Open-Roof Night Club Enraging Residents
By Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporter
Some nightclubs are opening their roofs to further enthrall customers on the vibrant, pulsating dance floors. But the louder noise is disrupting residents in nearby apartments.
It is known that there are about ten open-roof nightclubs on Jeju Island and other areas across the nation. A growing number of nightclubs are moving to remodel their buildings into these opening roof structures.
One of them is the ``Shampoo Night Club'' in Youngtong-dong, Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. It recently resumed construction of an opening roof, braving fierce opposition from nearby residents.
The nightclub submitted the remodeling plan to Suwon City Government last November but the city authority didn't approve it following a rush of complaints from residents.
However, the club appealed this year to the city government for administrative deliberation, saying its plan do not violate any construction laws. The city administrative council last October ruled the authority should withdraw its original disapproval for the construction project.
``The council ordered us to approve the construction as there are no grounds to stop the plan in the Construction Law,'' said Kim Young-chan, a city government official. ``We were also very embarrassed with the ruling. We have no specific clauses in the law that ban the building of open-roof nightclubs. But I believe environmental authorities can control the noise from it.''
The lack of legal grounds to block the open-roof nightclubs is allowing other in the city to remodel their buildings, according to the city official.
In response, residents in the region are now protesting the resumption of the construction. ``Shampoo nightclub promised us it would not open its roof and now its gone back on its word. We are already suffering from noise from the nightclub, which is more than the standard noise level limit of 55 decibels (dB) and if it opens its ceiling, we will be exposed to a worse environment,'' said Park Man-ki, a representative of residents in the area. ``It's very bad for our children in terms of education. We will fight until they scrap the plan.''
Regarding this, Youngtong-gu office plans to monitor the nightclub. ``After the construction is completed, we will measure the noise and take appropriate action on it,'' an official told The Korea Times.
Under the current law, if a facility produces noise louder than 55 dB, it is subject to disciplinary punishment or a maximum one million won fine.