Korea's metal bands stand with Ukraine at upcoming concert

Nikolai Protopopov, a Ukrainian resident of Korea and lead singer of metal band Dreamy Europa, marches toward the Russian Embassy in central Seoul during a protest of Russia's invasion of his home country, May 8. / Courtesy of Evgeniya Kim

By Jon Dunbar

Nikolai Protopopov, a Ukrainian permanent resident of Korea, may not be picking up weapons and fighting for the survival of his country, but that doesn't mean he's sitting quietly by while here in Seoul.

"Some of my friends in Ukraine went to the army, some started to volunteer; as for myself, having lived abroad for 15 years, I felt that I am obliged to do something," Protopopov told The Korea Times. "Collecting and sending money for the needs of the army or humanitarian aid is a good thing, but we needed also to do some action since we cannot be silent about it."

He has been co-organizing and taking part in anti-war rallies held in central Seoul's Jeong-dong near the Russian embassy, since the first weekend after Russia invaded his homeland on Feb. 24. He added that the rallies are carried out according to Korean law with police permission.

"Our messages can be concluded into two: for Russia to stop the war, and for Korea to support us and stand with Ukraine," Protopopov said.

And as a heavy metal musician, he's decided to add to the fight against Russia's aggression with music, titled "Metal Stands with Ukraine." He's putting on a concert this Sunday at Monghyang Live Hall near Sinchon Rotary. Five bands including his own, the symphonic black metal/extreme gothic metal band Dreamy Europa, will play.

Dreamy Europa / Courtesy of Dreamy Europa

"As a Ukrainian in Korea who actually participates in anti-war rallies and is a member of an active metal band ― I guess it was just a matter of time until I organized such kind of a concert," he said. "There is no wonder that metal bands do not support terrorism, Russian terrorism in our case."

He's the only Ukrainian metal musician playing, having invited his friends, in the bands, Hope for Life, Loss of Infection, Zihard and Midian to play.

"For this concert, I contacted several bands and all of them ― including those who could not participate due to already having a schedule ― supported the aim and message of this concert," he said. "Really, everyone was supportive, saying something like 'Glory to Ukraine' or 'Fighting, Ukraine!'"

Protopopov said Dreamy Europa will present some new songs, as well as playing a cover of a famous Ukrainian metal song. He also added there will be a small non-metal performance by Ukrainian musicians ― "Really, very small," he added, "this is a metal show after all."

He said that all proceeds raised through the concert will be donated "to volunteers whom I personally know who are using donated money to travel all over Ukraine with humanitarian aid," he said.

Protopopov's mother and grandmother both live in Kyiv. He said his grandmother is old enough to have witnessed the German bombardment and occupation of the city, and now she is seeing history repeat itself, this time carried out by what he calls "russists," meaning "Russian fascists."

"Since the very start of the war we have been in touch, having long phone calls every day," Protopopov said. "First few days we were connected almost all the time. When there was fighting around the Kyiv region they moved to Poland ― it is better to stay where you do not hear explosions ― now they are back home. Even though the Russian army moved away from Kyiv the war in Ukraine is far from over, bombardments do not stop. Everyone knows that Russians are targeting civilians and households, they are proving this every day, so the situation is very unstable."

The last time he visited Ukraine was in the summer of 2019 with his wife and daughter, who is now seven years old. They planned to return in April 2020 but had to cancel due to the pandemic.

"My mother visits us in Korea at least once a year though; she is here now, by the way," he said. "Grandmother could not come since she says she is too old for flights ― she is staying in Kyiv and we hope to see her soon in our country free from russists."

Korea does not have a large Ukrainian community, and there had been no official organization representing them before the invasion began. But more recently they have been organizing through social media, planning events such as the Jeong-dong rallies.

"Now after the events, we feel that we are more united than ever ― this goes for other Ukrainians all around the world," Protopopov said. "Putin will never succeed in conquering Ukraine but what he succeeded at is making all Ukrainian people finally feel united."

Nikolai Protopopov, a Ukrainian resident of Korea and lead singer of metal band Dreamy Europa, marches against Russia's war in his home country, July 10. / Courtesy of Elena Litvinenko

He said he feels supported by the South Koreans around him, the majority of whom, support Ukraine, he said. "We know that we share some similar historical moments ― aggression of Soviet Russia in Korea in 1950 is the most obvious one," he said. At every rally, we say 'Thank you, Korea!' since we truly feel this support."

After the "Metal Stands with Ukraine" concert, Protopopov said there are plans for future performances with a similar message. He said his band will participate in another concert with a wider variety of performers of Ukrainian nationality, including classical musicians and even a trot singer ― "Yes, there is a trot artist in Korea from Ukraine," he said.

On July 7, Protopopov also released a digital single, "Lend Lease," as part of his solo project. The lyrics come from the Ukrainian band Cuckold Burger, and are about the war.

Visit Melon for more information about Dreamy Europa's music.