Keeping the PLUR life in Korea...

When it comes to music EDM (Electronic Dance Music) and myself we are one and the same. I thank my time in Australia years back for finding this genre of music. It wasn't until I moved to Arizona for 2 years (right before this journey began) that I solidified my love for the music and became a raver girl. Never thought I'd become one but so glad I did! When I decided to move to Korea it was one thing I thought I'd be sacrificing because I knew Koreans had different music tastes and into K-Pop (Korean Pop). Little did I know a lot of the K-Pop music has some undertones of EDM so I am starting to get into some of the artists. As for the EDM scene I know and love I thought it would be a thing for me to have to keep up on from afar, however, two of my good friends- knowing my obsession -found two events that take place in Korea prior to my departure here. One was Ultra Music Festival or UMF and the other was Sensation White (which at the time of this writing isn't going to happen this year). Ultra is a global EDM festival that started 15 years ago in Miami, Florida. I unfortunately could not go to 2013's Ultra in Miami (although I strongly debated it) so finding out that UMF is global and in Korea rocked my world! I had a friend of a friend buy a ticket way ahead of time (I recommend waiting until you are in the country as it's cheaper this route and ticket prices went down not up) and then we ended up cancelling those tickets and I bought my own a month before the event for cheaper. Another piece of advice- DO NOT book through Interpark. I waited in line for a good hour and a half to pick up my wristband and missed Krewella- the one group I was DYING to see. The event itself was outdoors in the Olympic Stadium. It was a warm 80+ degree weekend with humidity above 50%. Hand fans have become my best friend here (as they are with most Korean's- male and female). It was a mixture of Waygookins and Koreans, but I'd say there was a good amount more of Koreans at the event. The first night Krewella, Afrojack, Carl Cox, Kaskade and Armin Van Buuren headlined. Since I had seen Afrojack at Coachella '12 I skipped his performance to grab some food and check the venue out as we just made it in. Kaskade was mind-blowing! It was the 3rd performance I had seen of his and he knocked it out with the best performance yet! It was nice to have a little piece of California visit in Korea. Saturday Cazzette, Adventure Club, Fedde Le Grande, Sander Van Doorn and Avicii played. Cazzette was insane as was Adventure Club. In fact, I think all DJ's raged hard, but of course I have to have my favorites. For the people who say Koreans don't sweat, I would like to see them at UMF dancing alongside the Koreans as they were almost as drenched in sweat as I was! Loved every minute of it and loved that I got to share some of my friends' first festival experience with and first EDM performances. For me this was my first ever sole EDM festival and I cannot wait for Ultra Miami (eventually) and keeping my eye on EDC in Vegas next June 2014- glow bra in tow! P.s. For those less crazy EDM fans, PLUR stands for PEACE, LOVE, UNITY and RESPECT. Google search it for more information and join the club!