What’s your Eastern Zodiac Sign?

GeminiAnd your Western

MonkeyWhich one resonates more with you?

I resonate with the creativity, intelligence and wit of the Monkey sign.Monkeysare known to be lively, flexible, quick-witted and versatile.We are quietly confident yet humble, friendly and have an innovative spirit. I feel that all of these attributes resonate with me.Can you share about your ethnic and generational background?

KoreanSuperstition from your childhood that you still believe in today.

If you see a pig in your dreams you receive an unexpected windfall of money – and after having such a dream I opened Don Don, our dry age pork restaurant.What pivotal experiences guided you toward your current path? Was there a specific moment or individual that influenced you?

My mother has always taught me to not chase money but rather gain experiences. Hence I pursued working at Per Se which has deeply influenced the way I cook and see food.What dish from your childhood, lovingly prepared at home, holds a special place in your heart?

My mom’s duck stew which tastes like home for me, this dish is famous of my home town in Kwangju. I grew up in the middle of the most famous street that just sold this specialized dish.It’s often said that our parents’ express emotions through food. What’s your go-to meal when you want to convey your feelings?

Kalbi Jjim or stew which is a celebratory dish that takes a lot of care and attention.As you came of legal drinking age, what was your inaugural drink? And what’s your beverage of choice now?

My father’s house made wild plum wine was my inaugural drink. Small batch Makuli is currently my beverage of choice.Who serves as your guiding light? Why?

My wife has always been wonderfully supportive and has been the one I turn to for all the major decisions I have made in my life.Who are your ultimate dream collaborators?

Thomas KellerWhich restaurant holds the title of your favorite at the moment?

noreetuh, the food and hospitality are always the best.

What’s your eastern zodiac sign? And your western? Which one resonates more with you?L

I’m a rooster. And I’m a Gemini. They say rooster women marry late, spend money well, and work hard. I think check, check, check! Other Geminis I know are Naomi Campbell, the Olsen twins, Marilyn Monroe… all these wild women. So I guess I am in that category too. But right now I’m more into MBTI.G

I’m a water rat and a crab. I’m a Cancer for Western. I relate more to the crab side because I tend to be homey, and my studio is like my shell. I’m always in the studio, working on things.Can you share about your ethnic and generational background?G

Fourth-generation Japanese American. I was born in East Los Angeles. My parents and most of my grandparents were born in the US.L

I am Korean, but my mom was born and raised in Japan. She married my dad and moved to Korea. So I still have a lot of family living in Japan.Superstition from your childhood that you still believe in today.G

I don’t know if my family was superstitious, but there’s a Japanese term called bocchi. It’s effectively karma. It’s the idea that if you do something stupid or bad to someone else, it’s going to come back to you worse. I still believe in that for sure. It’s like, don’t mock somebody with a cane, otherwise, you’re gonna break your leg!L

I don’t think I really had much, but because we’re Korean, we had to eat red bean porridge on certain days. I think when it comes to food, there were certain things that we practiced as a family. Like eating Tteokgguk or eating seaweed soup on birthdays. It’s almost like if you don’t, then you didn’t have a real birthday. But these days, I have to wash my hair in the mornings. If I don’t and leave the house, I feel like the whole day will be ruined.what pivotal experiences guided you toward your current path? was there a specific moment or individual that influenced you?G

Fortunately, I’ve been blessed with several. But the most important one that I have talked about, is when I was very young, a very important curator came to my studio. A group of older artists and I pitched her a project, and she just turned us down flat. We were walking out of the studio after and she called me to the side. She points at the group of artists who were my mentors at the time, and whispers, “That generation of artists learned to pull things apart, and deconstruct things. You have a gift of putting things back together.” She said, “ What the world needs is you putting things back together. Call me later when you’ve established that part of your career.” That was a pivotal experience because I had learned from a generation of artists of color who were fighting for civil rights in a very specific way and dismantling old systems of power.In the wake of that work, she was alluding to me that my gift is to assemble new systems of power.L

What started me on this path is my passion for restaurants, cooking, and entertaining people. I love everything about it. The determining moment I think is probably now, now that I can meet a more corporate side of myself. I realized later that management can also be creative and fun and that leadership is about being there for my team and upholding a positive vision.On behalf of my father, I feel responsible for carrying on the company’s history. My role is still very creative in thinking about long-term outcomes and what meaningful growth can look like. Meaningful, not only in the sense of profit, but actually creating a product that is purposeful and changing how people think. I want to create communities that bridge misunderstandings and stereotypes, bringing together those who were once divided by them.what dish from your childhood, lovingly prepared at home, holds a special place in your heart?L

The biggest memory I have is making kimchi with my mom every year. It was just so fun. On those days, so many ladies would come to our house. Everyone would be making kimchi, and I would braise the pork and eat it with fresh kimchi.G

Growing up we were not well off, so my dad worked a lot including the weekends. But on Sundays, he was there and he cooked us breakfast.It’s often said that our parents express emotions through food. What’s your go-to meal when you want to convey your feelings?L

Because my family was running a ceramic atelier, and there weren’t many restaurants around, it meant we had to host a lot of dinners at home. My mom who is very giving, was always cooking. She’s very sensitive when it comes to nurturing and caring for people, so she will make sure that the meals don’t overlap, and was constantly making something. Still now when I think about cooking, it’s to make someone happy. My go-to meal is a meal of balance. Lots of banchan, some rice, some protein and soup.G

Breakfast, like poached eggs on the weekends. So I guess it’s like a little family tradition in that way. I say poached eggs because they require you to be present, otherwise they’ll get over-poached. It excites me to prepare them because the dish forces attention and forces everyone to be there and present at the same time.What was your inaugural drink? what’s your beverage of choice now?G

The first drink I ever had was peppermint schnapps. I was a street kid and my friends would drink peppermint schnapps, but now I can’t even smell it. It’s horrible. That was my first drink but now I drink different things like tequila, sake, and soju.L

I had too much alcohol, I forget. I started drinking when I was in high school when I was in Japan. So it was a lot of Kamikaze and Long Island Iced Teas.Who serves as your guiding light? What are your biggest sources of inspiration?G

I draw inspiration from everywhere. I’ve tried to fill my entire studio with things that inspire me. Things that inspire me now, things that will inspire me in the future, things that have inspired me in the past. I’ve also had great mentors in my life, too, leaders that have given me structure in certain ways, but, meandering has always been the best form of my inspiration.L

This can come off dark but my inspiration is death these days. I think it comes from being around my mom and dad who talk about death a lot. I question the different ways of dying healthy and dying happy. This inspires me, because I think I’m a little further along in figuring out how to die happy, then how to die healthy. I’m so inspired by people who are very disciplined about their health because I realize I’m not as much.Who are your ultimate dream collaborators?G

All my collaborators are dream collaborators – the way partnerships come to the studio is an organic process that comes from the energy we put out and the center of gravity we create in exploring our core concerns. I don’t set out to work with anyone but I’m open to working with everyone with aligned values and expertise from which we can create unique projects that could only happen because of art.L

Old Rip Van Winkle!Which restaurant holds the title of your favorite at the moment?G

My favorite restaurant is n/naka – Chef Niki and Chef Carole are amazing artists who have been constant inspirations to me.L

Benu in San Francisco.

What’s your eastern zodiac sign? And your western? Which one resonates more with you?K

I’m a Monkey and a Capricorn. Under saju paljja, I’m a black horse. I believe more in saju paljja because it’s more specific. There are 60 different signs based on year, day, month, and time of birth and rooted in nature, ying and yang and five elements theory.M

I’m a Dragon and Taurus. For most of my life, I’ve resonated more with the description of Taureans. I wondered how all of the people born in the same year could be similar, especially as I looked at all the other students in my class. We all seemed so different for Dragons. Now that I’ve been “converted” by Kwang after being introduced to the Chinese version in Hong Kong, I do believe more in the detailed readings of saju paljja.Can you share about your ethnic and generational background?K

I was born and raised in Korea. My ancestors, probably more than a thousand years ago, come from north-central China. After coming to the Korean peninsula, until the Goryo dynasty, my ancestors lived in the northern part of Korea. More recently, my family is from Icheon which is famous for rice and pottery, and then my grandparents came to Seoul.M

I am a second generation Korean American. My parents came to the US right before I was born. My mother’s family is from Mokpo and my father’s family is from Gwangju, both in Jeolla-do, famous for its cuisine.Superstition from your childhood that you still believe in today.K

When I was young, I was told that shaking your leg would take away your good luck. I can see why older generations would say that, so I guess I do believe it’s true. You can say that I have a lot of beliefs that other people might call superstitions. We put salt in jars and place them in the corners of our house and at the entrance to ward off evil energy. I don’t consider that a superstition.M

When I was growing up, you couldn’t imagine dreaming about being a chef. Chefs were not admired or on television as they are now. I just really liked to eat as a child. So my parents joked that I should be a chef.what pivotal experiences guided you towards your current path? was there a specific moment or individual that influenced you?K

When I was growing up, you couldn’t imagine dreaming about being a chef. Chefs were not admired or on television as they are now. I just really liked to eat as a child. So my parents joked that I should be a chef. That joke by my parents perhaps very unintentionally helped guide me to becoming a chef.M

The source of my love of food and cooking came from my late mother. She was an incredible cook whose love was poured into the meals she made for us. She also loved to host parties, and that love and hospitality was passed down to me by her as well.what dish from your childhood, lovingly prepared at home, holds a special place in your heart?K

My mother’s omurice. Every Saturday, she made a Korean-style fried rice with lots of vegetables and what we call sausage and turned that into omurice. My brother and I got to decorate the omurice ourselves with ketchup. There was so much jungsung, or meticulous attention and love, in my mother’s omurice.M

As Koreans with traditional family structures, we will look back at our mother’s cooking it seems. My mother’s patjuk, or red bean porridge with chewy sweet rice balls, is something I miss. She would make giant jars of it — salted, not sweet. The porridge felt so nourishing and comforting. Eating it with buchu kimchi (garlic chive kimchi) was the perfect meal.it’s often said that our parents’ express emotions through food. what’s your go-to meal when you want to convey your feelings?K

I make a very traditional doenjang jigae. It’s my way of sharing a feeling of home and comfort.M

I like to make gimbap to show my love. These days, it seems more trouble to make all of the vegetables that go into gimbap, especially when there is a great gimbap place near us. But making it is a real labour of love and to me a symbol of love from my childhood. My mother and my aunts would get up so early to make gimbap for us before day trips and adventures, so gimbap is also associated with special memories. I would love to share that specialness with our son.as you came of legal drinking age, what was your inaugural drink? and what’s your beverage of choice now?K

I had beer when I first could drink alcohol. Now, Coke Zero is my drink of choice. I don’t tolerate alcohol well so don’t drink it unless doing tastings for work.M

When I was actually 21 years old, it was probably a very cheap wine. Nowadays, my drink of choice is any Korean sool that we have in the restaurant or that we have brought back from Korea. I’m trying to learn more about Korean sool traditions and we’re working on a house makgeolli for baroo.who serves as your guiding light? why?K

My family gives me strength. I try to talk to my parents every day. Family is the most important in my life.M

I would say my son is my guiding light. I’m learning so much about myself, both good and bad, through trying to raise a good person. Because of him, I want to be a better person.who are your ultimate dream collaborators?K

Chef Pascal Barbot. I admire his work so much and, while some people I know have had the privilege of working with him, I hope to have a chance to cook with and learn from him someday.M

I would love to do a collab with the husband-and-wife team from Mokonuts. I love to see how husband-and-wife restaurant owners can be successful while also prioritizing their families. I would pester them with a thousand questions about how they balance life and work.which restaurant holds the title of your favorite at the moment?K

In terms of inspiration, Noma was truly inspiring and so, it’s the restaurant I will always remember. I also loved Hansik Gonggan by legendary chef Cho Heesook. Her cooking is homey but really refined. Sadly, her restaurant has closed but we hope to have her cooking again.M

This is such a difficult question. There is a different favourite restaurant for every kind of occasion or moment. The last great I meal I had was at Antico Nuovo which is a short walk from where we live. Being able to walk to a place makes it feel like a neighborhood restaurant even if we can’t get out to eat very often. My son will eat an entire loaf of their focaccia. Their pasta is impeccable and they have the best whole roasted branzino in town.