I'm in Korea, now what

brazmonki

Hey all

So about a month ago I moved to Korea. I only realise now that most of the guitars we play on are built here. The thing is, I would like to know where. I know this is probably a long shot, but man, would it be cool if I can visit a factory and see how a Cort or LTD is built.

Here is my problem though, I can't seem to find a address. I was wondering if you guys can help me find it. These Korean sites are horrible. I can't find the proper info and if I find something remotely close, it's in Hangul (the Korean alphabet - looks like Chinese) and Google translate is as bad as these people's English.

Any advise? Please let me know. And if I find a factory and they do let me in for a tour, i'll post a video.

Really hope you guys can help and I really hope I can do this...

6x9base13

I'll try google some details which might help for you tomorrow if others don't post before then, but....

Having lived in China and worked in Vietnam and Hong Kong I strongly suggest that you try get a local to get you in, perhaps Korea is different. Even if you speak the language fluently, foreigners (I assume you are?) are treated politely,but your still that, an outsider. Unless you have the language and customs and nuances under the belt it will be a uphill struggle for an outsider without local assitance.

I hope your experience is different 8)

djpauw

The big thing is you are not looking for a place with a massive sign saying Gibson, Fender, ESP in here!

The factories are just contractors who produce the goods so they have different names, more often than not in their local language.

Sorry bro', it's gonna be real hard to find.

brazmonki

thanks guys, did a bit more digging and I found this site:

http://gracejewellery.blog.163.com/album/all/

@ 6x9base13 - thanks for the tip. Nee wat ek is n saffa so geen oosterse bloed nie. ?

@djpauw - check this site. If I show this to my korean friends they will be able to explain where it is.

BTW, apprently there is a guitar brand here called Mr. Potato. Definitely gonna check that out!

AlanRatcliffe

Two of the biggest manufacturers in Korea are Cor-Tek (Cort) and SMC (Samick):
Cor-Tek
660 Dungchon 3 Dong
Kangso Gu, Seoul, Korea 157-030
Phone: 82-2-3661-1981
Fax: 82-2-3661-1986

SMC I only have an email for - tdelarosa@smcmusic.com

josh

Hey man
Korea is really a wonderfull place. I'm only 15 & I went there with my friend last December for holiday & I also realised that most of the guitars sold there are made in Korea. I went to the famous Nagwon Arcade & I've never been so overwhelmed with gear in my life. That place is massive, you could spend a whole day in there & get lost. There were so many small shops with all vintage gear and so on. In the end i bought a ton of pedals including a pedal that I had been looking for, for a long time...the BOSS HM-2 HEAVY METAL!! I found it in this one corner shop, it was all dusty & the pedal didnt have a price on it so i asked the guy how much & he said 50 000won (about R300) so it was a bargain. I also bought alot of my stuff of off www.schoolmusic.co.kr but just translate the page on google translate. They have some bargains there & the lekker thing was that @ Nagwon you could make them drop the price. So it was a great experience. I also enjoyed the culture,the food & so on. You also cant believe how much respect everyone has for each other & that I appreciated because you dont see that alot in a country like SA today. I also plan to go & live there after I have studied classical guitar ?
Well enjoy Korea, I see that you guys are having lekker weather now, when I was there it was -14degrees