John Antes, left, Morale, Welfare and Recreation Area I entertainment director, and entertainment specialist Hyon Chong Hui display a poster for Papa Roach, who are scheduled to perform two free concerts in South Korea’s Area I this week. (Seth Robson / S&S)
CAMP RED CLOUD, South Korea — Soldiers in Area I will be able to get discounts on tickets for shows by touring U.S. entertainers thanks to a deal between the U.S. Army and Korean promoters.
Morale, Welfare and Recreation and the Camp Red Cloud Garrison command recently negotiated an arrangement to sell the discounted tickets at Community Activity Centers at bases throughout Warrior Country, John Antes, Area I entertainment director, said Monday.
The first discounted tickets obtained for soldiers through the deal were for the National Wrestling Alliance show in Seoul this month. Discounted tickets now are on sale for concerts by rock performer Sting and easy-listening singer Norah Jones, who will perform in Seoul in the next few weeks, Antes said.
The Camp Red Cloud CAC is running tours to the Sting and Norah Jones concerts. The Sting tour — including concert and round-trip bus tickets — costs $72; the Norah Jones tour, $85.
Antes said the ticket prices were 10 percent to 15 percent below what they sold for on the open market in South Korea.
Music lovers in Area I also can look forward to free concerts by the platinum-selling rock band Papa Roach, who will appear at Camp Essayons at 7 p.m. Friday and at Camp Casey at 9 p.m. Saturday.
Antes described Papa Roach as “a group consisting of four men who play … I want to say rock ’n’ roll but I would say it is … high energy metal.”
Papa Roach’s songs often feature adult themes and strong language but the band had agreed to perform “clean versions” of the songs during the Area I concerts, Antes said. Just in case, anyone under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian to attend, he said.
MWR is paying the band’s performance fee but that fee was lowered for the military performances, Antes said. The band appeared on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” a few weeks ago, he said, “and made a real nice announcement that they were gong to Korea to play for the soldiers.”
The shows will be free for U.S. soldiers, KATUSAs (Korean Augmentees to the U.S. Army) or anyone with an ID card or their guests, he said.
Because Papa Roach is extremely popular with both South Koreans and Americans under age 25, Antes said, “We are expecting Camp Essayons to be overflowing — so dress warmly because you may be standing outside if you don’t come early.”
Papa Roach is the latest in a long list of big-name artists who have come to South Korea to entertain troops in recent years, he said, including Ozzy Osborne, Twisted Sister, the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, Wayne Newton, Darryl Worley and Collective Soul.
When celebrities have visited Area I, they normally have been given a tour of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and occasionally were shown around Rodriguez Range or rode in a tank, he said — including country legend Charlie Daniels, who “went walking around in the mud” at Rodriguez Range “in his $1,000 boots.”
Andes said he believes many U.S. entertainers would be willing to come to South Korea but “a lot of them … don’t know about it — how they can come on tour over here.” Entertainers interested in performing for the troops in South Korea should contact MWR or the United Service Organizations (USO), he said.
