INTERVIEW From Pink Floyd fan to record shop owner
Kim Kyung-jin, a pop music columnist and record shop owner, says he never gets tired of listening to Pink Floyd /Korea Times photo by Jung Hae-myoung
By Jung Hae-myoung
In a dark room, the projector light beams onto a wall in a small record shop decorated with the famous Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” album cover.
About five or six people gather to listen to the music of great artists including David Bowie, Marvin Gaye, Led Zeppelin and other legendary pop singers. The session is followed by a short lecture on how each song was made.
Kim Kyung-jin, a pop music columnist with 20 years in the music business, now owns a record shop called “Popsipetel,” which he opened in November 2017. He runs the shop and conducts lectures two to three times a week.
“I have been doing small lecture programs before I opened the record shop, and thought I should continue. I think music can come closer to you if you know it better. When you start to find out these fragments of ‘stories,’ it makes you feel like you really know the artists personally.” Kim said.
The songs in the lecture range from music in 1950s to 90s to movie soundtracks as well as latest releases. The music lectures are organized in themes. Sometimes he talks on broad subjects such as “music and literature.” In September, he finished a series on Pink Floyd albums.
Before running the shop, he joined Seoul Record in 1996 and moved to CJ E&M. During those years, he participated in producing prominent albums in Korea.
He produced the first album of Busker Busker, a Korean indie band. Their songs can be heard anywhere on the streets during the spring season . "Cherry Blossom Ending," their most popular song, is sometimes called as "Cherry Blossom zombie," or "Cherry Blossom pension," in Korea because it traces up the music chart every spring.
"After 'Superstar K Season 3,' Busker Busker members came to me and said they wanted to do 'real music,' above anything else. We decided it is best to release an album rather than focusing on other promoting business. That was how the famous first album came out. I never expeceted it would become this popular." Kim said.
For many youths who loves music would revere his music career. He is the perfect example of "fan who accomplished everything," and a person who makes living out of what they truly love.
“I was just a boy who listened to music all the time and I still do now,” Kim said. Stepping into the record, "The Wall" makes it obvious that he is a Pink Floyd fan.
"I have been listening to Pink Floyd over 30 years," he said.
But he was not a fan at first. “I bought the album out of interest after watching a TV show when I was in high school,” Kim said. That was Pink Floyd's fifth studio album, "Atom Heart Mother."
“Back then the music seemed too scary and difficult to me, so I just put that aside on the shelf," he said.
“About a few months before my college entrance exam, I had a drink for the first time and listened to the album again and I felt like I was hearing the music through my skin, not my ears.”
Since then he has started listening to Pink Floyd over and over, even after 30 years. Running a record shop had long been his dream, and after few trial and errors, it finally came true.
He sells not only CDs and LPs but also vintage album posters, books and Blu-ray disks.
“I sell the music that I actually listen to and I have been collecting over the years,” Kim said.
Popsipetel is near Hongik University Station in Seoul, and opens from 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. Anyone who loves music is welcome.