Golmok, Vinyl&Pub

About

Vinyl record bar in Itaewon's Gyeongnidan strip where you build your own soundtrack from their deep LP collection while drinking. Rock, pop, soul, funk, and jazz on the turntable.

Golmok Vinyl & Pub: Where Records Meet Conversation Tucked into a quiet corner of Itaewon's Gyeongridang-gil, Golmok Vinyl & Pub operates on a philosophy that privilege belongs to the alley, not the plaza. Owner Hwang Se-heon, who has spent over three decades collecting LP records, curates a space where 15,000 pieces of vinyl line the walls—not as untouchable artifacts, but as living documents of sound waiting to be played. Walk in and the music begins. Not overwhelming, but present enough to command attention. The owner himself manages the turntable with practiced precision, taking song requests written on paper slips, locating each record by feel and memory alone, checking sound levels before the needle drops. Visitors describe the experience as watching someone fluent in an ancient language. The playlist leans toward "old things that are new"—songs that predate most visitors yet speak to the present moment. Steely Dan's *Hey Nineteen*, Talking Heads, Tom Waits: the kind of tracks that invite contemplation rather than conversation-drowning. The drink menu keeps pace. Suntory highballs, draft beers in rotating varieties, whisky, wine, and cocktails arrive at reasonable prices—around 10,000 won for a quality pour. Pretzels appear as simple, reliable ballast. The space accommodates solitary drinkers at the bar and clusters of friends equally well; one visitor called it "a café that serves alcohol," and that accuracy captures something essential. The bar reopened in autumn 2023 after a four-year hiatus, emerging unchanged in its core conviction: that the best venues exhale rather than shout. Black-and-white films sometimes play silently on one wall. Views toward Namsan tower reward those who arrive with patience. Come for wine with international friends, or alone with a single beer and a song you haven't heard in years. The owner may have already found it.