bela

Originally from Paju South Korea, bela (they/them) is a musician and a performance artist based in Berlin. They are known for electronic music performance merging pungmul – a Korean folk act rooted in agricultural traditions and linked to past social movements – and vocals inspired by extreme metal. bela shapes pungmul into the ritual for queer rage and grief with sub-heavy distortions and cries.

Since moving to Berlin in the autumn of 2022, bela has been announced as a participant of SHAPE+ Platform 23–24. They have presented their work across different stages in Europe including Berghain, Trauma Bar und Kino, Schauspielhaus Zürich, Cafe OTO, A4 Bratislava, among many others. They have performed in experimental music festivals like CTM Festival (DE), Ephemera (PL), Unsound Kraków (PL), and Rewire Festival (NL). bela also participated in European art festivals transmediale (DE) and EVA International (IE), and is a co-runner of Sorrow Club, a mixed event series spanning from music to non-music.

Bela receives a scholarship of 6,000 euros in 2024 to work in an audiovisual performance for their debut LP.

Portraqit von bela
bela (photo: Camille Blake)