Crying Nut is a punk rock band from South Korea. They are often credited as being pioneers of the Korean punk rock and indie rock scenes. The group began performing in 1995 in the Hongdae club scene in Seoul. They released their debut album, Speed Up Losers, in 1998, selling over 100,000 copies. Crying Nut became a household name in South Korea following their performances at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. The group has released eight full-length albums as of 2018.

Joseon Punk

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.

Overseas tours

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, Trastock Festival 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 3rd Line Butterfly and Yellow Monsters. 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. They returned to SXSW in 2014 with an unprecedented 13 other Korean bands, ranging from Jay Park and Hyuna to fellow punk band No Brain. An image of member Kim Insoo playing accordion was published on the Grammy website.

Legal dispute

Crying Nut sued CNBLUE and its agency FNC Entertainment for unauthorized use of their song “Deathblow Offside” on Mnet's “M Countdown” in 2010. Crying Nut also charged that CNBLUE had released a DVD of the concert in Japan and profited from it. Crying Nut claimed that not only did CNBLUE use the song without permission, but also lip-synced along with the original Crying Nut recording. Crying Nut allegedly posted online that CNBLUE "must pay the penalties for intellectual property rights infringement". CNBLUE later countersued Crying Nut for allegedly accusing CNBLUE of copyright infringement, filing an injunction against Crying Nut's online criticisms, claiming that the intellectual property theft was the responsibility of CJ E&M and the unspecified company responsible for the DVD sales, and that Crying Nut's allegations may have permanently damaged CNBLUE's reputation as Hallyu stars. But the Court rejected CNBLUE's assertion.

Band members

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Compilation albums

Split albums

Extended plays

Singles

Soundtrack appearances

Other contributions

Awards and nominations