VOL.69/2024.04

 

[Celeb’s Book Spot ④]

Chaeg Bar

A Healing Space Where Books and Liquor Harmonize

 

2023.05.02

 

 

The area in front of Hongik University, where restaurants, bars, and clubs are focused, is known as an area for young people. Walk along the Yeonhuiro road, past the crowded street, and you will find a bar that shows off a unique concept - “Chaeg Bar.” Chaeg Bar, which is like finding treasure hidden deep inside an alley, is a “drinking bookstore” - a bar and a night bookstore - like its name suggests (chaeg means book in Korean). A bar and a bookstore seem like an awkward mix, but Chaeg Bar has been getting word of mouth as it was introduced by movie director Jang Hang-Jun, writer Kim Young-Ha, Kim Sang-Wook, and RM of BTS (idol group). It might not be easy to find the place as it is located between stores in a narrow alley, but it proudly says that “there might be people that have never visited us, but there is no one that has come only once.” So, why not take a little tour inside Chaeg Bar, a special book space where drinks and books make a good blend?

 

* K-Book Trends Vol. 42 – Go to the article about writer Kim Sang-Wook

 

One sip of alcohol for one page of a book

 

Jung In-Sung, the head of Chaeg Bar, says he quit working in a large company to make a quiet place for people who like books and drinks. The sign in front of the bar says, “Are you alone? You’re more than welcome!” Like the sentence, Chaeg Bar goes better with reading and contemplating alone, rather than noisy drinking parties joined by several people. The unique atmosphere where the only sound you hear is the sound of making cocktails, not visitors’ chats, largely derives from the special space that Jung has designed. The secret space that cannot be seen from outside is one example – press the button next to the bookshelf on the left side of the entrance, and the bookshelf will open like a door and lead you to the special space. Reading “inside” a quiet bookshelf is a fresh experience that cannot be found elsewhere. Also, looking for familiar backgrounds visited by RM, director Jang Hang-Jun, and writer Kim Young-Ha, provides another kind of fun.

 

 

Find a seat you like and open the book-like menu, and you will see a list of alcohols that remind you of books. Chaeg Bar classifies alcohol into Poems, Essays, Novels, and Comics based on their alcohol content. All you have to do is choose a drink that goes well along with the book you will read, from a strong 20% or higher “Poem” that are a good match to enjoy short poems over a long time, to non-alcohol “Comics,” which you can enjoy lightly. Also, you can choose menu items that are hard to find at other bars, such as “Independent Publications,” which are cocktails developed by Chaeg Bar with inspiration from books, “Drinks from Books,” which are literally famous drinks from books, “Quarterly Magazines,” which are seasonal menus, and “Supplements,” where you can choose books related to side dishes and Chaeg Bar. It is also quite fun to read the menu itself, as the “Independent Publications” part has the head’s comments, and the “Drinks from Books” part has scenes from books where the drinks appear. I tried a cocktail that reminded me of tender memories with The Man’s House (Hundae Munhak) written by Park Wan-Seo as the motif, as well as a refreshing cocktail that resembled the joyfulness in the book Love in the Big City (Changbi Publishers) written by Park Sang-Young, from the “Independent Publications” menu. These two cocktails belonged to the “Novels” category. They were made with low alcohol content – less than 10% - so that you don’t get drunk while reading a long novel.

 

* K-Book Trends Vol. 48 – Go to the interview with writer Park Sang-Young

 

 

If you have chosen a drink, it’s time to choose a book. It’s good to bring books you want to read, or you can also choose and borrow from various books prepared by Chaeg Bar. If you can’t decide which one to read among the books new to you, refer to the recommendation note attached to each book. It will be fun to find one book among all the books displayed in Chaeg Bar, such as fiction, non-fiction, magazine, or foreign book, that has been waiting for you. Also, as some shelves are used as book stands as well, you can buy a book you want and take it home to enjoy the lingering impression from Chaeg Bar.
If you have a good combination of a drink and a book, now it’s time to “drink” the book. In the composed atmosphere with calm jazz music, a drink and the calm, quiet time that flows with a book are all for you to enjoy. If a phrase impressed you while reading the book, share it in the “Phrase we loved” section in one corner of the wall. If there’s a drink that goes well along with the book, add it, too. It will be interesting to track the book with the sentence you found on the board full of memos. Of course, your next drink shall be the drink recommended alongside the phrase.

 

A place where everyone becomes a writer

 

Chaeg Bar organizes events every month related to writing. The “Billboard Chart” is an example. Visitors write and submit short memos on a designated topic, which changes every month. Others can vote by attaching a sticker to a memo they can most relate to. The top three messages are uploaded on Chaeg Bar’s Instagram with their pen names. The topic for April this year was “spring,” and people who have already visited the place have left impressive memos. If you want to write longer stories, you can participate in the “Chaeg Bar Literary Award,” held from June to August every year. It accepts short fiction and non-fiction with alcohol as the topic. Authors that are regular to Chaeg Bar and people from the relevant industry carefully choose the winning work. The memos selected from the Billboard Chart, posted on Instagram, and the winning work of the Chaeg Bar Literary Award are published in the Writings We Wrote While Drinking (Chaeg Bar) series.

 

 

Chaeg Bar is a place where readers become regulars, and regulars become writers. As a bar for books located deep inside a quiet alley, Chaeg Bar presents an unforgettable experience that cannot be found in any other bar or bookstore. If you are having a lonely night where you want to console your mind and soul with a sentence from a book and a glass of alcohol, why not visit Chaeg Bar and enjoy some healing time for yourself?

 

Chaeg Bar
Address: Rm. 101, 1F, 24, Yeonhuimat-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chaegbar

 

 

 

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Written by Song Su-Hui