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89 At the bAr Bottoms Up was the longtime dream of owner Kim, Schlueter recalls. The bar has become known as much for him and his wife Misa Tageuchi as it has for its welcoming atmosphere. Before that, people were intro- duced to Kim and Misa through word of mouth or would stumble upon his izakaya on the edge of Guri’s traditional market. In 2012, Kim gave the Japanese pub to his sister, signed the papers for the new premis- es and sold his beloved Harley to finance the venture. To remodel the space, Kim turned to Robinson, whom he had met at the izakaya, for advice and asked him to manage the project. About a dozen expats worked side by side with Kim and Misa for weeks to build the bar. Friends pitched in their ideas, painted walls and tables, put up sheet metal and ate a lot of sawdust to realize the hangout that Kim hoped would bring Westerners and Koreans together. “I thought it was quite amazing,” Robinson says. “Everybody had their creative input and Kim had a lot of good ideas and brought them together ... it was real fun. Everybody had a chance to get involved.” That May, when the bar was stocked and the taps were hooked up, Koreans and expats from Guri and neighboring Namyangju packed in. It’s been that way since, possibly because they had helped make it what it was. “Karma always makes things work, so (Kim’s) good attitude towards people and peo- ple’s interest in him as a person brought us together and magically it worked out,” Robinson says. “You get to see people enjoying the fruits of their labor.” Kim and Misa know what it’s like to be an expat themselves, having met while living and traveling in Australia in the mid-2000s. Perhaps it’s why they are so welcoming to the foreigners who visit, whether they bring in a bunch of friends or come alone. While Misa tends to the ta- bles and kitchen, Kim is often seen pouring shots, encouraging people to sing lyrics he probably doesn’t know himself and then fist-bumping everyone nearby. Memorabilia adorning the bar are a testament to the internationality of ‘Guri and Korea will always have a small piece of my heart. There is something nostalgic and addicting about it. It would probably be like going back to the house you grew up in.’ Rob Schlueter, former Guri resident