Rubber Seoul is bouncing back to Hongdae for the seventh year on Saturday, hosting bands at five venues to entertain and raise money for people affected by HIV-AIDS in South Africa.

The event is an annual night of concerts that raises money for Little Travellers, an organization that sells beaded dolls of the same name made by women at the Hillcrest AIDS Centre in South Africa, which takes care of women who have AIDS or HIV and their families.

“In (Hillcrest’s) province of Kwanzu Natale, there is about a 35-40 percent affected rate for AIDS and HIV. It’s one of the highest in the world,” said Caitlin Gillespie, head of Little Travellers Korea, which organizes Rubber Seoul. “A lot of these families are unemployed. The unemployment rate in South Africa is enormous.”

She said that there were other Hillcrest projects, too, such as Gardens of Hope, a plant nursery that uses its profits to provide vegetable gardens for the families to grow their own food.

“It’s not even just about supporting these women, but a community, too, which I think is something that is severely needed in that part of Africa.”

Rubber Seoul has grown since its first outing six years ago to five venues, and with it the size of the Korean audience and the kind of bands it can attract has also expanded.

Gillespie pointed to Street Guns (ex-Rock Tigers) and Hairy Big Button as bands that might draw people.

She cohosted a charity gig for an orphanage in Malawi in 2012, which fell around the same time as Rubber Seoul. After contacting the organizers about some mutual help, she ended up helping them with Rubber Seoul and was asked to take the reins the next year.

“It kind of picked me!” she said. “I don’t know anybody with HIV-AIDS, but anytime somebody gives me an opportunity to help I’m really excited.

“I really like the idea that women are helping their families and doing what they can,” she said. And over the years I am becoming more and more a feminist and opinionated about women’s rights and any organization that can help women to support their families is amazing.”

Last year’s event raised $4,000 for the charity, Gillespie said. This year she is hoping to improve on that figure through better preparation, with a view to expanding Little Travellers Korea activities next year.

“The first year was a big learning curve, I’m not gonna lie,” she said. “Going from five bands to 25 bands and five venues was quite a step up, but I really appreciate everything I’ve gotten out of it and I’m looking to expand next year.”

That could mean new kinds of events such as the scavenger hunt that used to be run by Little Travellers or another music event in Itaewon, which she says has quite a separate scene from Hongdae.

“What I am hoping to do in Itaewon is try to get some Korean bands to come over because they just don’t,” she said. “It’s just a very separate world, and I don’t think it should be: it’s music.”

Rubber Seoul runs at Club Ta, FF, Gogos 2 and DGBD at 8 p.m. and Freebird 2 at 10 p.m. Tickets are 10,000 won and include admission to all the clubs, plus a Little Traveller doll.

For more info visit the “7th Annual Rubber Seoul” Facebook page.

By Paul Kerry (paulkerry@heraldcorp.com)