The three members of Sailor Honeymoon / Courtesy of Sailor Honeymoon

Sailor Honeymoon is ready to take over the world.

The Seoul-based punk band recently put out its debut EP, and following a sell-out release show, it's already amassed tens of thousands of plays on Spotify. The trio also recently announced they'll be playing at Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival as well as touring the U.K. and France in the months to come.

"KOREAN GIRLS INVENTED PUNK ROCK NOT ENGLAND," read the T-shirts worn by the three members of Sailor Honeymoon during their interview with The Korea Times. This obvious nod to Kim Gordon is emblematic of the kind of fun subversiveness written into Sailor Honeymoon's DNA. With their ferocious sound, witty lyrics and uncompromising style, Korea's hottest new punk band have been compared to Bikini Kill and The Slits. The band is made up of photographer Abi Raymaker as drummer and lead vocalist, local rockstar Zaeeun Shin on guitar and singer-songwriter Mio Si (formerly known as TOMYO) on bass.

The three members of Sailor Honeymoon / Courtesy of Sailor Honeymoon

Sailor Honeymoon released its debut single, "Cockroach," about a year ago. The lyrics, delivered with a deadpan Sonic Youth scowl, are about getting rid of the disgusting creatures from your apartment and, pressingly, life. "The song is about trying to get rid of unwanted pests," Zaeeun explained. "We're comparing cockroaches to those with negative energy."

With its sinister tone and crunchy guitar sound, it's not just the lyrics but the music that gives you that overly familiar feeling of being around creepy things.

Over the following year, the band released a string of singles, getting bigger and better and more badass on each one. The punchy and aggravatingly catchy "Bad Apple" has become Sailot Honeymoon's most popular song. "PMS Police" is a discordant dance-punk track about a legitimate medical emergency. Dizzyingly melodic Raincoats-esque banger, "Fxxk Yourself" ends with an unsettling amount of key changes as the song unravels into chaos. These releases led the way to their debut, self-titled EP, which came out last weekend. It features Sailor Honeymoon's four previous singles as well as four brand-spanking new tracks.

The central ethos of Sailor Honeymoon is about having a good time and not caring about what others think. "Sailor Honeymoon has always been about being ourselves, unfiltered," Abi, a Korean American, said. "If we have any message right now, it's do it yourself, do whatever you want; you don't need to be perfect to make something great."

"And also," Mio added, "go girls."

The three members of Sailor Honeymoon / Courtesy of Sailor Honeymoon

Sailor Honeymoon's message clearly resonates with people, especially in a world where editing your self-image is seen as increasingly vital. It's particularly true in a country like Korea with its all-too-pervasive issues with conservativism, gender inequality and counter-cultural distaste.

"In Korea, perfection is too often the goal of artists, with music and talent often meticulously manufactured," Abi said. "Sailor Honeymoon is all about breaking away from this, embracing a bit of unorthodoxy."

With that said, things here are changing, and the members of Sailor Honeymoon are optimistic, particularly about what they describe as a "growing punk scene" in Korea. One symbol of this change is that, despite their resolutely progressive message and having songs like "Fxxk Yourself," the band has received no negative responses yet.

"Not that we're aware of anyway," Abi said. "It's all been pretty positive so far."

"It wouldn't bother us anyway," Zaeeun added. "We're not trying to please anyone. As long as we enjoy what we're doing and we're proud of the music we've made, that's all that matters."

That positive response extends beyond Korea, too. Music press giants the likes of NME, DIY and The Forty-Five have been lining up to heap praise on Sailor Honeymoon for their brutal honesty and genuinely hooky songs. But, according to the band, the music is not the only reason music lovers resonate with them.

"One thing that we keep trying to come back to is having fun," Mio said. "We enjoy playing, performing, practicing and spending time together. I think other people can feel that energy and have fun at our concerts or parties. That's what makes them want to keep coming back."

A big part of what has gotten people so hyped about Sailor Honeymoon is their live shows. The band takes DIY to a new level with raw, unapologetically unpolished performances, making them one of the funnest live bands in Seoul at the moment. "We've played a lot of great shows so far," Abi said. "Playing in London last year with Lambrini Girls was cool because they are a great band that we look up to. We also just had our release show recently at Channel1969. That was very fun."

The three members of Sailor Honeymoon / Courtesy of Sailor Honeymoon

This growing reputation for electrifying live shows is one of the reasons Sailor Honeymoon was selected to perform at this year's Pentaport Rock Festival, playing alongside the likes of Jack White, Se So Neon and Goonam.

Despite the momentum that Sailor Honeymoon has, the members say they're pretty content where they are at the moment.

"We are really happy right now," Zaaeun said. "We have fun times making and playing music, and we feel proud of the EP we just released. If we can just keep growing with all those things in mind, we'd be satisfied with that. And we are really excited to play at Pentaport this year. More of that would be good."

That's not to say the band members aren't keeping busy, though, with a schedule that is exhausting just to look at. "We are heading to the U.K. and France this week," Mio said. "We'll play festivals there and have a headline show in London. We'll be shooting a music video with an awesome female director, recording a few new tracks and hopefully selling a lot of our T-shirts. And, yeah, Pentaport!"

So, did Korean girls invent punk rock?

"Yes," Abi said. "Irrefutably."

Follow @sailorhoneymoon.kr on Instagram for more information or go to youtube.com/@sailorhoneymoon for their music

Jamie Finn is chief editor of Platform Magazine.