Soul to Seoul
"THIS IS MY HUSBAND'S YOUTH, all his life is here." Hyun Kyung Soo nudges me with her hip and slides onto the banquette next to me. We've been 'chatting' using a translation app for half an hour, and there's something heartbreaking about watching her slowly type out a few attempts at a sentence that first reads 'He's sleeping, before settling on 'He passed a year ago due to sepsis'.
Yet, with a beaming smile and frequent laughter, she shows me photos of her grinning husband, Cho Kyo Nam, pictured hunched over carrying heavy bags of records. She finally comes to a photo of her sitting by his grave, explaining that he was buried with his two favourite LPS, as well as his wedding ring, an everlasting nod to his two great loves: his wife and music.
He collected for 46 years, starting in college and amassing a collection rumoured to be worth over a million dollars. The bar, Suzie Q's, opened 18 years ago and served as both a successful business and an opportunity for Nam to play his records every evening, which he did right up until his passing, when the baton was passed to his nephew.
Requests are 'encouraged' and can influence the vibe of the evening, but ultimately the DJ is in control, and Nam's eclectic taste still shines. There's no showmanship here, just a love for music and family.
Soo might deem she's sitting amidst her husband's youth, but with her bucket hat and cheeky sense of humour, it's clear her own youth isn't far behind.
There's a scene in Davy Chau's Return to Seoul where the protagonist, Joey, dances in a vinyl bar. It's both haunting and uncomfortable to watch, given Joey's lack of consideration for local etiquette due to her Korean heritage and European upbringing.
The film led me to Gopchang Jeongol in Hongdae district, where walking down the stairs to the lower ground past the 'Save Vinyl' poster, I noticed the distinct 'basement' smell mentioned in Parasite.
Denne historien er fra February 2025-utgaven av Travel+Leisure India.
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Denne historien er fra February 2025-utgaven av Travel+Leisure India.
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