Back in July the Korea Times published my article on an RAS 'night at Itaewon's Grand Ole Opry' during which its owner, Kim Sang-sook, better known to her customers as "Mama Kim," spoke about her life and experiences running a bar for more than 50 years.
If you visit when it's not so busy, Mama Kim is often happy to talk about the past - even more so when you're accompanied by someone from Texas, the birthplace of her late husband. On more than one occasion she has pulled out photo albums, showing, as in this case, a photo from the late 1970s showing all of the waitresses employed at the bar at the time.
The building housing the Grand Ole Opry was built (or was registered, at any rate) in 1967, a time when a number of buildings were constructed on and around "Texas Alley," as it was then called.
As can be seen in the above photo, it was called the American Club in 1969. I found a reference to another club at its address in February 5, 1973 Dong-A Ilbo news article:
Five "Special Entertainment Establishments" Cited for Poor Sanitation; Ordered to Renovate Facilities
On the 5th, the Seoul Metropolitan Government conducted sanitary inspections of "special entertainment establishments" designated for the recreation of foreigners. Authorities issued warnings to five establishments with substandard facilities and ordered them to complete renovations by the 19th.
There are currently 13 such establishments designated for foreign recreation; the five that received warnings and facility renovation orders are as follows:
▲ Lucky (126-16 Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu) ▲ Club Midnight (737-32 Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu) ▲ UN Club (127-1 Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu) ▲ Seven Club (136-45 Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu) ▲ Grand Hall (136-2 Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu)
The last club, "Grand Hall," has the same address as the Grand Ole Opry (and a similar name), though the sign on the Grand Ole Opry states that it opened in March 1975.
Other than Club Midnight in Hannam-dong, the other clubs were nearby. Lucky and Seven were at the bottom of the hill in buildings that still stand today, while UN was around the corner from where it stood in more recent decades (before closing in 2020).
All of the clubs (including 007, King Club, and Playboy) that were popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s are long gone except the Grand Ole Opry, making it something of a window to the past. Plus it still has its original 'special entertainment establishment' license meaning it can serve tax-free drinks that are much less expensive than its neighbouring establishments.
