"Sales Plunge 90% After COVID-19... Surviving with Mini Instruments and On-Site Repairs"

Struggles of Nakwon-dong Instrument Shops
March Peak Season but Customers Missing
Only One Flute Sold per Month
'Kalimba' Players Not Removing Masks
Simple Instruments Still Generating Some Sales
Delivery and Driving Services After Work

Nakwon Musical Instrument Arcade stores are overcoming the COVID-19 crisis in various ways. Many shops stocked instruments that are easy to enjoy, such as the kalimba.
Photo by Oh Gyumin moh011@

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Gyumin] When passing by Tapgol Park in Jongno-gu, Seoul, where elderly people play Baduk and Janggi, a faded white exterior building catches the eye. It was hard to find pedestrians passing by the building. Instead, a sign with white letters on a blue background reading ‘Nakwon Musical Instrument Arcade’ was visible. It is called the ‘Mecca of Musical Instruments.’

Going up to the second floor and passing through the arcade entrance, two merchants moving musical instruments were seen. There were no customers entering the store, and the merchants were staring at their computers with expressionless faces. Occasionally, piano melodies flowed from shops located in the middle of the corridor.

The musical instrument arcade’s peak season is every March. Thirty percent of the annual sales occur during this time. This is because schools purchase educational instruments in bulk for the new semester. Merchants said the ‘new semester boom’ disappeared long ago due to COVID-19. For wind instruments played by blowing, the number of customers has greatly decreased due to concerns about COVID-19 infection. Lee In (69), who sells wind instruments, pointed to a dust-covered flute and said, "This costs 400,000 won each, but it’s hard to sell even once a month." He sighed, saying his sales have dropped by 90% compared to before COVID-19.

Musical instrument merchants have been enduring the COVID-19 situation in their own ways for two years. As Kalimba (a percussion instrument played by plucking keys with the thumb) and similar instruments that individuals can enjoy at home became popular, many stores stocked them. Kim Myungsoo (48) said, "People are looking for instruments they can play without taking off their masks, so we have no choice but to do this." Kim stocked simple instruments such as Kalimba, mini harps, and steel tongue drums.

Small-scale merchants also take on side jobs after closing their shops. Comprehensive musical instrument merchant Ko Yoonsoo (40) said that since sales cannot be increased, he first cut expenses such as dining out. Talking about small merchants in similar situations, he said, "Some people work as delivery or substitute drivers after business hours, and many visit musical instrument clubs to perform repairs themselves."

There were also merchants who set differentiation strategies through remodeling, saying they cannot just sit and wait. Jo Joonseong (47), who runs a flute specialty store, said sales have dropped to less than half compared to before COVID-19. However, he said he is aiming for a ‘turnaround’ through remodeling at the end of last year. He said that although demand for wind instruments has decreased, he wanted to instill a professional store image to customers and is strengthening everything from product display to customer aftercare and social media (SNS) promotion.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.