I attack again and again. If I have anything to say about it, we’re never going to attack Koreans or Korea. This magazine is a conversation between expats about expats. We may address problems between the two, but that’s kinda besides the point. This magazine is kinda you have a chat with your best friend at a pochangmacha late one night and you’re talking about all the adventures you’ve had and all the cool places in Korea (and beyond) you wannt see.
You know what my magazine says about its audience?
ROKon!
let me suggest changing the title of your zine to ROKsuks, and filling it with articles bagging all things korea and korean.
your market will multiply exponentially, and the loads of free exposure you’ll get from the inevitable SBS
hitjobdocumentary will only ramp up the hype.not to mention the easily accessible “talent” pool of potential contributors hanging out at esl cafe and other bitch-festival sites of its ilk. i’d guess most would be willing to pay you to print their random diatribes about shoving on subways, horror stories about MT, or getting the evil eye from adjoshi whilst holding hands with their korean girlfriends.
you’ll be rolling in it within weeks.