<Bar, Cold Dawn>
Location: Jeonju Nambu Market 2F Youth Mall
Business Hours: 15:00 ~ 23:00,
Monday to Saturday
Note:
Maximum number of people who can visit as a group is three.
If there are no seats available, just leave your number. <Bar, Cold Dawn> will contact you when seats are available.
Instagram: @barcolddawn
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Have you ever heard about a cocktail bar where the bartender considers customers’ preferences? <Bar, Cold Dawn> is a cocktail bar located in Jeonju Nambu Market Youth Mall. It is popular inside and outside of Jeonju for its unique policy of not having a menu. We’ve visited Nambu Market Youth Mall to meet Kang Nar-wie, the bartender of <Bar, Cold Dawn>.
Kang Nar-wie; who is she?
Kang Nar-wie has been managing <Bar, Cold Dawn> at Jeonju Nambu Market Youth Mall since 2012. She also sings and makes songs as a member of a band named ‘Cold Dawn’. She entered JBNU in 2004 to study law, and graduated in 2012. Nar-wie defines herself as a feminist, and also as a bisexual. She is living her life with a stance of doing what she wants to do, and believing what she thinks is right.
Beginning of <Bar, Cold Dawn>
Nar-wie worked as a secretary of policy at the National Assembly from 2008 to 2009 while she was taking time off from school. However, after a year, she had to quit working because of the ‘burnout syndrome’. In 2011, she got her next job at an election camp thanks to her web operation skills and her former career at the National Assembly, but her candidate failed to win the nomination. She was in her senior year back then, but her graduation suddenly became uncertain as she missed most of the classes due to the camp schedule.
Therefore, she began to seek a way to start her own career. That’s when she saw the Nambu Market Youth Mall’s job opening advertisement. She considered four values before she started her job: what is not in Jeonju, what she can do well, what she can steadily update and enjoy, and a ‘work and life balance’. Nar-wie found that there were a lack of bars that cater to the patron’s preference, and she also wanted to treat customers to professional and tasty cocktails. Therefore, she decided to open her own bar, and named it after her band. <Bar, Cold Dawn> was a small bar with only six seats at its beginning, but now it has become twice as big after an expansion.
You can do everything you want to do
When Nar-wie was a student at JBNU, she was a member of a cartoon club called ‘Pureun Namu(Green Tree)’. There, she felt the warmth of being part of a community and learnt that she can make something into a better version of itself. She was the one who created the club’s website. She had also done many things to earn an income, such as running a shopping mall, freelancing as a web operator, and selling items that she made on her own while she was in university. She says, “if you try, you will be able to do most things, roughly. Even though something might seem quite professional, you can learn how to do it, although not perfectly; you can even be proficient someday if you only pay attention to it.”
Every single detail, from table to floor, passed through her hands in organizing the bar. She considers herself lucky because she is capable of being optimistic even in challenging situations. She usually thinks, “let’s give it a try,” even if it seems difficult. She is also aware of the responsibility to speak out about what she thinks is right, in order to represent those who are not lucky enough to assert their opinion without being condemned. However, she doesn’t recommend students to start a business at a young age. There are too many risks and troublesome worries when starting a business. She suggests that young people prepare both operationally and financially before starting their own businesses.
A unique way of making cocktails
The most special aspect about this bar is that it doesn’t have a cocktail menu. Instead, Nar-wie inquires about clients’ preferences of beverages or fruit. Then, she asks the clients how much carbonic acid they prefer. The reason why Nar-wie chose this style of making cocktails is because she was aware of the unfortunate situation where most people only try drinks they have experienced on a menu. If you want to have the best choice of cocktails, she recommends that you practice saying their preferences. This principle is similar to SUBWAY’s procedure. Upon first visiting Subway, you may be confused about what to order, but after repeated visits, you will find your favorite sub combination. Likewise, if you can express your preferences in this unique bar, you can reduce the trial-and-error menu process, and instead find the ‘best’ cocktail for you.
“Adult’s Ice cream” - Ice cream mixed with alcohol
This is no ordinary ice cream because the ingredients include alcohol. Simply choose the type of alcohol that you want on the ice cream menu, and Nar-wie will give you the ice cream with the chosen alcohol to put on top. When you finish eating it, it will be the same as drinking a small glass and a half of Soju. At first, she tried to mix alcohol into the ice cream to make it into a hard substance, but then she thought it would be better to create a liquid ice cream mixture.
Many clients are eager to try ‘Adult’s Ice Cream’ because of its interesting name. There is a funny instance behind this name. Nar-wie liked an ice cream-shaped lamp and put it in front of the bar. One day, two children saw that lamp and came in to ask her if they could buy some ice cream. They were too young to drink alcohol, so she decided to persuade them by making real ice cream. From that moment on, that is what she named her ice cream, and has had a lot of interest from customers.
(Curious about the price? It is 8,000 Won)
The Globe reporters have eaten this ice cream with Cacao based alcohol on top. It was really sweet and cold so it felt refreshing to eat in hot weather.
Cocktail with fruits for hot summer
The most challenging thing for Nar-wie was to pick one type of cocktail to recommend to clients to drink in hot weather. The Globe reporters therefore did not receive one specific recommendation of cocktail. Rather, Globe reporters heard that clients can order drinks with various types of fruits this summer. Especially in the case of peaches, the planting and harvesting times are short, so you can enjoy it only in the summer. Nar-wie said each fruit has their own unique characteristics and that it will be a good opportunity to try them all. Whenever a new type of fruit is available for cocktails in this bar, she uploads pictures of them onto her Instagram. Why not check out her Instagram right now?