Son It was just Soorim Restaurant, but when people searched online, there were so many places with the same name. That’s why we added “Yongsan” in front. We’re Yongsan natives and have been doing business here for 30 years, so it felt right to include it.
Mother Some people think it’s named after someone. But we don’t have a daughter named Soorim, and my name isn’t Soorim either. (laughs) Soorim means “tree” (樹) and “forest” (林)—someone who named it for us chose it hoping customers would come in thick, like trees in a forest. This year marks our 30th anniversary, and maybe it’s thanks to the name, but customers have really kept coming all these years.

Mother We haven’t been in this exact location the whole time. We started as a food cart at Sinyongsan Market in front of the Kukje Building. There was an entire row of food carts in that market alley. We opened in May 1995, and I can still picture those days so clearly. It was fun and exciting. Business did pretty well there, but after about ten years, redevelopment came through and we had to move.
Son The place we moved to got redeveloped again, which brought us here in 2019. Back then we operated in a basement with a pretty spacious dining area. It’s similar in size to our current space—around 50 pyeong. All the nearby merchants had to relocate because of redevelopment, and my mother saw this spot and signed the lease right away. We’ve been here ever since.

Mother I believed our regulars would find us wherever we went. The ground-floor spaces were all too small, which also influenced our choice. When we ran the food cart, it broke my heart when customers couldn’t eat and had to leave. I hated turning people away after they’d made the effort to come, so I promised myself that if I ever opened a proper restaurant, it would be spacious enough.
Son Our regulars, especially the Amorepacific employees, are our “backbone.” They kept coming even after we moved. Thanks to them, we got through the COVID period without any real difficulties. We’re always grateful.

Mother Back then we mainly did drinking snacks. Some of those—like the rolled omelet and stir-fried baby octopus—are still on our menu today. When we closed the food cart and opened the restaurant, I thought long and hard about what kind of food to serve. Since this area is full of office workers, I figured kimchi jjigae—something comforting like home cooking—would be perfect, so I did a lot of research and development.
Son I heard my mother really went all-in on developing the broth back then. I was in elementary school at the time, and when a nearby merchant casually asked about it, I proudly rattled off all the ingredients in the broth. I wanted to show off what went into the broth my mom had worked so hard to create. I got scolded big time by my parents later. (laughs)

Mother Our kimchi jjigae has a clean, refreshing taste. One concern office workers have about eating kimchi jjigae for lunch is that it leaves their mouth feeling heavy and coated. I wanted to solve that problem, so I developed a broth that tastes clean and refreshing. We actually have a lot of regulars who say they never get tired of it and keep coming back because it feels so light and satisfying.
Son Nobody else knows that secret—only me. It’s been passed down through the generations.

Mother He’s a certified professional chef. He watched me work and said he wanted to try it too, so he went and studied cooking formally.
Son I was born in 1983. My mother started her food cart business when I was in elementary school. Mom, why did you start back then?
Mother My husband drove a private taxi, and I wanted to work too so I could help out financially. I figured I should at least earn enough for the kids’ academy fees. My mother had an incredible touch with food, and I inherited that from her. I was confident in my cooking and enjoyed it, so I decided to make money doing something I loved and was good at. That’s how I ended up in the food business.
Son I must have inherited that touch too, because when I was trying to figure out my path, I found myself drawn to cooking. I told my parents I wanted to go to a vocational school with a culinary program. My mother was totally against it at first.
Mother I told him he should go to university. I knew how much I enjoyed the work, but I also knew how hard it was. I wanted my son to do something different.

Son I really wanted it desperately. Back then, culinary education wasn’t as systematic as it is now, and there was no YouTube or anything like that. I thought going to school was the fastest way to learn cooking properly. I kept insisting, and eventually my mother gave in.

Son It felt like it was my calling. After vocational school, I even served as a cook in the military. I still wanted to learn more, so I enrolled in a community college culinary program, worked at hotels, and spent time at a Japanese restaurant too.
Mother He studied it thoroughly and professionally.

Son Our previous location was pretty big, and with all the customers, it was too much for my mother to manage alone. Even if she hired people, managing them wasn’t easy. No matter how I looked at it, I felt I needed to help out. So I came on board. I applied a lot of the systems I’d learned working at larger establishments. That’s how we got things running smoothly.
Mother Kimchi is crucial for us, so we make it three times a week. That’s nearly 100 heads of cabbage a month. But we’ve systematized everything with clear role divisions, so it’s not too difficult. At first, my son and I clashed a bit, but we learned to compromise and adjust to each other. My son actually ran away from home when he was 27.
Son The way we handled customers and prepared food was different from what I’d learned, and it was frustrating. My parents couldn’t let go of their old habits, and I wondered if I should be the one to give in. In my frustration, I went to stay at my cousin’s place—but I came back after just three days. I happened to leave right before bok-nal (the hottest days of summer), and I kept worrying. I couldn’t stop thinking about how busy it would be and how my mother would manage alone. That’s why I came back so quickly. You know what they say—after the rain, the ground hardens. That incident became a turning point, and we started trusting each other and compromising more. Things got better after that.

Mother I remember when it was the red Pacific Chemicals building! (laughs) Back then it was called Pacific. Sometimes I accidentally call it Pacific out of habit, and Amorepacific employees tell me they haven’t heard that name in forever—it makes them happy. That red building has been replaced by this beautiful new one. When I see it doing well, it feels like my own success.
Son We run a restaurant in Yongsan, and we’re also Yongsan natives, so it’s especially meaningful to us. Our neighborhood is developing alongside us.

Son Rather than one specific moment, I feel rewarded whenever customers come back. It tells us they appreciate our flavors. The actor Jin-woong Cho is one of our regulars. He came in quietly the first time and ate. We didn’t even realize it was him. But then he kept coming back, each time with different people. He lives in this neighborhood and comes with his family, people from broadcasting stations, his manager—all sorts of folks. I guess that means the food is good enough to recommend, right?
Mother These days we get foreign visitors too. They say they saw us somewhere and wanted to try authentic kimchi jjigae. It’s fascinating and rewarding to feel like we’re sharing Korea’s kimchi jjigae with the world.

Mother So many. Some have been coming since we first opened and still visit us today. Some office workers make a point of having their team dinners here whenever they switch departments. There are even people who’ve changed jobs but still come back to see us.
Son We see a lot of familiar faces around the end of the year. Not just Amorepacific folks, but people who worked around here and have since retired come for their year-end gatherings at our place. Everyone’s excited to see each other again—it gets really lively. Some of these people I’ve known since elementary school, and when I tell them I have three kids now, they’re amazed. It feels like seeing distant relatives.
Mother Some Amorepacific employees who’ve retired still come with their families. It’s always wonderful to see them.

Mother We’re not just open for lunch but we do dinner service too. So for people having company dinners or grabbing drinks, we have drinking snacks on the menu. I’ve kept making the popular items from my food cart days. The rolled omelet has been a hit then and now.
Son My mother was making thick rolled omelets back in the mid-90s, so she was probably one of the first to do it.
Mother I wanted people to have generous portions. I kept adding a little more egg as I rolled it, and it ended up thick. Another one of our popular dishes is dakbokkeumtang. My son came up with the idea to serve it in a brass bowl, modern style, and it was a huge hit. Ever since then, whenever my son suggests a new menu item, I just say yes.
Son I recently created a lunch set and got praise from my parents. (laughs) We’re not planning to expand the menu any further. My mother wants to add more, but I think we already have plenty, and it’s better to serve what we have correctly. My father helps out, my wife works here too, and we have a couple of other staff members. This is a system that’s optimized for our current menu.

Mother My grandson is very interested in the business. When my son wanted to do this, I was against it, but times have changed. Now I think I wouldn’t mind passing the secret recipe down to my grandson. (laughs) Who knows—thanks to him, we might become a three-generation kimchi jjigae institution. Even if that doesn’t happen, I just want to keep making comforting home-style food for hardworking office workers every day.
Son My mother volunteers regularly. She’s part of the local women’s association and serves on the residents’ council. Even today she was at Hanmaeum Park behind Amorepacific preparing chicken for a charity meal. I think Yongsan is one of those places in Seoul where you really feel that sense of community and warmth between neighbors. There are care, volunteering, and people looking out for each other. I hope all the companies in Yongsan, including Amorepacific, continue to thrive, and I hope we can grow alongside them. We’ll be right here—so Amorepacific employees, please keep visiting us!