{"id":391796,"date":"2026-04-22T08:22:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T08:22:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/391796\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T08:22:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T08:22:11","slug":"seouls-viral-quadricycle-band-turns-landmarks-into-rolling-concert-venues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/391796\/","title":{"rendered":"Seoul’s viral quadricycle band turns landmarks into rolling concert venues"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Dongmi<\/p>\n

Dongmi Bicycle Club performs at Han River Park in Seoul during an interview with The Korea Times, April 3. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk<\/p>\n

On a bright spring afternoon at Yeouido Han River Park in Seoul, a strange vehicle glided past: a four-wheeled bicycle stacked with people playing drums, saxophone, guitar and melodica, pushed from behind. All the band members were dressed in red caps and colorful sashes. As the band played a breezy Korean pop ballad from its moving stage, people raised their phones and shouted, \u201cThis makes me so happy!\u201d and \u201cThey\u2019re so cute!\u201d<\/p>\n

The group is Dongmi Bicycle Club, an indie band turning some of Korea\u2019s most familiar songs into a rolling street parade and reinventing what busking looks like in Seoul. Video clips of the band weaving through Seoul’s landmarks and busy markets have gone viral on social media in recent weeks, with fans calling them \u201cthe hottest people right now\u201d and begging them to visit their hometowns across the country, from Daegu to Jeju.<\/p>\n

\"This<\/p>\n

This combined photo shows members of Dongmi Bicycle Club. From left, drummer Lee Sung-min; leader and saxophonist Shin Choi-go-young-jin; melodica player and music director Won Chung-yeon; guitarist Shin Myoung-jun; and videographer Kim Yeon-soo. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk<\/p>\n

From Jazz trio to rolling parade<\/p>\n

Dongmi Bicycle Club started with saxophonist Shin Choi-go-young-jin, drummer Lee Sung-min and melodica player Won Chung-yeon. They met as students at Seoul Music High School in the early 2010s. Joined by guitarist Shin Myoung-jun, they first formed Dongmi Club, an instrumental jazz band. <\/p>\n

\u201cDongmi Club was jazz-based, and we tried to express what we felt through jazz,\u201d Shin said. \u201cBut when we performed, communication with the audience felt one-sided. Even if we tried to explain the songs, people couldn\u2019t really understand them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The four friends started to wonder if there was a way to bring the music physically closer to people. \u201cWe were joking, \u2018What if we played on top of a car?\u201d Shin recalled. \u201cThen someone saw a video on Instagram of people performing on a bicycle overseas. We thought, \u2018Should we try this?\u2019 and just kept pushing the idea until we finally found the bike (we liked).\u201d-<\/p>\n

The band’s name also evolved.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt first Dongmi didn\u2019t have a deep meaning,\u201d Shin said. \u201cWe jokingly said \u2018crazy people from the neighborhood,\u2019 or \u2018beauty of the East.\u2019 Now we think of it as (the Chinese ideograms) ‘dong’ for \u2018moving\u2019 and ‘mi’ for \u2018beautiful.’ We ended up on a bicycle, after all \u2014 we\u2019re moving and showing a new form of beauty wherever we go.\u201d <\/p>\n

Videographer Kim Yeon-soo also joined the band to make videos and promote the group on social media. <\/p>\n

\"This<\/p>\n

This combined photo shows Dongmi Bicycle Club’s instruments and the Italian-made quadracycle the members use for live street performances. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk<\/p>\n

Italian-made quadracycle<\/p>\n

Getting the kind of bike they wanted was a bit of a struggle. Acquiring a large, flat-bed bike resembling a rickshaw was almost impossible in Korea.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe called all kinds of places and asked, \u2018Can you sell us one?\u2019 They all said they don\u2019t handle that,\u201d guitarist Shin said.<\/p>\n

Through word of mouth, they eventually tracked down a rental shop in Gangwon Province and drove out to buy a used Italian-made quadracycle \u2014 the fanciest and priciest model on the lot. Back in Seoul, they stripped it down and rebuilt it. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe bought a truck because of the bike,\u201d Kim said. They still use the truck to transport the bicycle around for concerts. <\/p>\n

Their costumes include red caps, black shirts, green pants and blue or red sashes. \u201cWe\u2019re preserving the Korean spirit,\u201d Lee said, adding that they drew inspiration from the Korean flag. <\/p>\n

\"Dongmi<\/p>\n

Dongmi Bicycle Club prepares for a performance at Han River Park in Seoul during an interview with The Korea Times, April 3. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk<\/p>\n

Familiar Korean hits on unfamiliar wheels<\/p>\n

Before the band’s official debut, they rehearsed indoors at the practical music academy they run together, but practicing in outdoor spaces quickly proved impossible. \u201cWe tried rehearsing while riding at first, but people just crowded around. We attracted attention whether we want it or not,\u201d Lee said.<\/p>\n

The band’s official outdoor performance took place at Dongmyo flea market in central Seoul, in November 2024. On weekends, the area is packed with vendors peddling vintage items and clothing, with crowds ranging from teenagers hunting for trendy threads to retirees searching for old records.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the moment I agreed to shoot, I knew we had to head to Dongmyo,\u201d Kim said. \u201cTo me, it\u2019s the most authentic Korean place, with everyone from teens to people in their 80s all in one place. If we showed ourselves there, I thought we would really know how different generations react.\u201d<\/p>\n

What was supposed to be a short performance turned into a roughly 30-minute rolling concert as people followed the bike, cheered and asked questions. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe couldn\u2019t stop because people liked it so much,\u201d Shin said. When their tire suddenly burst, a group of older men rushed over to help. At a small bike shop nearby, the owner warned them that the Italian-made wheel would take too long to repair, so the band just pumped in more air and decided to keep going.<\/p>\n

For Kim, the emotional reaction was so overwhelming that the technical frustrations didn’t matter. \u201cEveryone there was smiling like boys and girls again,\u201d he said. \u201cIt reminded me of kids running after fumigation trucks when we were young. Seeing those faces through the camera made me feel proud.\u201d<\/p>\n

To make the performances more accessible, Dongmi Bicycle Club built its sets around some of Korea\u2019s most recognizable songs. At Dongmyo, they played \u201cUnconditional (Mujogeon),\u201d a trot hit beloved by older Koreans. At Dongdaemun Design Plaza, they performed You Hee-yeol\u2019s \u201cAt the Park\u201d\u2014 a mellow, nostalgic pop song associated with lazy afternoons.<\/p>\n

In Insa-dong, a neighborhood known for traditional crafts and international tourists, they tackled BTS\u2019 global hit \u201cButter,\u201d causing an impromptu dance party. At the Yeouido Cherry Blossom Festival, they rolled slowly under a shower of pink blossoms while playing \u201cCherry Blossom Ending,\u201d a popular song from 2012.<\/p>\n

Local celebrity<\/p>\n

Online clips of the band have racked up hundreds of thousands of views across Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. <\/p>\n

Fans have thrown out playful questions like, \u201cDoes the song get faster going downhill?\u201d and \u201cDoes it slow down going uphill?\u201d and the band has answered with equally playful videos. In one, they glide down a slope, playing at a comically accelerating tempo. In another, they laboriously cycle up a hill to the caption, \u201cAre you satisfied now? (Please),\u201d as the music starts to slow and finally everyone except Won jumps off the quadracycle.<\/p>\n

Kim Sang-jun, a 60-year-old listening during the interview, responded candidly to the band’s musical performance.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re really amazing,\u201d he told them. \u201cWhere did you come from? I\u2019ve never seen anything like this before, and seeing you made me so happy. I wish there were more things like this \u2014 to be happy without thinking about anything for a while,\u201d he said with a smile. \u201cYou\u2019re really great. You\u2019re going to be big.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Kim<\/p>\n

Kim Sang-jun, a 60-year-old passerby, poses with Dongmi Bicycle Club on the band’s quadracycle during an interview with The Korea Times at Han River Park in Seoul, April 3. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk<\/p>\n

Dreaming of tours through North Korea, China<\/p>\n

As they gain more followers, the band is thinking more seriously about what to do with the attention.<\/p>\n

Their initial goals were modest: They wanted to earn enough through their music to eat well with friends and do more for their parents. Now, they talk about bringing small moments of joy to isolated groups like older people living alone in mountains or children who rarely see live performances. \u201cWe want to leave every place we pass with some happiness and pleasure,\u201d Lee said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to be a team that spreads beauty as we move. The places we pass through become more beautiful, too \u2014 even if we\u2019re still the \u2018crazy ones\u2019 from the neighborhood,\u201d guitarist Shin added.<\/p>\n

Their future wish list is long and slightly unrealistic, in the best indie-band sense. They want to circle Jeju Island using its famed coastal roads, go on a nationwide tour, roll through an amusement park and after reunification, travel overland through China to North Korea. Kim dreams of performing in an elementary school playground, slowly circling the track until every child runs out from their classrooms to join the parade.<\/p>\n

He is also quietly sketching an ambitious vision. \u201cIf we ever get the chance, I want to organize a parade with maybe 1,000 people,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019d lead at the front and other teams would join behind us, trying to deliver even more happiness as a bigger group. I don\u2019t know if it will be possible, but if we keep going like this, maybe one day.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dongmi Bicycle Club performs at Han River Park in Seoul during an interview with The Korea Times, April…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":391797,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[156,157,111,139,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-391796","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-music","10":"tag-new-zealand","11":"tag-newzealand","12":"tag-nz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=391796"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391796\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/391797"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=391796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=391796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=391796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}