Ryu Hankil was born in 1975 in Seoul, South Korea. He was a keyboard player in two famous Korean indie pop groups, but eventually left the groups because he was tired of typical music making and sounds. At that time he saw a concert by Otomo Yoshihide, Sachiko M, Axel Dörner, and Taku Unami in Seoul. He changed his musical instrument and concentrated more and more on improvised music and sound-related works. Hankil has organised a monthly concert series called RELAY since 2005. Since 2009 he has been the organizer of the concert series Table Setting, and curated and programmed exhibitions with artists who create sound-based works. He established his own publishing office, called Manual, and releases experimental/improvised music and magazines. He has performed internationally and participated in exhibitions in Beijing, Newcastle, and Manchester.