The Gwangju Knitting Club: Mixing Yarn and Yarns

Written and photographed by Sarah Pittman

In the space above where McLeod’s used to be in Dongmyeong-dong, there is a new meeting space for crafty-minded people. Ember Bar is the labor of love of Tim Han, and Emily Johnson, his girlfriend, is the coordinator of the Gwangju Knitting Club. The inspiration for the Gwangju Knitting Club came to Emily when she was looking for a crafting group herself.

Emily grew up in Oregon in a family that enjoyed crafting. Her grandmother was a weaver, and her mother liked to knit and crochet, too. She first started knitting when she was younger after reading the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. She continued to crochet and knit through high school and college because it helped her feel like she was being productive while she was studying or watching television.

When Emily first came to Korea, she was amazed by all of the free time that she had to pursue her hobbies, like stamp-making or other crafts. However, as time went on and contracts passed, she started making less and less time for her hobbies. Emily wanted to make more of an effort to nurture her crafty side while still being able to talk to new people and her friends. She was also impressed by the large online crafting community in Gwangju, but crafting can be a lonely hobby, and there was not really a dedicated space for people to meet and discuss or share tips about their craft. Then she realized that she already had a space and a time when she could craft and foster a community: on Thursday nights at Ember Bar.

The Gwangju Knitting Club meets on Thursdays at 7 p.m., but you are welcome to drop by whenever with whatever craft you want. Some people bring embroidery and some bring crochet projects, but everyone has a space in this warm, living room of a bar. I often show up after 9 p.m. to gab with Emily and knit. It is a relaxing space that helps to remove any stress from the day.

Starting in May, Ember Bar is going to start showing movies bi-monthly, during the knitting club as well, including art house flicks, dramas, comedies, and everything else in between. The inspiration came from the homegrown community movie theaters that are more common around parts of Asia. Emily and Tim were frustrated with how hard it can be to find movie theaters with showings in English, so they took it upon themselves to provide a movie-viewing space here in town.

All crafters get ten percent off drinks at Ember Bar on Thursdays after 7 p.m. Bring your craft, have fun, and enjoy a very special part of the Gwangju community!

Gwangju Knitting Club
Time: Every Thursday from 7:00 p.m.
Address: 18 Dongmyeong-ro, Dong-gu, Gwangju 광주 동구 동명로 18 (동명동)
Facebook: Gwangju Knitting Club

The Author
Sarah Pittman is an English teacher with a degree in psychology from California State University, Fullerton. She discovered her love for photography while working at Disneyland and has been honing her craft with practice and YouTube videos every since.