Kim's Video and Music

The store opened at the site of Kim's dry-cleaning business, and eventually moved to its own location on Avenue A in 1987, which eventually closed in 2004.{{cite news |last=Schmidt |first=Sarah |date=17 October 2004 |title=The Customer Was Always Right? Not at Kim's Video on Avenue A |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/17/nyregion/thecity/17kims.html |access-date=7 May 2010 |work=The New York Times}}{{cite news |last=Chung |first=Jen |date=18 October 2004 |title=Kim's Video Closes Its "Mean" Location |url=https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/kims-video-closes-its-mean-location |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090204134251/http://gothamist.com/2004/10/18/kims_video_closes_its_mean_location.php |archive-date=4 February 2009 |work=Gothamist}}

It expanded to five other locations, including Mondo Kim's at 6 St. Mark's Place in the East Village, Kim's Underground at 144 Bleecker Street on Laguardia Place, Kim's West at 350 Bleecker Street & West 10th Street, and Kim's Mediapolis at 2906 Broadway.

The last remaining location of Kim's Video & Music, located on 1st Avenue, announced its closure on April 21, 2014.{{cite news |date=21 April 2014 |title=Kim's Video & Music closing its 1st Ave location |url=http://www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2014/04/kims_video_musi.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140423053910/http://www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2014/04/kims_video_musi.html |archive-date=23 April 2014 |access-date=21 April 2014 |work=Brooklyn Vegan}}

Mondo Kim's at 6 St. Mark's Place was the most famous of the branch locations. Formerly, the building was the home of the New St. Marks Baths from 1913 to 1985. In June 2005, police raided Mondo Kim's, alleging they were selling bootlegs.{{cite web |last=Sylvester |first=Nick |date=14 June 2005 |url=http://www.villagevoice.com/2005-06-14/music/untold-story-of-mondo-kim-s-raid/ |title=Untold Story of Mondo Kim's Raid |website=Village Voice |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080803030118/http://www.villagevoice.com/2005-06-14/music/untold-story-of-mondo-kim-s-raid/ |archive-date=2008-08-03}}{{cite news |last=Lueck |first=Thomas J. |date=10 June 2005 |title=Police Raid Video Store in East Village in Piracy Case |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/10/nyregion/10kim.html |access-date=7 May 2010 |work=The New York Times}} It also to a lesser extent, also had a reputation for "ornery" and rude service.

By 2008, Mondo Kim's had over 55,000 rental titles, many of which were rare or esoteric. In September of that year, 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 the town of Salemi, Sicily had made a successful bid for the collection, as part of a village restoration effort.{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/08/nyregion/thecity/08kims.html | work=The New York Times | title=La Dolce Video | first=Sophia | last=Hollander | date=8 February 2009 | access-date=7 May 2010}}{{Cite web|last=Capone|first=John|date=2 January 2009|url=http://www.nbcnewyork.com/around_town/the_scene/Say-Ciao-to-Kims-Video.html|title=Say Ciao to Kim's Video|website=NBC New York}}{{cite news| url=http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/2008/12/30/2008-12-30_east_village_icon_kims_video_heads_to__s.html | location=New York | work=Daily News | title=East Village icon Kim's Video heads to ... Sicily | first=Lauren | last=Johnston | date=30 December 2008}}

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.{{cite news| url=http://www.villagevoice.com/2012-09-12/film/kims-%20video-Sicily/ | work=The Village Voice | title=The Strange Fate of Kim's Video | first=Karina | last=Longworth | date=12 September 2012 | access-date=12 September 2012 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120913071501/http://www.villagevoice.com/2012-09-12/film/kims-%20video-Sicily/ | archive-date=13 September 2012}}

On April 1, 2022, filmmakers David Redmon and Ashley Sabin, with assistance from Yongman Kim and Tim League, brought the Kim's Video St. Mark’s Place movie collection back to New York City, after 12 years of being stored in Salemi. Redmon and Sabin chronicled this in their 2023 movie Kim's Video.{{Cite news |last1=Cohn |first1=Gabe |last2=Powell |first2=Adam |date=2022-03-31 |title=Kim's Video Is Back. What Even Is a Video Store in 2022? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/31/movies/alamo-drafthouse-kims-video.html |access-date=2024-01-13 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web |last=Kohn |first=Eric |date=2022-04-06 |title=Kim's Video Survives at Alamo Drafthouse Alongside the Story of the Filmmaker Who Owns the Collection |url=https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/kims-video-alamo-drafthouse-youngman-kim-interview-1234714628/ |access-date=2024-01-13 |website=IndieWire |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Kim's Video {{!}} Sundance Film Festival |url=https://festivalplayer.sundance.org/sundance-film-festivall-2023-prod/play/6393fe3ecc6dc60062550d9f |access-date=2024-01-13 |website=festivalplayer.sundance.org |language=en}} 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.{{cite web |last1=Salter |first1=Jake |title=Kim's Video Is Back In NYC! |url=https://drafthouse.com/nyc/news/kims-video-is-back-in-nyc |website=Alamo Drafthouse Cinema |access-date=1 April 2022 |language=en |date=1 April 2022}}

Kim's was known for its staff,[http://bedfordandbowery.com/2014/08/the-story-of-kims-video-music-told-by-its-clerks-and-customers/ The Story of Kim’s Video & Music, Told By Its Clerks and Customers.] Bedford and Bowery.O'Connor, Brendan. [https://theawl.com/who-killed-kims-video-16405ab066c2#.cz3b64vji Who Killed Kim's Video?] The Awl. who were described by The Awl as "legendarily knowledgeable and haughty." Some of its employees later went on to successful careers in film, music, and the arts.

• Isabel Gillies, actress, writer
• Dawn Eden Goldstein, writer{{cite book |last1=Goldenstein |first1=Dawn Eden |title=Sunday Will Never Be the Same |date=2019 |publisher=Catholic Answers Press |location=El Cajon, CA |page=145}}
• Robert Greene, documentary filmmaker
• Albert Hammond Jr., musician, member of The Strokes
• Alex Ross Perry, director, screenwriter
• Todd Phillips, director, producer, screenwriter
• Dylan Kidd, director, screenwriter{{Cite news|url=https://nypost.com/2004/10/10/working-class-director-dylan-kidd-wont-quit-this-day-job/|title=WORKING CLASS – DIRECTOR DYLAN KIDD WON'T QUIT THIS DAY JOB|author=Sara Stewart|work=New York Post|date=October 10, 2004|language=en-US|access-date=2022-08-23}}
• Christopher Pravdica, musician, member of Swans
• Kate Lyn Sheil, actressTinkham, Chris. [http://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/kate-lyn-sheil/#_ Kate Lyn Sheil's Video Past and Netflix Future.] Interview.
• Chris Vanderloo, founder of Other Music
• Sean Price Williams, cinematographer
• Andrew W.K., musician
• Nick Zedd, filmmaker
• Eric Copeland, musician and member of Black Dice
• Michael M. Bilandic, filmmaker{{Cite web |title=reRunning Happy Life |url=https://www.talkhouse.com/rerunning-happy-life/ |access-date=2022-08-23 |website=Talkhouse |language=en-US |quote=we both worked at Kim’s Video on St. Marks}}
• Jacqueline Castel, filmmaker{{cite news |access-date=April 15, 2024 |url=https://www.self-titledmag.com/screening-room-art-house-porn-death-cults-and-nyus-rare-synths-collection-are-just-the-begining-of-future-primitives-music-videos-for-blank-dogs-zola-jesus-moon-duo-and-more |title=Exploring the Early Films of Director Jacqueline Castel, Including Work For Zola Jesus, Moon Duo and More |work=Self-Titled Magazine |location=Minneapolis, MN |date=October 16, 2021 |author=Parks, Andrew}}
• Wesley Morris, Pulitzer Prize-winning critic at The New York Times{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/30/podcasts/apple-killed-albums-now-it-wants-to-rank-them.html|title=The Cultre Des: Apple Killed Albums. Now It Wants to Rank Them|work=The New York Times|date=September 30, 2024|access-date=2024-10-13}}
• Chris Ryan, editorial director at The Ringer{{Cite web|url=https://www.theringer.com/2024/10/24/24279004/chris-ryan-on-election-news-the-campaign-as-a-tv-show-and-growing-up-to-be-a-critic|title=Chris Ryan on Election News, the Campaign As a TV Show, and Growing Up to Be a Critic|date=24 October 2024}}
• Kat Toledo, comedian and filmmaker {{Cite web|url=https://vimeo.com/371549795|title=Toe Hoes|date=6 November 2019}}
• Ben Apatoff, Bloomsbury Publishing author https://x.com/cinema_strikes/status/952290260742033409
• Jody Avirgan, podcast host and producer {{Citation |title=The War on Pinball (1948) w/ Harry Siegel |date=2022-03-06 |url=https://open.spotify.com/episode/7EdZxfdmIvgq2o7xq6zSV5 |language=en |access-date=2022-03-06}}
• Brian Turner, former WFMU music and program director{{cite web | url=https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-turner-a3840a21/ | title=Brian Turner - Freelance | LinkedIn |access-date=2024-02-27}} and DJ{{cite web | url=https://wfmu.org/playlists/BT | title=WFMU: Brian Turner: Playlists |access-date=2024-02-27}}

{{reflist}}

• "[https://www.villagevoice.com/2012/09/12/the-strange-fate-of-kims-video/ The Strange Fate of Kim's Video]", Village Voice, September 12, 2012, accessed September 12, 2012.

• {{IMDb title|qid=Q125226421|title=Kim's Video}} (documentary)
• [https://www.blu-ray.com/Kims-Video/1742685 Kim's Video] at Blu-ray.com (documentary)

{{East Village, Manhattan}}

Category:Defunct retail companies of the United States

Category:East Village, Manhattan

Category:Video rental services