A Final Farewell
By William Urbanski.
Korea is a beautiful country that I love, but it is not exactly known for having the best beer in the world. In a sea of barely drinkable swill, the German Bar, owned by Song Seung-cheol, was an island of refuge: a place that not only had the best beer on the peninsula but was also a fun, friendly place for foreigners and Koreans alike.
To call it the “German Bar” (singular) is a bit of a misnomer. There were actually numerous locations, some of which existed at the same time. The German Bar at Daein Night Market was one of the best, but my personal favorite was the second-floor location just off of the “Wedding Street.” It was a mandatory place to visit, especially on St. Patrick’s Day, and a better time could not be had anywhere. Like many foreigners in Gwangju, I had a personal connection with the German Bar, and my wife and I even had our engagement party there with a group of our closest friends.
At the German Bar, the choice was simple: You could either have Dunkel (dark beer) or Weiss (white beer), each of which was handcrafted according to mysterious, magical, and secretive recipes that were delicious, thirst-quenching, and that somehow increased the patrons’ charisma, not to mention their loquacity. Too many restaurants (and beer brands) nowadays focus on fancy marketing to attract customers but spend precious little time making their product the best it can be. The German Bar never relied on over-the-top decorations or elaborate window dressings: It had a rock-solid product and a lively atmosphere, which explains why it was a popular and favorite haunt for many.
This is not really an article about the German Bar. It is about the man behind the bar, “Mr. Song” (as he was affectionately called), whose recent and untimely passing has left a cloud of sorrow over the city. Mr. Song had a unique ability to make every customer feel like a VIP, and he projected a genuine friendliness that kept people coming back. He was an interesting man, to say the least, and the years he spent living in Bayern, Germany, honing his brewing skills meant that he spoke excellent German: an extremely rare trait among Koreans.
It is said that we forget what people say and what they do but that we never forget how they make us feel. Mr. Song was one of the few people that made Gwangju feel like home, and the city will never be the same without him.
Farewell, Biermeister Song.
