I love being busy. As I mentioned on the show, the Chinese culinary world is traditionally male-dominated, making opportunities challenging to come by. I had my diploma, certifications, awards—everything—but I kept getting rejected at the application stage. Initially, I got work through connections. I didn’t officially pass any application processes to get hired. Senior chefs like Chef Kyung-rae Yeo would vouch for me, saying, “She works well, give her a try.” Having previously experienced the desire to work but not being able to, I find that simply being able to work now feels both overwhelming and exciting.

I don’t think burnout will ever happen to me. (laughs) I’m the type who figures if there’s too much work, I’ll sleep less. Apparently, I was like this even as a child. I had so much I wanted to learn and was quite ambitious, but I’d breeze through everything else with ease. When I had to eat with just kimchi and seasoned laver, I wouldn’t complain about not having side dishes—I’d think, “At least I can eat rice.” Even now, when there’s a lot of work, I figure I’ll sleep less. That’s how I live.

Every day I remind myself: “Don’t make mistakes.” I study daily, learning recipes. I also double-check recipes I already know. When you do the same tasks every day, mistakes are inevitable. You get so comfortable that confidence creeps in, and you might miss small details. For customers who pay to experience our food, it’s a one-time experience, and I can’t let my mistakes ruin their precious time. Plus, a kitchen is a space where accidents can happen in an instant. You have to stay alert and focused. The same goes for customer service. In our industry, overconfidence is entirely out of the question. Beyond that, I focus on restaurant cleanliness, the menu, and staff management. Managing staff is really challenging.

When my Chinese restaurant Tian Mi Mi was starting to make a name for itself, I asked a franchise CEO for advice. I told him I wanted to keep employees long-term, but they were quitting faster than expected, which was difficult. He told me to pay wages that were incomparably higher than anywhere else. He said that while no company is entirely satisfying, people tend to stay longer at places that adequately compensate them for their work. Since then, I’ve been working toward a system that keeps long-term employees satisfied. It’s not perfect yet, but I’m trying to create an environment where staff can work contentedly. I also make sure employees join me on overseas market research trips. We travel together, examining ingredients, tasting food, and learning cooking trends.

Not really. It’s just work. We conduct market research once or twice a month in China and Taiwan. Since it’s essentially a business trip, the company covers all expenses. Of course, not all employees love it—they have their own lives to attend to. I believe that to excel in this work, you absolutely must go through a period of experiencing, trying, and creating everything you can get your hands on. I want to say work-life balance comes much later, but that might sound too old-school, so I’ll stop there. (laughs) Dedicated effort and experience that doesn’t spare time are significant. Especially in the restaurant industry, I believe you can’t succeed if you live exactly like everyone else.

I think success is being satisfied with your own life. Unfortunately, I’m still not satisfied. I want to do better, feel like I need to do more. Currently, I work with 32 employees, and I want to be an owner they’re proud of. I want to be a great mentor to junior colleagues and someone my family can be proud of. I’ve just started to find my voice after years when discrimination was the norm, and I don’t want to define this point as success. It won’t be easy to satisfy myself, but I live with the hope that someday I’ll be able to, and that drives me to work even harder.

When I first opened my restaurant, I worried about being dismissed as a woman and about customers not coming, so I put it under my husband’s name. Compared to then, things are much better now. Prejudices have largely disappeared. There are many women in kitchens now. I consider the ratio of female employees when hiring, and I often encourage female staff to persevere. I also give them more work. It’s tough, but that’s how change happens. And change creates competitiveness. In the kitchen, women inevitably lack physical strength. We can lift and move the same things, but the speed at which we do so is different.
That’s when you have to compensate with other qualities. You must grow through effort and create your own excellence. I nag them a lot: exercise, study, see more, taste more, experience everything you can. They’ll eventually become owner-chefs themselves anyway. When we travel, I tell them to observe everything carefully—not just the food, but also the interior design, the flow, the tables, the chairs, and everything else. I tell them to use me to their heart’s content.

Not at all. That just means I need to study more. It actually motivates me. By helping juniors grow, I’m growing even more myself. To effectively teach them, I need to conduct further research and gain more knowledge.

When I started with dim sum, not many people knew much about it. Everyone just called it Chinese dumplings. But dumplings are actually included within dim sum, which is made by putting fillings inside flour-based wrappers. The varieties of dim sum are genuinely endless. It can be prepared as a main dish or even as a dessert. You can fit an entire world of flavors into that small bite-sized portion. Depending on the combination, it can be continuously transformed to create new tastes. Dim sum is still new to me.

I loved its rough-seeming delicacy. It appears that you’re just throwing things together, but you must handle everything with incredible care. At first, I thought Chinese cuisine would suit me well because I was a bit careless and not very detail-oriented, but I was wrong. There was tremendous detail hidden within it. Once I realized this, during my studies in China, I learned carving and practiced extensively. I still do it now.
Some people think I’m naturally gifted, but I’m genuinely the hardworking type. I have no natural talent when it comes to cooking. I’m a picky eater and sensitive to smells. But I make an effort to try everything. Looking back, my life has always been like this. Nothing ever came easily to me. But I have no complaints. I enjoy learning to do these things, and I find it fun to climb up one level at a time. If I’d been good from the start, I wouldn’t have felt these emotions.

I’m grateful that so many people like me, and I go to Taiwan every month. Whenever I’m invited abroad, I feel the power of K-content. Since the “Culinary Class Wars,” there has been a significant interest in Korean-style Chinese cuisine. Interestingly, there are also a few female chefs in Taiwan and mainland China. Perhaps that’s why people tend to relate more to the female characters in “Culinary Class Wars.” I get a lot of questions about female chefs. I’ve judged cooking competition shows in Taiwan and even shot commercials there.

Honestly, when I first heard I’d been selected as an Amorepacific New Beauty Icon, I wondered if I could do it well (laughs). I only do heavy eyeliner for makeup. I don’t wear any makeup on my face when I’m working. With all the sweating in front of the fire, I keep my skin bare. That said, I do my signature eyeliner because I can’t give up my style.

When I’m working, I feel most beautiful and love and admire myself. At the end of a day of hard work, when I’m heading home, I feel fulfilled, happy, and proud of myself. Working makes me see myself positively.

When my eyeliner turns out well! Working in the kitchen means sweating a lot, so I can’t put effort into face makeup. Eyeliner is the only makeup I can use to express myself, so I never skip it. It’s become my signature, too. So when I wake up in the morning and my eye makeup goes well, my whole day is happy. In daily life, while work is part of creating my authentic beauty, eyeliner is definitely the most prominent aspect. (laughs)

I often meet with a science YouTuber named Goedo (@orbit_scientist) these days. He’s exactly like that. He knows his unique beauty well. He loves what he likes with all his heart and loves himself for loving it. Whenever he shares his scientific knowledge in any setting, creating a warm atmosphere, I think, “Wow, he’s so authentically cool.”

Move! People like Goedo and me are beautiful when we work, but to do that, you first need to do what you want to do. Of course, work isn’t something that happens just because you want it, and it’s not easy. Both Goedo and I overcame difficulties to get here, but we’re able to do what we do now because we didn’t stay still. Whether it’s luck or work, you have to take action for things to come naturally. When you move, you discover and encounter things. Just do it—don’t be afraid, execute. You never know what might happen. Sure, it’s scary. Things might work out, or they might not. But regretting not trying is too empty. Failure is a later story—let’s act first.

Instead of encouragement, let me end with some tough love. (laughs) Everyone, don’t wait for others to tell you what to do—seek it out yourself. See, hear, feel, and taste more, longer, and deeper than others, and do it first. Love your work that way. You’ll achieve things, get closer to success, and gain your own unique beauty too.