They Call It Hell, We Call it Heaven
Ceren Aral reflects on her Hell Café experience in Seoul, where turning forty meant discovering the joy of silence, vinyl, and a song that spoke louder than words.
by Ceren Aral
I love coffee, vinyls and meditation. And when I found myself in Seoul for my 40th birthday, I was greeted with lots of what I love.
I knew vinyl culture was big in Seoul, but when I actually arrived, I felt like I died and resurrected in a listening bar heaven. The city was invaded by them. Shortly after my first walk around the block, I realised that it wasn’t only about this new global trend, it was really about music in general.
I had my eye on two particular spots. I was so eager to try Hell Café in the day and Kompakt Bar in the evening, at midnight to be exact, to celebrate my birthday and forever mark my entry into maturity.
Me and my husband Vincent, we are two Parisians whose core skills in a café are squeezing in the smallest spaces and decoding each others’ words under other Parisians’ loud voices. That’s why we instantly felt a little out of place when we stepped into Hell Café. Its interiors were soothing and spacious, and its customers were completely silent. So.. This is what a listening café really was.
As the master of the café – and the music- was gracefully accompanying us to our high chairs at the bar, Vincent and I were trying to communicate with each other without words, with eyes wide open. It was like we were kidnapped. To heaven.
We sat at the bar facing the hundreds of records on the wall between two grand, vintage, wooden speakers. We instantly called them ‘Les Sublimes’. Again, only with our eyes. We were overwhelmed by the neatness of the place, just gazing around in circles on the records, the turntables, Les Sublimes and the one little flower on the bar, in a vase.
Then my ears took over. A song pulled me in. How could a few keyboard notes be this moving? I was hearing every cymbal, every string, everything. I stared for minutes at the vinyl turning, just enjoying. Only towards the end of the song, I grabbed my husband’s phone in panic… to Shazam it.
The master of the music -and the café- smiled at me gracefully, said ‘no need’ with his eyes and pointed his finger to the record cover on display, right behind him. It was DJ Soulscape’s Lovers album cover and I quickly realised that it was also what I have been staring at on the turntable. I nodded my head with a smile, showing him that I got the message.
The whole idea of a listening café is to discover and enjoy music, through the curation of the master where the album playing is displayed for the curious. Depending on masters’ mood, you could listen to a whole album or change after one or few songs. Our master even played a good old CD for us.
Leaving our beloved Hell Café behind, we ended the day at the Kompakt Bar with our new listening skills. This time the music was paired with cocktails and speaking was tolerated. Because for my birthday, we all said cheers. Cheers to my ears!
Ceren’s Shortlist: When in Seoul
The Onion Cafe of Gwangjang Market
Onion is the coffee-shop chain in Seoul that adapts its interior and style to match each neighborhood’s unique vibe. The only constant across all locations is the patisserié selection, which makes you feel as if you’ve just been served at the Palace of Versailles. Visit all the Onions, but don’t miss my favorite one at the entrance of Gwangjang Food Market—perfect before diving into a street food frenzy.
Vinyl and Plastic
In this spacious music shop, located in the hipster neighborhood of Itaewon, you can spend hours exploring not only vinyl records but also cassettes! Thanks to the dedicated Walkman section right next to the vinyl players, you’re welcome to travel back to your teenage room at your parent’s house with their amazing selection of cassettes. Total blast from the past.
Pierre Cigar Club
It doesn’t happen everyday to chat with the Turkish owner of the best cigar club in Seoul named Pierre, while smoking cigars, sipping Asian whiskey and listening to an amazing live jazz band on a random Thursday night. I swear, none of this was planned!
Parc Restaurant
Parc blends perfectly with the ultra-stylish Yongsan neighborhood of Seoul, where maze-like streets are filled with designer shops, boutiques, cafés, and restaurants. It feels truly special to sample a variety of “mom recipes”—as they put it—within such a contemporary interior and vibe. Tasteful by all means.
Havehad Shops
Thanks to this brand, we finally understood why Korean couples wear matching outfits. The affordable yet stylish brand offers unisex clothing in three sizes that fit both you and your boyfriend. The technology behind it is still a mystery to me, but now my husband and I share a wardrobe, despite the 20 cm and 15 kilos difference in between.
Goseong24
his tiny restaurant we stumbled upon during a night out in the Gangnam district is a true ‘one man, one table show.’ The one man is the owner, and the one table is for you—if you’re lucky. Although there are a few seats inside, the real charm is the single plastic table outside. The owner cooks everything for you on the spot, making you feel like a local celebrity.
Bolero Seoul
You can’t have it all. Except if you are Bolero, I guess. We were so smitten with the experience that the trendy Hannam spot actually had good comfort food, great vinyl music, interesting decoration and a funky vibe. Best cocktails in Seoul both for its taste and state of art presentation.
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Explore Ceren Aral’s insights in the second issue of Centre Mag.
