NO PAUSE carried a turntable into Seoul's oldest corners. A 90-year-old shoemaker, an underground knitting shop, a tiny shaman's shrine beneath Bukhansan. Chuseok arrived, home felt far, but the city wasn't just grey towers. Drop the needle, and a different Seoul starts spinning.
Songrim Handmade Shoes opened in 1936. The hammer still falls, one pair at a time. In fast-moving Seoul, the clock here ticks slower. The knock of the hammer becomes a beat, soul music drifts over worn tools. A 90-year rhythm layered onto today's playlist.
Seven grandmothers and one grandfather knit and chat in the basement knitting shop. City pop floats between them. For a moment, Cheonggye 5-ga underground becomes Seoul's warmest listening room. The click of needles finds the beat, oddly in sync.
Inside the antique shop and shrine below Bukhansan, stone figures tower overhead, brassware gleams with age. Decades stack tight in every corner. Incense burns, vinyl crackles. Somewhere between the rhythm of gut and soul, an ancient ritual slips into today's tracklist. The Seoul we thought belonged to the past is happening right now.
Home can wait a little longer. This Chuseok, something strangely familiar is playing right here in the heart of Seoul. What music is spinning in the corner of the city you've been walking past too fast?
Songrim Handmade Shoes opened in 1936. The hammer still falls, one pair at a time. In fast-moving Seoul, the clock here ticks slower. The knock of the hammer becomes a beat, soul music drifts over worn tools. A 90-year rhythm layered onto today's playlist.
Seven grandmothers and one grandfather knit and chat in the basement knitting shop. City pop floats between them. For a moment, Cheonggye 5-ga underground becomes Seoul's warmest listening room. The click of needles finds the beat, oddly in sync.
Inside the antique shop and shrine below Bukhansan, stone figures tower overhead, brassware gleams with age. Decades stack tight in every corner. Incense burns, vinyl crackles. Somewhere between the rhythm of gut and soul, an ancient ritual slips into today's tracklist. The Seoul we thought belonged to the past is happening right now.
Home can wait a little longer. This Chuseok, something strangely familiar is playing right here in the heart of Seoul. What music is spinning in the corner of the city you've been walking past too fast?
FAQ
Where in Seoul did NO PAUSE visit?
NO PAUSE visited Songlim Handmade Shoes, which opened in 1936, an underground knitting room in Cheonggyecheon-ga, and an antique shop-turned-shrine below Bukhansan. During the Chuseok holiday, they carried a turntable to Seoul's oldest corners and played music.
When did Songlim Handmade Shoes open?
Songlim Handmade Shoes opened in 1936. For nearly ninety years, they've been crafting shoes by hand, hammering them one pair at a time. NO PAUSE played music there, using the hammer sounds as a beat.
What genre of music did NO PAUSE play?
NO PAUSE mainly played soul and city pop. They played soul at the shrine and city pop at the underground knitting room, syncing with the grandmothers' knitting rhythms, adding fresh beats to Seoul's timeworn corners.
