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KUDZU : MUSIC

김일두/Kim Il Du, the Townes of Busan.

GemsOnVHS | May 11, 2026



When I first started talking about this trip with Seth Mountain, my Korea liaison, he spoke highly of a songwriter named Kim il Du. It is always an honor meeting an artist’s favorite artist, and Seth assured me il Du was the real deal. I traveled solo by railway from Seoul to the sunny city of Busan, on the southern peninsula. Kim, and a friend Sooncheon, picked me up at the train station, and together we hobbled together some awkward initial greetings in broken English/Korean mix. We leave immediately to do what Koreans love most, which is eat way too many fermented side dishes. He takes us to the kind of place I might take them in America; a run down working class lunch spot filled with a large crowd of elderly people. The food is cheap, and there are only two options. The conversation at the table is slow and halting. I imagine speaking English to them is like breaking open a vault of long forgotten words, and they are reluctant to say too much at first. I ask Kim Il Du, what are your songs about? “Nothing.” he replies. I trust him now, because only a real songwriter could answer such a riddle so succinctly.

Kim showed me all around the city he called home. From the seaside docks with their fish mongers, way up into the mountainsides overlooking the sprawling downtown and the dragon tower. We stopped at his apartment for coffee and smokes. His much beloved cats have carved one wall to shreds, as if trying to burrow out of the apartment. I can hear one meowing, incessantly from the moment we arrive, in the other room. A younger artist, Choi Hyeok, came by to help translate. Kim warmed up his hands with a song there in the living room. Everyone closed their eyes, lowered their heads and listened intently. It lined up with the impression Seth had given me; other artists had an immense respect for Kim’s work. When I inquire what their shows are like, Kim Il Du laughs, self deprecatingly describing themselves as not just underground, but deep underground.

We decided to head into the local neighborhood to film a song. The first stop they surprised me with was to the gravesite of Kim’s cat, Whitey, whom they have illicitly buried in a local park’s bushes. He finishes playing, and as if on cue there is a 2pm national moment of silence, announced by wailing sirens that bring the entire city to a complete standstill. The leaves rustle in the wind as Kim looks out over the city, his home. A military drill, they explain. The second song was performed somewhere deep in the narrow alleyways of the mountainside overlooking his city, Busan. Old ladies chattered on their stoops, laundry was hung on balconies, scooters whizzed by all as Kim performed a song that felt both foreign and familiar to me.

Kim gave me his full attention that day, and I felt bad moving him along from spot to spot as I weighed the cinematic beauty of each stoop, but he was accommodating and courteous. I can’t thank you enough, Mr. il Du, for humoring us. After the songs were played, we all went to dinner. One thing I can tell you about Korean folks, they love to drink soju, and if you think yourself able to keep up, you’ll wake up underneath the table in short order. I did my best to try, as plate after plate of local cuisine came by, but it was no hope.

We drank and ate to our heart’s content, and once we were done Kim took us to the kind of after-hours spot only locals know. In some alley, a nearly unmarked door led to a tea shop. The walls were a mix of traditional Korean relics and Nirvana/Bob Marley memorabilia. The auntie who answered the door was thrilled to see Kim, and it was quickly apparent they had a long history. We sat down for tea, stories and laughter. Eventually, as we reached the bottom of our endless cups, the songs began again. Like you do in a pub in Ireland, or a bonfire in America, we shared songs there in the tea room. You’ll have to forgive me, audience, because this one is just for me, and I didn’t record it.

A huge thank you to Choi Hyeok, who kept me company for the entirety of my Busan trip, took me to my first Kpop concert, let me stay in his room as he took the couch (much to my initial protest), and generally kept me out of trouble during our late nights out. Choi, you are welcome in the United States anytime, and will forever be welcome in my home. If you enjoy some very esoteric sounds, check out his bandcamp (https://pulsecom.bandcamp.com/).

The kindness of all these folks went above and well beyond expectations for a Tennessee boy they didn’t know from Adam.

Kim Il Du has a large array of different music on Bandcamp you can listen to;
https://kimildu.bandcamp.com/
It ranges from shoegazy indie rock to acoustic solo performances, and I find myself gravitating towards it often.

Support us on Patreon if you appreciate this type of art.
patreon.com/gemsonvhs
Anthony Simpkins, filmed and edited.

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Written by GemsOnVHS

Comments

This post currently has 26 comments.

  4. @sethmountain

    May 11, 2026 at 1:20 pm

    Some more background on the second song, one of Kim's most loved tunes here in Korea:

    문제 없어요 No Problem

    “No Problem” is a poignant and funny (in a heartbreaking way) story about failure, getting old, and second chances. The main character is an apparently not-so-young man (40s? 50s?) who feels like he has fallen in love with a woman, and is trying to convince her that they could have a great time together. The woman and the man have both had wild but ultimately disappointing lives, and after the failures they’ve experienced, neither seems sure about their future.

    The man, overcome by his romantic desire and loneliness, suggests they smoke a “cigarette of love” together. He proceeds to profess his love and devotion to her by insisting that he doesn’t care about her past–if she’s a “divorcee” or if she has AIDS–that’s all ”no problem”. He promises that he is willing to stop smoking, quit his life as a musician, go back to trade school, or do anything to make it work, if she loves him.

    Of course, it’s not clear how long the man and woman have known each other, or how reliable either are, or if she finds his assurances endearing or offensive. All that’s clear is that two people have suffered a lot and probably don’t see much to look forward to, and the man fervently wants to start a relationship again. Whatever happened before is “no problem”.

  5. @sethmountain

    May 11, 2026 at 1:20 pm

    Some more background on the first song~
    술 마시러 가는 길 On the way to a drink

    Here, Kim Ildu sings “On the way to a drink” at the grave of his beloved cat, 흰둥 [Huindoong,  or “Pearly White”], who sadly passed away not long before this video was recorded. It’s a beautiful tribute, and you can imagine Huindoong wandering the lonely streets, scratching and rubbing up against various smelly things under the moonlight.

    However, many listeners could hear this song differently too, not knowing about Kim Ildu’s cat but feeling moved by it in other ways. It’s a sad and romantic poem about love, loss, memory, and loneliness. That’s one of the things Kim is famous for: he writes deceptively simple, down-to-earth poetry that hits deep for many people of different walks of life, and his songs are too layered and emotive to be easily used or categorized as only about one thing.

  11. @ayakasaito7577

    May 11, 2026 at 1:20 pm

    you captured each song and scene so beautifully. his music is so comforting, it makes me want to take a nap in the sun or sway in the wind as a blade of grass

  18. @Volaths

    May 11, 2026 at 1:20 pm

    Ever since your video on Korean folk music it is all I have listened to since, I have fallen so deeply in love with this genre, I listen to it to fall asleep to, I listen to it on my commute to work, I listen to it when I'm playing darts, when I'm cooking you name it, I can't even explain the love I have found thank you so much, I've searched high and low for Korean folk vinyl records but there seems to be none at all or very few which is a real shame

  21. @harrycallahan3249

    May 11, 2026 at 1:20 pm

    I find that with songs where I don't understand the lyrics that I begin to think of these songs as abstracts I focus on how nice the guitar sounds, and how beautiful it is that people can express themselves in this way.

  26. @TouchDirt

    May 11, 2026 at 1:20 pm

    Its beautiful to remember that local legends and characters like this can just walk around exsiting all around us. Ready to change someones perspectives on life with a conversation, some drinks and a song.

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