Coffee shops are all over the place. Today there is nothing either strange or special about going to a coffee shop. Just like with any other shop, we go to a coffee shop to buy coffee; we enjoy its brand value, menu, taste, and convenience. But have you heard about a café that offers more than coffee? A café that offers “memories”? This article introduces you to a place where the past, through a cup of coffee, becomes present: Hakrim Coffee.
Hakrim Coffee, also known as Hakrim Dabang, is located in Myeongnyun 4-ga, Jongno-gu in Seoul. It is just a few steps away from Hyehwa Station’s Exit 2. Patrons must first walk up some spiral stairs, and at the top, they are greeted by an old wooden door. The first impression is of the café’s antiqueness. When you enter the café, beautiful classical music and the aroma of coffee greet you. Everything seems old: old wooden tables, old gray sofas, old black-and-white photos, and old movie posters. All the ornaments and furniture contribute to creating an atmosphere different from that of other coffee shops. On the shelves, you can find many playable LP records. If you want to listen to some old pop music, you can request a song from the house DJ, in the way our parents’ generation did in earlier times. Also, if you look at the left wall beside the stairs, you can find a framed guest book. Celebrities who frequented this café back in the days they were not yet famous have left their names in it. The café offers an interesting pastime: in the guest book, finding the handwriting of some historical figures whose names frequently appear in textbooks.
This atmosphere is something Hakrim seeks to preserve. In fact, it has been maintained since the owners opened the café. Since its establishment in 1956, three years after the Korean War armistice, the café has been a place that has catered to the youth. At times of historical and political turbulence, many enthusiastic young intellectuals sought out others like them and they gathered at the café to share their hopes and worries. The café has also functioned as a “25th lecture room” for Seoul National University students in the 1960s. This shows that this café has a symbolic meaning as a place for earnest discussion. In addition, groups of progressive university students have debated controversial issues pertaining to politics and philosophy in this café. They have showed their strong yearning for democracy and opposition to dictatorial rule here. Also many literary works have flourished in this café. It has been a place for writers and poets such as Kim Ji-ha, Lee Chung-jun, and Cheon Sang-byeong (who play prominent roles in Korean literature) to find peace and become inspired. The tables near the window used to always be full of writers and poets. Jeon Hye-lin, a highly gifted essayist, once savored a cup of coffee at a window seat at this café. She was often lost in meditation. Young Korean artists came to the café and sought solace for their souls, if only for a short while.
Hakrim Coffee wants to maintain this legacy and not go the way of other coffee chains. Diverse coffee chains have dominated urban areas in its stead. But Hakrim still remembers what Dabang meant to young students and artists in the old days. Indeed, there is not a thing about the café that needs to be changed or improved (except for the coffee, which could taste better). Hakrim’s identity was formed by all of its patrons and it carries traces of the eras it has witnessed. This is why Hakrim has a very humble and old-fashioned appearance, unlike that of modern coffee shops. In the 21st century, when people are advocating renovation and advancement toward the future, Hakrim cares about the past. Quietly and gently, as classical music playing through an enclosed hall, Hakrim looks after its virtue.
However, the fact this is the 21st century also cannot be ignored. In the old days, the café was a forum for student democratic movement and a haven for artists. Now it is a café for everyone who wants to be nostalgic. The antique atmosphere that this café offers still arouses romantic sentiments of longing. The café can make some people recall old times, and put some others in an elegant mood. This emotion is not a thing that one can easily buy with money. Even young people nowadays sympathize with the aim of this unusual coffee shop. Although they have no direct personal or practical experience of tragedies or hard times, they do not want to lose this café. As a part of such wish, some undergraduate students voluntarily planned and launched a project to promote Hakrim. This is because it is not just a matter of Hakrim’s decor or reputation. It is a matter of history. The present sharply passes us by, and the future has not yet come. What has made us into the people we are is all in the past. And we all want to preserve some pieces of the past in the form of “memories”.
joohi@ajou.ac.kr, lin9512@ajou.ac.kr