Yoojin It was about ten years ago, when I was in my early twenties. We used to work at the same cafe then. We enjoyed working together so much that we kept in touch even after leaving the job. I continued to work in the specialty coffee industry, but Soohyun changed her career to cooking. When we were just over thirty, Soohyun suggested that we start a business together. At the time, I was working at a brunch cafe in Melbourne, Australia, and was considering extending my visa. Initially, I didn’t have any plans for opening my own place, but I thought it would be a great experience if I were to do it with Soohyun, so I came back to Korea right away.


Soohyun After graduating, I tried many different jobs, including working at cafes. I couldn't stick with one thing for long, and I was continuously searching for a job that I could enjoy and stay dedicated to. That's when I started cooking. I love making things with my hands, and the world of cooking is so diverse that I haven't gotten bored of it just yet. Before starting our own business, I worked at a Korean-beef omakase dining establishment, where I learned various things like professional skills, how to collaborate with colleagues, and dining trends. Naturally, I began to think about doing something on my own. That's when I thought of Yoojin. We clicked well, and most of the friends I had worked with had either landed a job elsewhere or changed their career paths. Yoojin, however, had continued to pursue this path. I thought it would be great to work together with her.

Yoojin I used to live in a neighborhood close to Ilsan for a long time, so I knew this area well. Rent was much cheaper there than in Seoul. Since we didn't have a lot of initial capital to invest, we needed to start somewhere that required relatively low capital. The location of our store was in a residential area that was a few blocks away from the main commercial district, so it's hard to say that the location was part of Bamridan-gil. There weren't any shops near ours, so the landlord was quite puzzled as to why anyone would want to open something there. Because of this though, there was no premium, and the monthly rent was low. The alley was very charming as well. It had a tranquil and serene atmosphere with its old-fashioned, small houses lining the alley. I was convinced that a beautiful alley like this would definitely attract people. In fact, now there are many businesses there, rivaling the main Bamridan-gil.

Soohyun I am a sandwich lover, so the initial idea was a high-end take on Subway. We would offer a variety of bread and ingredients to choose from, and sandwiches would be made to order. I wanted it to be a small and cozy sandwich shop, but it didn't quite turn out that way (laughs). To attract more customers from Bamridan-gil, I figured we needed to incorporate a brunch menu, since a lot of people went to Bamridan-gil to eat brunch. As such, we decided to add a few brunch options to our menu, while sticking with the “made-to-order” approach.

Yoojin Both of us worked briefly in Australia. Melbourne is known as the “coffee capital,” and it's home to many excellent brunch cafes. Working there, we learned that to truly enjoy a proper brunch, you need not only great food but also great coffee. At the time, in Korea, people would dine at a brunch restaurant and then go to a different cafe for coffee. Places with great food often lacked quality coffee, and cafes with great coffee typically didn't have food options. So, we wanted to create a place that offered a complete brunch experience in one spot. I had expertise in coffee, and Soohyun was skilled in cooking, so we thought we would make an excellent team.

The word ‘mut’ means “shore” in Korean, but if you think about it, we don't use the word all that much when we are actually on the land. We use the word when looking at the land from places far away from the shore, like islands or the sea. When you look at the mainland from a distant place, it can feel welcoming, comforting, and even a little exciting. We wanted our customers to feel that way when they thought of our shop: welcoming, comforting, and exciting. We wanted the name of the restaurant to be simple and yet sound strong when pronounced, and ‘mut’ perfectly fit that description.

Everything happened so quickly. It took less than a month to open the restaurant. We worked tirelessly throughout the night, from plumbing to basic carpentry and painting. Our shop was quite small to begin with, not to mention that we couldn't afford to spend too much on the interior. Every restaurant has a forte of its own, and ours wasn't spaciousness or luxury interior. The main Bamridan-gil, which was just a few blocks away, was filled with spacious places, so we knew we couldn't compete in space. We had to let go of what we couldn't do well and focus instead on our strong suit: the quality of the food. We decided to cut down on our profit margins, if that meant better quality and reasonable prices. Our goal was to provide “slightly better quality food at a slightly more reasonable price than the average.”

Yoojin On the first day, we sold 50,000 won worth of food, to none other than our landlord himself. We didn't expect to sell out as the alley didn't get much foot traffic, but it was still quite disheartening to see so few customers. The initial few months were indeed tough.

Yoojin I would be lying if I said I didn't feel anxious, but I have a positive mindset about everything. I saw it as time and as an opportunity to fix a few hiccups and stabilize the business. We focused on improving the recipe and offering better service. In the early days, we had to throw away a ton of food ingredients. On some days, the ingredients would be wasted because we didn't get enough customers, and then there were other days when we threw away everything and closed for the day because we weren't happy with how the food tasted. It was a trial and error phase, but the long days and nights we struggled through then are what brought us here.


Soohyun Unlike Yoojin, I worry and get anxious a lot. A few days went by after we opened the restaurant, and I started feeling anxious. I thought, “Oh no, I've gotten myself into a big mess. Why did I even start this? What should I do now?” In the beginning, we had a lot of arguments because I was so anxious, while Yoojin seemed too calm.

Yoojin After a couple of months, more customers started coming. It didn't happen overnight; rather, it was a steady, slow growth over weeks and months. We didn't do any advertising, so we were surprised to see people wait one hour to eat at the restaurant. I believe it was word of mouth, with customers who had visited us recommending the place to others. We had a high rate of repeat customers, and some even drove more than an hour to just to eat our food. What began with only two tables later became five, which included outdoor seating.

Soohyun We stuck with our principle, which was to make all the processed ingredients used in the store ourselves and to prepare everything fresh on the same day, with any leftovers being discarded. We make all the processed ingredients for our food in-house. Vegetables are delivered directly to us and prepared in the early morning to maintain freshness, and we also make our bread from scratch, from dough to fermentation. Even the sandwich sauces like Greek yogurt, hummus, and basil pesto are made from scratch. Back when we were in Ilsan, I used to do all these by myself. Even if I start at 5 in the morning, it was still hard to open on time.
While making everything from scratch is labor-intensive and time-consuming, it allows me to bring out the exact taste I intend. At times, I did consider using ready-made bread to save time, but my belief is that bread is what makes a sandwich great. Ready-made ingredients didn't give me the taste I wanted. Never have I used ingredients made the previous day, and I discarded any ingredients made in-house if they didn't meet the bar.


Yoojin Of course, I did think it was a waste of good food at times, but I knew there had to be a reason why customers kept coming, despite the small space, inconvenient parking, and the secluded location. I thought we would lose customers if we compromised on the values that made our business. So, no matter how difficult things got, we made sure to stick to our principles.

Soohyun I am in charge of all things kitchen-related, from developing the menu to cooking, while Yoojin takes care of everything else. She sets the overall direction and runs our social media account, goes to meetings, and also does anything design-related.

Yoojin Usually, I provide the big picture and direction, and Soohyun executes it perfectly. For instance, I would say ‘people these days really seem to like this ingredient, so let's make a dish or two with this ingredient in them’ or ‘let's add some warm dishes to the menu since it's getting cold,’ and Soohyun quickly turns those ideas into reality.

Yoojin Woking as business partners doesn't necessarily mean we have to discuss and reach an agreement on every single detail. In the beginning, we tried to discuss everything, and that led to a lot of disagreements. At some point, Soohyun started to follow my lead, and from then on, things stabilized quite a bit. I think it's also a good approach when one person actively voices his or her ideas, and the other follows.


Soohyun I've learned that things don't turn out well when I insist on my way (laughs). One of the things I admire about Yoojin is her unwavering conviction. She has a strong determination not to compromise on the values she believes are right. Initially, we had some conflicts over this, but now I believe that our restaurant's identity has been shaped in the way it is because she held her ground and remained true to her convictions. Since realizing this, I trust and follow what Yoojin says most of the time.

Yoojin This is also something where the two of us are different. I don't get stressed easily (laughs). I generally have no worries, fears, or anxieties. When the restaurant is not busy, I enjoy the calmness and lack-of-labor. When it's busy, I am grateful because it adds to the bottom line. When I feel overwhelmed, instead of trying hard to overcome it, I tend to think, “Maybe it's just one of those times when I'm feeling tired and worn out.” There are always ups and downs. The fact that I'm feeling tired means that something comforting and good is coming my way. In business, unexpected situations arise all the time. Success doesn't necessarily mean I did perfect, and failure doesn't necessarily mean I didn't do enough. I make an effort not to get too caught up in difficult situations because good times will come around soon.

Soohyun When I'm feeling burned out and stressed, I tend to be eaten up by those feelings. In the beginning, I couldn't understand how Yoojin could stay so composed even during the hard times. “Why am I the only one finding it so hard, when she acts all fine?” And those thoughts made an already tough situation even tougher. Now, however, I feel like I've been influenced by her. I've become more positive. But still, I tend to express my emotions quite openly. When I'm sad, I allow myself to be sad; when I'm struggling, I allow myself to struggle; and when I don't want to do something, I communicate it to her. I've found that by doing so, even the hard times pass eventually.

Yoojin I just absolutely love “living.” Whether it's positive emotions or painful ones, they are all part of living, right? Discovering new emotions throughout life is something that I find incredibly enjoyable. That's why I also love working. When you work, you can meet different people and go through unexpected situations. In that process, you think of things you hadn't thought of before and feel things you hadn't felt before. Life is too short, so I want to experience and feel as many things as possible. To me, “work” serves as a vehicle for enriching life with experiences. That might be what drives me in my work.

Soohyun My driving force seems to be a sense of “responsibility.” I feel responsible for the customers who choose our restaurant from the countless options available. I feel responsible for our employees who trust and follow me. I am also grateful for Yoojin, who didn't get her visa extended in Australia so she could become my business partner. Not wanting to disappoint all these people in my life is what keeps me working tirelessly.

Yoojin Once when I was in Sinyongsan, I came to the Amorepacific building to eat. I remember thinking, “This building is beautiful. How nice it must be to work in a place like this.” Little did I know, we would receive an offer to open a location here three months later. We were just a small brunch cafe in Ilsan, so it was quite surprising. Closing our Ilsan location and starting afresh somewhere we barely knew was a huge challenge, but even if things didn't work out, I believed there would be something valuable to gain from the experience.


Soohyun I am naturally a stability-oriented person, and I don't like taking on too much work, so I initially opposed the idea of relocating. Our Ilsan location had just started to find its footing, and I was worried about starting over in a new area. Yoojin put in a lot of effort and time to convince me. I was almost in a state of burnout because I had so much work to do, but she reassured me that relocating and expanding the restaurant would eventually lead to hiring more staff and reducing my workload. In the end, it seems that the choice was the right one. Now, both my body and mind are much more at ease.

They are different from how I imagined ‘white-collar workers’ would be. They are unique and stand out, so to speak. Many of them are intriguing, in a positive way. Sometimes I look at customers and think, “where did they buy those clothes?” or “where did they get that?” Often, those kinds of customers turn out to be Amorepacific employees.

We read all the reviews that are posted on our social media every day. There was one customer who had our soup and wrote a review about how they felt “warmth.” Reading that review made me feel warm inside as well, and I still feel grateful for that review. I also remember a Amorepacific employee who drew a small picture to express how delicious our food was.

Yoojin Basil chicken and feta cheese sandwich. We make the sauce by mixing house-made Greek yogurt and feta cheese, and the unique sharpness and brininess of feta cheese, along with the creaminess of Greek yogurt, pair wonderfully with seasoned chicken. It's a universally loved dish, and we recommend having it with our fried baby potatoes.

Soohyun Jambon beurre and spinach dip is also popular. It's a sandwich made with spinach, onions, and garlic, creating a tangy flavor. It's interesting how this menu has become so popular, given it's an everyday staple in Australia. We have to boil a whole box of spinach every day to keep up with the demand, but it's a joy to make since it's so well-loved by our customers.

We have no plans to launch a second brand or expand. Instead, we want to focus more on internal growth. We are continually experimenting with non-sandwich plates and adding seasonal dishes to the menu. While expanding the business could potentially bring in more money, it doesn't seem to align with our values. The hours we spend working each day are significant, and if we don't find joy in our work, life probably won't be as enjoyable either. We hope that we can continue to enjoy the time we spend here. So, we are exploring ways to find happiness and fulfillment within this space rather than pursuing external growth.

Yoojin I always imagined what it would be like to be in a completely unfamiliar land, all by myself. That's why I came up with the idea of crossing Eurasia. I thought it would be great to go on a motorcycle journey so the days are slower and I get to fully take in the weather. I even got a motorcycle license a few years ago. Maybe in 10 years, I'll be crossing Eurasia on a motorbike.

Soohyun I've been working tirelessly and living a busy life since I was young. Perhaps because of that, these days, I often wish time would slow down a bit. I want to live at my own pace, in my own time. In the not-so-distant future, I would like to live in the countryside, farming. I'd like to cook with crops I've grown myself and maybe occasionally join farmers' markets to sell my produce.