Boarded up store in 2009

Kim's Video and Music was a video and music retail store in the East Village of Manhattan, New York City, described as the "go-to place for rare selections"^[1] and "widely known among the cognoscenti of new, experimental and esoteric music and film".^[2] Its owner was Yongman Kim.

History

It opened at the site of Kim's dry cleaner business and eventually moved to its own location on Avenue A in 1987. It expanded to five other locations, including St. Mark's Place (Mondo Kim's) in the East Village, Kim's Underground at 144 Bleecker Street (on Laguardia Place), Kim's West (350 Bleecker Street & West 10th Street), and Kim's Mediapolis (2906 Broadway). By 2008, it had over 55,000 rental titles, many of which were rare or esoteric.

The original Avenue A location closed in 2004.^[3][4] Mondo Kim's, to a lesser extent, also had a reputation for "ornery" service.^[5]

In June 2005, police raided Mondo Kim's, alleging they were selling bootlegs.^[6][5]

In September 2008, Kim announced he would be closing Mondo Kim's and giving away the film collection to anyone who could fulfill certain criteria, stipulating that the entire collection was to be taken intact and that Kim's members would continue to have access to the collection wherever it resided. In December 2008, it was reported that Salemi, Sicily had made a successful bid for the collection, as part of a village restoration effort.^[7][8][9] In 2012, a Village Voice article entitled "The Strange Fate of Kim's Video" reported that the collection, though remaining intact, had essentially disappeared from public view after arriving in Salemi, and that the initiatives promised by Kim and the government of Salemi remained unfulfilled.^[10]

The last remaining location of Kim's Video & Music, located on 1st Ave, announced its closure on April 21, 2014.^[11]

On April 1, 2022, after 12 years of residing in Salemi, Sicily, filmmakers David Redmon and Ashley Sabin, with assistance from Yongman Kim and Tim League, brought the Kim's Video St. Marks Place movie collection back to New York City as depicted in their 2023 movie Kim's Video.^[12][13][14] Kim's Video & Music was relaunched as Kim's Video Underground with the help of the Alamo Drafthouse theater chain. The new store is located in the lobby of Alamo's Lower Manhattan location in the Financial District of Manhattan. The store also now offers 5-day rentals for free.^[15]

Notable employees

Kim's was known for its staff,^[16][17] who were described by The Awl as "legendarily knowledgeable and haughty."^[17] Some of its employees later went on to successful careers in film, music, and the arts.^[16]

• Isabel Gillies, actress, writer^[16]
• Robert Greene, documentary filmmaker^[16]
• Albert Hammond Jr., musician, member of The Strokes^[16]
• Alex Ross Perry, director, screenwriter^[16]
• Todd Phillips, director, producer, screenwriter^[16]
• Dylan Kidd, director, screenwriter^[18]
• Christopher Pravdica, musician, member of Swans^[16]
• Kate Lyn Sheil, actress^[19]
• Chris Vanderloo, founder of Other Music^[16]
• Sean Price Williams, cinematographer^[16]
• Andrew W.K., musician^[16]
• Nick Zedd, filmmaker^[16]
• Eric Copeland, musician and member of Black Dice
• Michael M. Bilandic, filmmaker^[20]
• Chris Ryan, editorial director at The Ringer^[16]
• Kat Toledo, comedian and filmmaker ^[21]
• Jody Avirgan, podcast host and producer ^[22]

References

Further reading

• "The Strange Fate of Kim's Video", Village Voice, September 12, 2012, accessed September 12, 2012.