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※ The actual region of the content is selected. It has come time to say goodbye to 2020, leaving us searching for the memories we can come away with from the past year. Digging deep into Seoul’s memory are the first years of the baeknyeongage, 100-year shop, and oraegage, or old shop, that boast a minimum 20-30 years of history or have been passed down through the generations of a family.
* Baeknyeongage | Part of a policy that discovers stores that will continue a 100-year tradition and supports their growth. Baeknyeongages are selected by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Small Enterprise and Market Service.
* Oraegage | A name chosen by the public meaning, “Hoping for a shop to last a long time. Oraegages are part of a policy that discovers shops preserving the soul and anecdotes of the city.
For 60 years from 1942 to 2005, Boan Inn of Tongui-dong was a shelter and meeting spot for many people. The inn is known as the starting place of “Siinburak,” the literary coterie magazine that was published in 1936. Poet Seo Jeong-ju launched this magazine at Boan Inn with poets Kim Tong-ni, O Chang-hwan, and Kim Tal-chin. After Korea regained independence, Boan Inn was the base for young writers and artists who sojourned at the inn before finding permanent residences in Seoul. The inn with a deep history transformed into a “hip” venue in 2007 when it reopened its doors as a complex cultural space. The structure of the rooms at the inn were preserved to be used as exhibition halls (Art Space Boan 1). In 2017, the new building, “Boan 1942,” opened adjacent to the old building. The bookstore on the second floor (Boan Books), which connects to the old building, is the central point of the café (33 Market) on the first floor, accommodations (Boan Stay) on the third and fourth floors, and the other exhibition hall (Art Space Boan 2) on the first basement floor. Exhibitions, books, coffee, and the past years of Boan Inn sit beside Gyeongbokgung Palace and Bugaksan Mountain.
Walk up the unusual stairs of the entrance to be greeted by an old coffee shop that will leave you questioning whether the year really is 2020. The old piano, the tables and sofas with deep wood grains, and the rare two-story structure will leave you feeling nostalgic. Hangrim Dabang, the oldest coffee shop in Seoul, finely preserves the traces of the past 60 years. Frequented by literary scholars and artists, Hangrim Dabang remained a safe house for students of Seoul National University who fought at the April 19 Revolution and the May 16 military coup d’état before Seoul National University moved to Gwanak-gu in 1975. Staying true to its old aesthetics, the coffee shop continues to play music from the LP player while middle-aged visitors and young people enjoy coffee together at this old coffee shop that feels like a movie set. This unique and old-fashioned coffee shop appeared in the drama, “My Love from the Star,” making it popular amongst Chinese tourists.
The founder of Taegeukdang, the oldest bakery in Seoul, and late pâtissier, Shin Chang-geun, was the pioneer of Korea’s bakeries. After Japanese colonization, the Midoriya Bakery that was operated by a Japanese owner was taken over and opened in Myeong-dong, Seoul, beginning today’s Taegeukdang. The bakery was named “Taegeukdang,” encompassing Korea’s national identity, and the logo of the bakery is the mugunghwa. Taegeukdang enjoyed its golden years in the 1970s and opened several branches in downtown Seoul including Jongno, but business shrunk when larger franchise bakeries began to open in the area. Starting in 2015, Managing Director Shin Kyung-chul, the nephew of founder Shin Chang-geun, remodeled the bakery facility for a year and cooperated with domestic and overseas brands like Superga and LINE to rise up as a “young” brand. Although its image has gotten younger, the bakery stands by its old recipes. In addition to its main menu item, the Monaca Ice Cream, Taegeukdang features items that cannot be found at franchise bakeries like the Namdaemun Jeonbyeong (crepe) and Butter Cake.
Samgeori Meonjimak Sundaeguk, which began as a noodle store in Daerim Market in 1957 and began selling rice soup in 1959, is the oldest blood sausage soup restaurant in Seoul. Recognized for its determination to serve low-priced but delicious food, Samgeori Meonjimak Sundaeguk was selected as the first restaurant of the Long-lasting Small Business project. Samgeori Meonjimak Sundaeguk was adored by regulars for the past 60 years because of the cost-effectiveness that the restaurant offers. A bowl of sundaeguk (blood sausage soup) filled with generous portions of fresh blood sausages and intestines is KRW 5,000 (regular size). The anju (snacks) served with blood sausages, pork stomach, and pork intestines is offered at just KRW 6,000. The low prices are indeed appealing, but what keeps customers coming are the flavors. The broth of the blood sausage soup is not too strong, but rather has a simple flavor that creates a perfect balance with the well-ripened diced radish kimchi and cabbage kimchi, demonstrating the dignity of an “original” recipe.
Resembling a museum, countless ID photos fill up an entire wall at the entrance of this studio. Ssangma Studio, which has steadily taken photographs of numerous celebrities, politicians, and still images of dramas over the past 37 years, is well known as the veteran of the Yeouido’s broadcasting industry. When it first opened in Yeouido in 1984, Ssangma Studio was a small photo studio of 23 square meters. However, after the studio was put in charge of taking the ID photos for MBC employees, it became known as the “MBC-designated studio,” and word about the studio began to spread via word of mouth. Later, Ssangma Studio became a designated studio for the KBS Talent Room and the Korean Broadcasting Actors Association. Despite its fancy history, Ssangma Studio charmingly continues to operate as it did before. CEO Hwang Su-yeon focuses on naturally incorporating the original image of an individual, rather than relying on Photoshop skills. Ssangma Studio recently made an appearance on Hangout with Yoo as the studio where the members of Refund Sisters took their profile pictures.
There are two genealogies when it comes to masks in South Korea. One is the “san dae mask” for play and the other is the “hahea mask” for rituals. The san dae masks feature intense colors. During the early Joseon period, a stage was made in the shape of Geumgangsan Mountain in front of Gwanghwamun Gate as an event stage for san dae masks. The hahea masks used for rituals were considered the guardians of the villages. Thanks to these customs, the masks were carefully stored in the rooms of homes and preserved for 800 years. Because the masks were preserved, the production techniques of the hahea masks were not passed down. Therefore, individuals who make these masks today reproduce the masks through the memories of our ancestors. Among the first generation of mask makers is CEO Jeong Seong-am of Tal Bang in Insa-dong who has been making masks for 36 years. His “Tal Bang” sits on the Insa-dong Culture Street. The walls of the 13-m2 store is filled with masks. He has made masks every day in the same spot of 6 square meters since 1984 when the store first opened. The masks of Tal Bang are mostly made with linden trees as the elasticity of the wood is suitable for making long-lasting masks.
Koo Ha San Bang is Korea’s very first brush store. This year, Koo Ha San Bang celebrates its 108th anniversary of selling brushes and ink stones. In the past, every village sold “Four Treasures of the Study” on their stands. During the Japanese occupation, the Japanese made stores and formed a market, and the first store was “Koo Ha San Bang.” Because the store was popular for its high-quality brushes, people joked about the store, saying, “Anyone who doesn’t know Koo Ha San Bang can’t become greatly known. All writers and painters have visited Koo Ha San Bang at one point or another.” Koo Ha San Bang also delivered brushes to the palace in the past. Proof of this brush supply and use of the store’s brushes by Emperor Gojong and Emperor Sunjong are evident through a frame that hangs in the store. Noted Korean painters and calligraphers of the time, such as Kim Un-ho (idang), Lee Sang-bum (Cheongjeon), Pyon Kwan-sik (Sojeong), and Lee Ung-no (Goam), all purchased materials from Koo Ha San Bang. “Koo Ha San” is the name of a mountain that appears in a Chinese myth and signifies the companionship of nine legendary hermits.
La Cantina is Korea’s oldest “Italian restaurant.” Pasta can be found easily throughout Seoul, but “La Cantina” is the only pasta restaurant with a half-century history. La Cantina is located on the first basement floor of the Samsung Building at the entryway to Eulji-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul. The restaurant first opened its doors in 1966 and has remained open since. Inside the restaurant is La Cantina’s unique, old-fashioned atmosphere with the arched entrance, the marble Venus statue, the crimson handkerchiefs on tables, the paintings that fill up the walls, and the bar made of red bricks. However, the food at La Cantina differs slightly from “original” Italian food. Each dish encompasses a special Korean flavor as the restaurant aims to cook Italian foods that suit the taste buds of the Korean people. Recommended dishes at La Cantina are the “Linguine La Cantina” and the “Spaghetti Old Fashioned.” The Linguine La Cantina is pasta in clam sauce. The dish overflows with the sauce of spaghetti alle vongole, but the unique taste of clams explodes in the dish. The Spaghetti Old Fashioned is described on the menu as a “House Special Spaghetti of La Cantina.” The Spaghetti Old Fashioned boasts the taste of the spaghetti casserole that we used to eat at Western restaurants we visited together with our parents.
Seoul changed quickly, and in the stages of the city’s changes, much of the old disappeared. One example is blacksmith workshops. Blacksmith workshops remind us of blacksmiths striking the red-hot metal on the anvil while soaked in sweat in front of the burning forge. Every morning, in the vicinity of Bulgwang Station in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, the sounds of the heavy hammer can be heard from Bulgwang Blacksmith that has been succeeded by its second generation of owners since 1963. In 1950, during the Korean War, CEO Park Gyeong-won began helping out with odd jobs at the blacksmith workshop for food while seeking refuge. In 1953, he made forges on a cart and sold them on his mobile blacksmith workshop until he finally opened Bulgwang Blacksmith in 1963. The store settled into its current location in 1973. All blacksmith workshops that were prevalent in the past were replaced by machines that made tools in the 1980s and gradually disappeared. Fortunately, Bulgwang Blacksmith was succeeded by a second generation who keeps the fire pit burning every day. The old method continues to be used today through which metal is heated over the fire and struck with a hammer, which is then cut to form its shape. This method keeps the structure of the metal elaborate and precise compared to other products.
Haebangchon in Yongsan-gu is a neighborhood that formed with Korea’s liberation from Japan on August 15, 1945 when people who crossed over to South Korea from the North, refuges, and people returning from abroad settled down in the area. At the entrance of this small neighborhood is an alleyway known as “Hangari-gil.” In this 50-meter alleyway along the wall of the U.S. military base located across the street from the small bus stop are rows of pots that make up Haebangchon’s landmark, or “Hansin Pottery.” Foreign tourists busily take photos in front of the parade of pots. Since 1967, Hansin Pottery focused on one thing: pottery. Owner Sin Yeon-geun of Hansin Pottery continues to keep the store open year-round because she does not want customers who visit the store to have made their trip in vain. All the pottery in the store is directly brought from Icheon. The name “Hansin” is a combination of the owner’s last name and her husband’s last name. Pottery has existed since the Three Kingdoms of Korea. Pottery is a storage container for food that is exclusive to this nation. Though pottery is disappearing today as kimchi refrigerators advance, it continues to live and breathe in the heart of Seoul.
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