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Renaissance, a revived classical music salon, in Seoul / Korea Instances photograph by Kim Se-jeong
The bustling Daehangno space in Seoul is a haven for artists and artwork lovers. Theater posters layer the partitions and audiences drift between small levels, cafes and late-night bars.
Tucked contained in the Arts Council of Korea’s (ARKO) Artist Home is a quieter sort of stage.
Behind its doorways sits Renaissance, a music salon that feels much less like a venue and extra like a time capsule. Classic audio system tower over the room. Report gamers and outdated amplifiers sit like relics of one other period. Pale fliers and yellowing papers trace at tales that stretch again a long time.
Opened in Could 2025, the area invitations guests to do one thing more and more uncommon: sit nonetheless and hear.
Renaissance is rooted within the legacy of 1 man — Pak Yong-chan (1916-94).
Born into an prosperous household in Imsil, South Jeolla Province, throughout Japanese colonial rule, Pak developed a love for classical music at an early age. He studied economics at Meiji College in Japan, and when he returned dwelling, his baggage was stated to be stuffed with classical music vinyls — as many as 8,000.
A McIntosh MC 1000 energy amplifier donated by Pak Yong-chan / Korea Instances photograph by Kim Se-jeong
When Seoul was taken by North Korean and Chinese language forces in 1951 in the course of the 1950-53 Korean Battle, Pak fled with two vans filled with information. After arriving in southeastern metropolis of Daegu, he opened his first music salon, Renaissance. His purpose was clear: to assist native music lovers and troopers momentarily overlook the tragedies of conflict and supply them a way of peace and shelter.
When he moved again to Seoul in 1954, he reopened Renaissance in Insa-dong, earlier than relocating to a everlasting area in Jongno 1-ga, the place the salon remained till it closed in 1986.
In 1987, Pak donated his assortment to the Korea Arts & Tradition Training Service, which was later transferred to the ARKO Arts Archive. The donation totaled about 6,800 gadgets, together with 3,400 LPs and three,000 SPs.
These things remained in ARKO’s archive for almost 40 years till Could final 12 months, when ARKO reopened Renaissance at its headquarters in Daehangno to share Pak’s trove of classical music and memorabilia with the general public.
“I didn’t suppose individuals would come right here simply to hearken to music. There are a lot of good — even higher — choices for high-quality sound,” Kim Yeon-mi, the challenge supervisor, advised The Korea Instances. “Those that go to Renaissance need to expertise the ambiance of the Sixties by means of the ’80s. That’s what I attempted to convey out whereas making ready for the opening.”
A JBL Hartsfield speaker manufactured within the Nineteen Fifties, donated by Pak Yong-chan / Korea Instances photograph by Kim Se-jeong
Past the music itself, guests can take within the tradition of listening by means of a small assortment of artifacts, together with the unique Renaissance signboard, two towering JBL Hartsfield audio system, classic amplifiers, an SP file participant and archival paperwork.
Nonetheless, Pak’s authentic LP and SP information will not be bodily on show.
“Information, particularly SPs, are fairly fragile and delicate to deal with,” Kim defined, noting that Renaissance makes use of digitized recordings drawn from Pak’s assortment to assist protect the originals.
Kim stated that Renaissance within the Nineteen Seventies and ’80s was a gathering place for musicians, artists and writers in Seoul. Frequent guests included composers Kang Sukhi (1934-2020) and Paik Byung-dong. Maestro Chung Myung-whun and his musician sisters Myung-wha and Kyung-wha additionally frequented the listening lounge after they have been in Seoul.
“Renaissance served as a supply of inspiration for a lot of. It additionally functioned as a hub for mental trade, which gave it even deeper which means,” Kim stated.
Regardless of his function in cultivating Korea’s classical music tradition, a lot concerning the donor himself stays underneath the veil. Little is thought about Pak’s household, how he collected music information, what motivated him to maintain Renaissance open or how he funded the salon.
“We normally conduct in-depth interviews to doc details about donors, however the ARKO Arts Archive went by means of restructuring across the time of his donation and nobody correctly recorded his private historical past,” she stated.
Two years in the past, ARKO found a brand new reference to Pak and Renaissance in Daegu in an English-language music journal. “It’s believed the contributor was a U.S. navy officer who had visited the salon,” Kim stated.
An SP file participant donated by Pak Yong-chan / Korea Instances photograph by Kim Se-jeong
Since reopening, ARKO’s Renaissance has drawn regular curiosity. Whereas many guests are older classical music followers revisiting a well-recognized music salon ambiance, youthful audiences are additionally discovering the area by means of social media.
Kim Min-kyung, 27, stated she got here after seeing the area on YouTube.
“I noticed a video about Renaissance and wished to see the way it works,” she advised The Korea Instances on Jan. 20. “I didn’t know the music was in digital, however it was nonetheless good as a result of you may nonetheless hear tiny noises. It appears like a museum the place you may hearken to music and see historic objects on the similar time.”
Newspaper clippings of Renaissance and Pak Yong-chan, and entrance tickets / Korea Instances photograph by Kim Se-jeong
Renaissance requires advance reservations by means of ARKO’s web site, with bookings obtainable in Korean.
The music salon is open Monday by means of Saturday, with three time slots per day: 10 a.m.-noon, noon-2 p.m. and 2-5 p.m. Guests can’t select the music; the playlist is preselected and listed in an on-site brochure in addition to ARKO Artist Home’s Instagram account, @arkoartisthouse.
Whereas it’s freed from cost till the tip of January, Renaissance will request a ten,000 received donation from guests beginning in February.
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