Musicians became instrument merchants
Live music was prevalent throughout the country in the 1970s because there were not any restrictions on the music. Then, Chun Doo-hwan seized control of the country in 1979. Most areas were reorganized as a part of governmental reformation, and music areas were also influenced by the reformation. Musicians lost their position as the restrictions on music became strict and the social atmosphere changed suddenly due to political demonstrations.
Musicians who could raise funds began to open musical instrument shops. It was the matrix of the Nakwon Sangga. Since then, the number of musical instrument shops have continuously increased, and Nakwon Sangga has become what it is today through steady flourishing.
 



 
 
Musicians’ market where music greets people
The inside of the Nakwon Sangga is very crowded. Shops are clustered together, and the structure is like a maze where customers and staff move busily. People who visit the Nakwon Sangga for the first time easily lose their way. Staff lose their way if they don’t pay attention even if they have worked for a long time in the Nakwon Sangga.
Entering deeper into the building, people can see diverse instruments. Nakwon Sangga has all kinds of instruments and equipment related to music, from the piano and the guitar to the karaoke machine and the amplifier. The price categories are also diverse. In the case of cheap guitars, they are sold for about 100,000won, but other expensive guitars are sold for more than 10,000,000won.
People are often crowded in one specific shop. Most of them are onlookers watching the performances of the shop owners. The shopkeepers of the old shops are skillful performers. After a performance by one old performer, he answered a question about when he opened the shop by saying that he had been running the shop for 30 years and that he opened the shop due to playing the guitar which he had started as a hobby.


 
Musician’s festival
Nakwon Sangga holds many events, such as Nakwon Music & Movie Festival or band contests for office workers. Nakwon Music & Movie Festival is a big festival held annually. In the last year festival, many diverse movies and documentaries about music were screened, and performances like live music and musicals were conducted. The next festival is supposed to be held in the fall of this year. The band contest for office workers is held every fall, and the total prize money reaches to about 15,000,000won. Many bands give performances on the outdoor stage, and hundreds of people gather to watch every performance.
Street performances are also conducted frequently around the Nakwon Sangga. In the evening, street musicians choose the place and begin to play instruments outside the Nakwon Sangga. It is a common scene that people watch the performances in a circle on the street around the Nakwon Sangga.
Nakwon Sangga has an atmosphere of the past as if it was brought from the past. It has always stood at the same place since the 1960s. Musicians also keep their place in the Nakwon Sangga. If memories about the sounds of the folk guitar rise in the mind, visit the Nakwon Sangga and ask for a performance by the musicians.