The Devils perform at MBC's studio in 1969. Courtesy of Larry Tressler

Though KBS Television had been on the air since December 1961, entertainment broadcasting in Korea is generally thought to have begun with the program "Show Show Show," which first appeared on TV in December 1964. It was aired by TBC Television, which had begun broadcasting only days earlier, and, with its live performances by well-known singers, the show dominated Saturday nights for nearly two decades.

In August 1969, TBC faced a new competitor when MBC — which had been a radio broadcaster since 1961 — began airing television programs. Weeks before they went on air, an MBC managing director told The Korea Times that the broadcaster's equipment, purchased from a British company that sent three experts to Seoul to help with installation, was "better than other TV stations in Korea."

British staff demonstrate how to use TV equipment at MBC's studio, published in The Korea Times June 29, 1969. Korea Times Archive

MBC sought to innovate in other ways, such as introducing a "producer (PD) system" like that in the U.S., which gave more creative control to the producers so their programs would "reflect their initiative or originality." As a result, according to the managing director, "Numerable top-class producers have already moved to MBC-TV from other stations."

One of TBC's responses was to develop a new music program aimed at teens that would feature up-and-coming pop, folk and even rock musicians.

This new program, "1,2,3, Go," was first broadcast on Wednesday, Nov. 5, 1969, at 6:30 p.m. It's not known how this inaugural broadcast was received, but its second episode was reviewed by the newspaper Kyunghyang Sinmun, which criticized its "lifeless" performances, "monotonous camera composition" and poor organization. Despite the presence of popular singer Choi Young-hee as host, it was, the review stated, "embarrassingly shabby to watch" and "guilty of not showing the youthful atmosphere and dynamic rhythm that the show was aiming for."

Inspired by TBC's new program, MBC developed its own, titled "Young Rhythm," which premiered on Friday, Nov. 21. Ilgan Sports reported that it would be hosted by hit singer Kim Sang-hee and would feature the soul band The Devils, rock group A-Best, folk duo Twin Folio and pop singer Tak Nan-hee, who was to sing The Beatles' hit "Get Back" in a folk song style. On top of this, it was reported that strobe lights would be "mobilized to enhance the atmosphere of the psychedelic repertoire" — a first for a Korean TV show.

The Devils' appearance on this episode was due to inquiries made by the band's American member, Larry Tressler, who worked on Yongsan Garrison. As he remembered it, "I had heard somewhere that MBC was going to start a new music show, so I figured, well, there are a number of Korean-speaking people in the Public Affairs Office, have one call and see if we can get booked sometime." If this proved successful, he assumed they might get on TV in a few months, but the response he got was sooner than expected. As a result, after work that day he went to the club where The Devils were rehearsing and asked, "Hey guys, do you want to be on TV this Friday?"

Larry Tressler, center, performs with The Devils for the first episode of MBC's "Young Rhythm" in 1969. Courtesy of Larry Tressler

MBC's studio at the time was in "a deluxe 19-story building" (currently the Kyunghyang Sinmun Building) that was designed by architect Kim Swoo-geun to be used as a broadcasting station on the lower floors and a hotel on the upper floors.

As Tressler remembered it, the studio where the Devils performed was wide and featured two stages side by side. "It allowed for two bands to set up at the same time" and then the broadcast could switch from one stage to the other, making it "essentially a live show. 'Band on the right, do a song.' 'Band on the left, do a song.'"

In early 1970, the Weekly Kyunghyang rated "Young Rhythm" highly and credited MBC's youngest producer, Lee Jae-hwi, with "Successfully highlighting the sensation of a new generation." This he achieved by researching the use of filters, mirrors, "hallucinatory lighting" and camera manipulation to create a "psychedelic scene."

These shows were also noteworthy for bringing bands that had previously played only for U.S. soldiers into the nation's living rooms for the first time. While groups like the Pearl Sisters, Key Boys and He5 were performing in downtown clubs and even getting radio play, shows like "Young Rhythm" and "1,2,3, Go" were the first to introduce Korean audiences to a wide range of groups from the U.S. 8th Army Stage like The Bees, The Devils, Ladybird, A-Best, Short Guns, Top Steps and many others.

The teenage band Top Steps / Courtesy of Weekly Woman

In addition to the performers, the shows also featured, as the negative review of "1,2,3, Go" put it, "dancers shaking their tired bodies in time to the band." Among the go-go dancers who appeared on the show was the American dance troupe The Rhythms, a group of girls who attended Seoul American High School on Yongsan Garrison.

A February 1970 Maeil Gyeongje article referred to them negatively when it accused the TV networks of "using foreign girls wearing ultra-miniskirts to spice up their highly sexualized and aphrodisiac programs." This was just one of a litany of problems the article complained about.

It also criticized the "uncontrolled invasion into our 'home theaters' of unusual programs in which people strip and dance wildly," accused the networks of "following frivolous foreign trends," and called this "a major problem for children's education."

The Rhythms, a go-go dance troupe from Seoul American High School, pose for a promotional photo. Courtesy of Lisa Callaghan Ettorre

Most problematic were the "shots of the vocal team's waists and lower bodies as they perform esoteric songs" as well as "close-ups of teenage boys and girls in the audience, which appears to include elementary school students, shouting and, with bizarre gestures, shaking their entire bodies along with the 'soul' dance of the dancers." Showing such "sexualized postures, gestures, and lighting" while ignoring healthy lifestyles was, the article declared, "a major violation of broadcasting ethics."

Others clearly felt the same way. On March 21, 1970, "Young Rhythm" aired its final episode; "1,2,3, Go" ended four days later. Both shows disappeared without a word, but in September 1970, in the wake of the first crackdown on long hair, which included bans on showing long-haired men on TV, mention was made of the fate of the shows.

As the Kyunghyang Sinmun reported, "last spring, at the recommendation of the authorities, TBC TV's "1,2,3, Go" and MBC TV's "Young Rhythm" were stopped just as they were getting popular. The reason for this is that both of these shows featured go-go dancing to long-haired psychedelic bands." As a result, in the spring and summer of 1970, "go-go dancing almost disappeared from TV, and psychedelic groups only made occasional appearances."

Musicians and dancers perform on one of the youth-oriented music TV shows, published March 11, 1970. Courtesy of Weekly Woman

In hindsight, the silencing of these programs was arguably the first crackdown on Americanized youth culture, predating the "long-hair edict" by five months. These shows were the first to bring the sound of Korean rock bands, who had previously played only for American military audiences, to the ears of Korean youth, and their new sound clearly caught on. By September 1970, it was reported there were "about 30 psychedelic 'group sound' rock bands currently active on stages downtown," many of which had long-term contracts. Rock music and go-go dancing only grew more popular in the years that followed, so the authorities' attempt to limit its spread was clearly unsuccessful.

Matt VanVolkenburg has a master's degree in Korean studies from the University of Washington. He is the blogger behind populargusts.blogspot.kr, and co-author of "Called by Another Name: A Memoir of the Gwangju Uprising."