Korean American punk musician Paul Brickey has returned to South Korea after more than a decade away. He played a key role in shaping Hongdae's underground punk scene in the early 2000s before serving in the military and retreating to off-grid life in Oregon. Brickey reflects on his journey and the evolution of punk culture.
Paul Brickey formed his first band, Merge, in 2000 while attending the now-closed Seoul American High School. He began performing at Woodstock in Itaewon and then at Slugger in Hongdae, eventually joining Rux as a guitarist after the band's members completed mandatory military service. "Rux was like punk rock graduate school for me," Brickey recalled.
On July 30, 2005, during Rux's appearance on MBC's 'Music Camp,' two band friends stripped naked on live TV, sparking controversy that damaged the Korean punk scene. Brickey described it as "a colossal fumble of a huge missed opportunity," contrasting it with the Sex Pistols' infamous 1976 TV stunt, which boosted punk's visibility. The incident reduced new attendees at shows and led to broader societal backlash.
Brickey moved to the U.S. in 2003 and started The 12th Street Staggers, returning to Korea in 2005 to join Suck Stuff. In 2006, he led Suck Stuff on a multi-city tour in China, marking the first such outing for a Korean punk band. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 2007, serving as a combat medic in Iraq, and was transferred back to Korea in 2012, where he formed Heimlich County Gun Club and released the album 'Stars and Streetlights.'
After his service, Brickey worked as a park ranger in Oregon before turning to off-grid homesteading amid the pandemic. For the past five years, he has lived in a self-built cabin, growing crops, hunting, and running the YouTube channel Easy Acres Homestead. He visited Korea over the 2024 year-end holidays with his girlfriend, whom he met online.
Brickey noted the global rise of K-pop and changes in the punk scene, including how bands like ...Whatever That Means still cover his Suck Stuff classic 'This Wasteland.' The song is set for performance at Freebird during a January 2026 event.