Sete Records’ owner Jihwan Yu estimates that most record shops have a stock of somewhere between 8,000 and 10,000 titles. His shop has only around 2,000 – but hearing Jihwan discuss how he’s assembled the collection, you’d imagine there’s a story behind every single one. The intimate Seoul storefront doesn’t have an enormous following, but it’s well respected by discerning buyers both inside South Korea and internationally. The focus at Sete is jazz and soul, and much care is put into the intricacies of identifying pressings and editions (one recent big sale: an original mono pressing of _A Love Supreme_, sourced on a Los Angeles buying trip that nearly ruined Jihwan’s finances). The store also stocks titles you’re not likely to find elsewhere, such as Korean records that aren’t widely known even within the country.
