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A talented musician, actress and director, the prolific and exuberant Jessica Adel is a fixture in the Seoul arts scene. In recent months, she has been devoting herself to directing Seoul Shakespeare Company’s upcoming production of “Hamlet,” but she recently made time in her busy schedule to talk with Artist’s Journey’s Wilfred Lee about her relationship with the Bard.

Groove Korea: How are you approaching your role as director in “Hamlet”?

The sound is distinct. The rhythmic buzzing of vibrations as they pulsate from a machine, through needles and into the skin. It sounds eerily similar to a dentist’s drill, only here you look forward to the pain that will subsequently take place – because it’s art.

As a tattoo enthusiast, I began looking into parlors soon after arriving to Korea in August 2010. I figured that living in Seoul, the modern epicenter of the country, this wouldn’t be too daunting a task.

Get involved: See the website‭ ‬www.pscore.org‭ ‬for more information‭. ‬There are links on the website for internship and teaching applications‭.‬

Club Freebird: To get there‭, ‬leave Hongdae Station‭, ‬Exit 6‭, ‬and walk down the street towards the Buy The Way‭. ‬Turn left into the alley and hang‭ ‬a right at the smaller alley with Catchlight/Cafe Libro‭. ‬Freebird is at the end of the alley‭.‬

It’s an eerily quiet October evening. The moon casts a long shadow as you scuffle by a dark alley. You adjust your coat as the chill of the night seeps through. All of a sudden, on the other side of the narrow path, you notice a silhouette of a disheveled person in ragged clothes, walking toward you in an unsteady, uneven gait. 

At first you think it’s a drunken ajeossi. As you get closer, the shadowy outline reveals a blood-thirsty, flesh-eating monster, moaning “Brains!” as it slumps forward with shaky arms of purple rotten flesh.