The glass storefront of Seoul Record holds thousands of vinyl records, their colorful sleeves stacked floor to ceiling behind the heavy sliding doors. This shop emerged in the nineteen eighties, when South Korean record stores functioned…
Nakwon Arcade and Retro Jongno
This walk takes you through Seoul's historic Nakwon and Jongno districts, where a towering retro instrument arcade and nostalgic vinyl cafes stand alongside a decades-old soup stall and a senior-friendly classic cinema. It is a rare look at the city's living, old-school musical soul and neighborhood subculture.
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1. Seoul Record
2. Tapgol Park
The stone pagoda inside Tapgol Park is protected by a glass pavilion and stands as the only remnant of the Wongaksa Temple that once occupied this site. During the Japanese occupation in nineteen nineteen, student leaders gathered here to…
3. Somunnanjip Gukbap Jeonmun
The sign above the door of Somunnanjip Gukbap Jeonmun features a faded red crane, marking a kitchen that has served the same beef bone soup for over fifty years. Inside, the menu is simple. The cooks simmer beef briskets and marrow bones…
4. Nagwon Musical Instrument Arcade
The Nagwon Musical Instrument Arcade occupies the floors above a bustling, ground-level market building. It remains the largest specialized market for musical instruments in the world, with hundreds of shops packed into narrow,…
5. 헐리우드
The Hollywood Theater building in Nagwon-dong stands out for its faded, boxy facade and the vintage signage that clings to its upper stories. It opened in nineteen sixty-nine as a luxury cinema for the city elite, boasting a premiere…
6. LP Bar Peter Paul & Mary
A faded, oversized portrait of the folk trio Peter Paul and Mary hangs near the entrance of this basement room in Gwancheol-dong. The walls are covered in thousands of vinyl records, and the air smells of old paper and dust. Since the…