Korean Americans transforming the food scene in central Seoul - most popular mexican restaurant dishes

SEOUL —
Take a taco shell, add some galbi short ribs, add a little ssamjang sauce and give it a California vibe where you have something new and hot in Korea. Sid Kim —
Born here, raised in Los Angeles
Found that he was never fully integrated in any place, so he did natural things.
He opened a Mexican restaurant. Well, Ko-Mex, actually.
The central Seoul area of the Itaewon used to be a gimmick reserve for geographic information systems and expats, and now restaurants are filled with food that gives a new meaning to the word "fusion --
Starting with their master.
"We call it kyopo renaissance," said Kim, one of the owners of the watos city tortillas, who used a local word to describe Koreans who were born or raised elsewhere.
Many other kyopo restaurant owners have arrived at the Itaewon, helping to transform a block that has been providing vast space for Koreans for years.
It's close to a huge America. S. Army base —
Military facilities at the end of the main street-
The bad nightlife here has long been linked to drunkenness, crime, and English speaking, where foreign men linger on a road that is still known as the "hook Hill.
"These days, it's a completely different experience to go to the pear Court --
South Koreans are increasingly wanting to be one of them. A K-
The pop star even released a disco song called "freedom of the pear Thai Academy. ” (
"The freedom of the pear Thai Academy, the bright lights, oh. ”)
The neighborhood is considered a place to get food in a stylish setting, and popular TV shows show Koreans dating here --
Inevitably led to a stampede against the restaurant.
Many restaurants are opened by kyopo.
Vatos offers dishes such as pickles and chips.
Sauerkraut that can be seen everywhere in Korea.
There is also a Linas Bama Style Barbecue run by Alabama Renas King, as well as a Lobster Bar, which starts with brother Chris and Young rights from Va ferfax.
With Paul Jung from London.
There are also handmade burgers on the left coast, upscale Libertine bars and kitchens, and Rye Post gourmet sandwiches.
"Thanks to the success of Korean-Americans in the United States, many Korean-Americans are returning hereS.
Watos's Kim says he cites Roy Cui and David Zhang, the "godfather" of South Korean taco trucks in Los Angeles, who founded the famous Momofuku restaurant in New York.
The transformation of the pear Thai Academy is never complete.
There are still many tacky souvenir stalls and dens in the basement.
Designer bag.
But there is no doubt that this area is changing rapidly.
This shift has much to do with the rise of South Korea's economy and the increase in the frequency of Koreans traveling abroad.
These changes are largely related to the arrival of Kim Jong Il and others.
Sid Kim returned to Seoul to study in 1996, after which he opened a series of businesses, including very successful English --
Language cram school
But at the end of 2011, the year of the birth of "freedom of the pear Thai Academy", Kim and two partners felt the wave of change and opened the first iteration of watos in a small alley.
Since then, Vatos has flourished, entering a huge new space above the main drag, and opening three other branches.
"We are a bridge between the two cultures," Kim said on a burrito in Mexico on the recent day when asked to explain the wide appeal of watos.
Kim said his first restaurant had 80% expats and kyopo and 20% Koreans, but the opposite is true now.
"It's hard to satisfy both flavors," he said . ". Take service.
Koreans are used to collecting empty beer bottles on the table, and when the table is still occupied, American waiters will offend them by cleaning up old dishes and emptying them.
They would think the restaurant wanted to kick them out.
Across the street, 40-year-old Renas Kingyear-
Old Korean-American raised in Birmingham, Alabama.
Stir a ton of raw sugar into a big pot of sauce.
"This is a very bad part of the town and the Koreans are afraid to come here," he said . " He looked at all the hipsters with horns --
Wearing rimmed glasses and a vintage hat of a cartoon pig.
He is a "BBQ enthusiast" who has worked in the film industry in Los Angeles but wants a different career.
He came to South Korea to help a friend make a TV cooking show where he prepared a barbecue for a private party and then he went to pop again. up restaurants.
He returned to the United States, studied with the "masters" in Illinois and oclach, and even became a certified barbecue judge (
There are such things).
On June, he opened the linus barbecue in an alley behind the main street with a covered terrace with M. A. S. H-
Olive green tents and Red Cross flags.
He likes to see how many customers get Korean War references.
There are a lot of military personnel at Linus lunch, and their uniforms and decorations are very coordinated.
There is a plate of pork and beef bris on the menu for military use.
Stainless steel pallet made in Koreastyle sharing.
Smoked mac and Cheese, deep-
Fried pork ribs and "skinny ass" fries.
Paul Jung and brother Quan also decided to introduce a relatively rare foreign food for the Itaewon and open a Lobster Bar.
The Lobster Bar, like watos, has a small start and a small place in the alley, hoping to change how people think about lobster as a luxury food.
Once the adventure was powered, they took the courage to open a big restaurant in prime real, the main street, in November.
There is a bright red container in the kitchen that gives a sense of street food.
"Many people come in for lobster for the first time in their lives," said Jung, 31 . ".
"They don't even know how to open it.
"About 80% of customers are Korean, and they are curious about exotic shellfish introduced from Maine or Canada.
The operator of the restaurant said that the most popular dish was lobster grilled cheese, a product for the local market.
Wave One-
The owner of The Times restaurant not only changed the pear Thai Academy, but also changed the kyopo experience.
Many people describe feeling not entirely American in the United States, but not completely Korean in South Korea, they are often criticized if they say lessthan-perfect Korean.
"We have reached the critical mass now," said Sid Kim . " He is ready to return to his office after the watos lunch peak.
"When I came in 1996, it was hard to be kyopo.
We are discriminated against by Koreans.
But it's cool to do kyopo in the US and here now. It’s our time. ”