Seoul coffee roastery turns basement into live music venue

A seven-year-old coffee roastery in northeastern Seoul has converted its basement into a live music venue, giving residents outside the city's western entertainment districts regular access to live shows close to home.

Hoi Polloi, located in Nowon District's Gongneung-dong, has hosted more than a dozen shows since November 2024 spanning genres from punk to jazz. For Korean-American readers with roots in Seoul's overlooked northeastern neighborhoods, the venue underscores how grassroots spaces are beginning to decentralize the city's live music scene beyond the traditional Hongdae circuit.

Co-owner Chris Rettig said he relocated roasting and baking operations to a separate facility, freeing the cafe's basement space he had long envisioned for acoustic shows, according to The Korea Times.

"We've ended up developing the interior space of the shop to be a bit uncomfortable for students to study in — only a couple outlets, the music can get kinda loud, the baking and general barista operations are often loud, our team is all friendly and talkative and we more or less welcome a lively crowd as opposed to a quiet workspace," Rettig said.

The cafe's name carries an accidental origin. Hoi Polloi takes its name from the song "Anhoi Polloi" by Canadian indie band The Most Serene Republic. "At the time, I actually didn't know what 'hoi polloi' meant," Rettig said, according to The Korea Times. The Greek phrase means "the common people."

Rettig said the November 2024 debut was lean: he posted on Instagram requesting equipment, and a regular customer provided most of what was needed. "It was very bare bones and DIY, but the turnout was great. I had an absolute blast doing it, and it felt like it more or less showed that there's a demand for that type of thing in this area," he said.

The events operate at a financial loss, which Rettig treats as a community investment. "I used to play music, and so I guess I make it a top priority to make the sound in the space as good as I can with the equipment we have, and to make the musicians feel as comfortable and confident as possible," he said. Programming has included rock, electronic, jazz, melodic punk, hardcore, indie-pop and heavy progressive stoner doom.

Jeff Moses, frontman of ...Whatever That Means — one of four acts booked for the May 30 show — said the venue's intimate scale is its strength. "You don't need 100 people, you need 30 right people, and Hoi Polloi has it. I'd rather play to 30 here than 100 passively nodding along somewhere else," Moses said, according to The Korea Times.

The May 30 show, which also features Smoking Goose, Pop Ents and Sweet Gasoline, costs 25,000 won to enter, with a 5,000 won discount available with a receipt from a neighboring partner business. Hoi Polloi is open daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.