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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" and "widely known among the cognoscenti of new, experimental and esoteric music and film". Its owner was Yongman Kim.
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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 and was much missed by customers despite its reputation for rude and opinionated employees. [1] Mondo Kim's, to a lesser extent, also had a reputation for "ornery" service.
In June 2005, police raided Mondo Kim's, alleging they were selling bootlegs.
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. 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.
The last remaining location of Kim's Video & Music, located on 1st Ave, announced its closure on 21 April 2014.
Notable employees
Kim's was known for its staff, who were described by The Awl as "legendarily knowledgeable and haughty." Many of its employees later went on to successful careers in film, music, and the arts.