Crying Nut

Crying Nut
Crying Nut at Hanyang University Festival
Background information
Origin	Seoul, South Korea
Genres	Punk rock, post-punk, new wave, indie rock, hardcore punk
Years active	1993–present
Labels	Drug Records LOEN Entertainment
Website	www.cryingnut.kr
Members	Park, Yoon-Sik Lee, Sang-Myun Lee, Sang-Hyuk Han, kyung-Rock Kim In-soo

Crying Nut() is an influential punk band from South Korea. They have performed together since 1995 and released their debut album called Speed Up Losers in 1998, which made them famous. They are Korea's best-selling independent rock band in South Korea. In 2002 they recorded the official Team Korea song for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. which made them a household name in Korea. They have released 7 full albums as of 2014. Their most recent album is called FLAMING NUTS. They are considered the godfathers of the Korean punk scene and are most likely the first punk band in Korea. Nowadays, their musical style is influenced by many different genres.

In the 1990s, the Korean public was being exposed to many foreign musical styles for the first time, following new political freedom. The early punk bands including Crying Nut incorporated foreign genres in new and unusual ways, while still reflecting their inherent Koreanness. They branded themselves Chosun Punk (now romanized as Joseon Punk) in light of this duality. This tight-knit movement is credited with birthing independent music in Korea.

Crying Nut has extensively toured outside of Korea, having been to Japan numerous times, as well as China, Germany, Singapore, the US, the UK, and Sweden. They played the Fuji Rock Festival in 2000, in Sweden, and Singapore's Mosaic Music Festival in 2008. Following up on their fame from the 2002 World Cup, they performed at the welcoming ceremony of the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. Their first concert in America was at the Seattle Korean Festival in 2006, and their first concert in the UK was the London Korean Festival in 2006.

They performed at SXSW in 2012 and toured North America as part of the Seoulsonic 2K12 tour funded by KOCCA alongside and ]. Reportedly the police came to their SXSW gig due to concerns the venue might collapse because of the audience jumping. They also played at the Canadian Music Week for a special music showcase sponsored by Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.