Q. Just like your stage name 'Do Everything,' you are active in various fields. I'm curious about how you got involved in such diverse activities.

I originally was just a person who liked listening to music. Since 1998, 1999, as I roamed around Hongdae and encountered music with various people, I got hooked on loud punk music. One of the attitudes in that scene is DIY (Do It Yourself), which means 'let's create the culture we want, regardless of creator or consumer.' Such cultural backgrounds behind the music struck me significantly.

If I have a fun idea, I just do it. Recently, I even held a party at 9 AM. Friends were struggling because there were no parties due to COVID. I planned a party at 9 when clubs could open avoiding pandemic restrictions. In Osaka, married musicians actually enjoy parties and performances with their families in the morning. Someone might think, who throws a party at 9 AM, and is it profitable? But when I have an idea I want to do, I just do it. Thus, I naturally started performing, planning concerts and parties, DJing, and running a label.

Q. How would you define the current Park Da-ham these days?

Well, honestly, it's a bit of a confusing period these days. The label I'm running, <Helicopter Records>, has reached its 10th anniversary. It's not entirely a welcoming thing for me. I'm at a crossroads, wondering if I should keep connecting things as they are or try to grow it a bit more. As a one-person label in the indie scene, I'm pondering what else is possible.

These days, I feel closer to a Curry Lover than a music guru. Recently, I even made curry in a friend's shop and sold it. Through an event called 'Curry & Whiskey After Work' at <Midopa Coffeehouse>, I sold curry.

If I have a fun idea, I just do it.

Recently, I even had a party at 9 AM.

Q. Do you really listen to music constantly every day?

Since they are people who continuously judge what's valid, what's new, and what's trendy within time, it seems they have different agonies and concerns than those like shopkeepers in Euljiro who just create the same things better. Even outside music, I think those who must update and present things in time can't help but fall into such dilemmas.

The reason I listen to music constantly daily is also that, rather than introducing trendy music, I think it's right to introduce the accurate music that I can share now.

Q. You work in the intriguing genre of noise music. I'm curious about what drew you to start noise music.

It might be perceived as aggressive or difficult music to some, but it's a genre with lots of fun aspects. The most interesting point about noise music is that there are no set instruments. Some musicians perform with TVs or CD players on stage, and each performer plays in their own unique way. While the high degree of freedom can be stressful for musicians, for the audience, it's fun and a performance in itself.

The most interesting point about noise music is that there are no set instruments.

Q. In this Knock-Knock Show, you recreated the workspace of music guru, Park Da-ham. How similar is it to your actual workspace?

I brought almost everything from my workspace. In terms of similarity, I might say it's about 50%. I even brought the printer on the left and leftover drinks really as is. The prints and doodles hanging, the stacked tapes, and the way clothes are arranged are almost identical. I didn't artificially set things up intentionally. Once I started putting things down, it naturally came together.

Q. You are also running the 'Universe Oddities' space where we are conducting this interview today. Could you introduce what kind of space it is?

It's a general store with the slogan 'Sell what you don't want to sell,' run with four friends. I joined in later. In Universe Oddities, I'm mainly in charge of music and books, and initially, I sold what I owned, but at some point, I started showcasing things I selected myself.

Q. As a DJ, you describe yourself as someone who 'plays music depending on the situation.' Mangrove has a cinema room. Could you recommend music suitable for a 'cinema room listening session with friends?'

I recommend the ending song of the movie <Ghost World: Fantastic Girl Report>. It's a very sad piano piece, and when you watch the final credit scene of the movie, you somehow feel calm. If you listen to it together with your friend's eyes on the movie's ending credits, you could have a calm time.

I believe there's nothing I do alone.

It's all collaborative work with others.

Q. Is there a special hideout or spot you seek when inspiration is needed or when working?

Not really. If that's the case, I either eat curry, stretch, or take a bus round. Trying something new seems to break the flow in a way, so I tend to do usual things for refreshment.

Q. Besides music, DJing, performing, is there any new field you've recently become interested in?

Curry! Although Seoul is not a place with spice-based curry houses or diverse curry places like Pakistani or South Indian curries as in Japan, I make sure to visit whenever a new curry place opens. I'm the type who only eats one thing once hooked. I think I've been to all curry places in Seoul. Near here in Euljiro, there is a Nepalese restaurant called 'Potala,' and if you go there for lunch, you get a vegetarian curry set with samosa, curry, and yogurt for ten thousand won. I frequent there to eat.

Q. The field you are active in is one where people are actively connected. I assume you often feel the power of the community.

I believe there's nothing I do alone. It's all collaborative work with others. If I have a solid idea, I think it's possible to realize it if I have friends who can run it together and support it. There were times when I saw the community as a neighborhood, but these days, it seems to be a community that can gather based solely on tastes and thoughts regardless of physical spaces.

The part I keep pondering even while working with people is how to continue working together in non-temporary relationships. Understanding how things can be fun and working together seems important.

Q. At <Helicopter Records>, where you are a representative, you introduce strange music unknown to many. What does it mean to you to discover these kinds of music?

Honestly, I'm doing it because no one else does. Writing introductions, designing, and finding people necessary for the series of processes are cumbersome tasks. Once the music is introduced, its effect doesn't last long. If it goes on social media, it gets rapidly consumed in a week, at longest, or a day at shortest. But the fascinating thing is that music can be re-evaluated decades later. Rather than a short-term achievement, I think there might be an opportunity later for it to be discussed and talked about somehow. Just releasing music made with beloved colleagues seems meaningful to me.

Q. Have you thought about who you will live with after forty?

Not sure. It probably won't be a pet dog. I think I should reduce the amount of stuff first, and I guess I just need a lot of spices! (laughs)

Q. I'm curious about what song you listen to in the most comfortable state while lying in bed.

I don't listen to any songs when resting. To questions like 'what's one soul song you pick in life', I probably will never have an answer.

I don't listen to any music while moving anywhere. I can't concentrate at all that way. When listening to music, I only focus on listening to music. Instead, I find it more convenient to write work emails while moving.

Q. Can you share three things you always have by your bedside?

A phone, a charger, and a laptop are it. No books or anything else.

Q. When and where do you feel most like yourself?

These days, when cooking, when I'm in front of the kitchen, I feel most like myself. When I make curry, it usually takes 3-4 hours. Cooking is something where concentration is lost in a moment if you're not careful. Since you have to keep concentrating and cooking for a long time, at those times, I feel at ease thinking 'I'm doing something.' They often say thoughts change in the shower, but for me, it might be during cooking when I think a lot about what to do next, this and that.