Tag: entrepreneur

Sam Hyun
Sam Hyun was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, where he spent most of his life before moving to D.C. Sharing his family story, he tells us of how the immigrant’s psyche can be worn down and damaged in the pursuit of the American Dream, an experience he both witnessed and encountered through his relationship with his father. Raised by his mother, Sam recalls how she had to endure grueling hours of multiple jobs to care for her family while his father, who traveled often on business trips, was largely absent from his life. He shares with us a memory of the exact moment his father left the family for good: an argument over his mother purchasing the laundromat she had worked at for years, a decision which would improve the family’s financial prospects but one which exposed the pride and insecurities of a father who had failed to live up his myth of an American life. Today, as Co-Founder of @1587sneakers and the Director of Government Relations at @taaforg, Sam works to change both the narrative of how we as Asian Americans present ourselves, as well as the harmful narratives to which we subscribe.

Kyu Min Lee
Kyu Min Lee was born in Seoul, South Korea, to a family who worked for the Korean government. When he was only 1 year old, his family moved to Bogota, Colombia, after his father accepted a position to work at the South Korean Embassy, and Kyu Min grew up in Bogota until he was ten. At the time, it was not uncommon for Korean families living in Colombia to send their kids, sometimes accompanied by a relative, abroad for their education. For Kyu Min, his siblings, and his mother, this meant moving to Los Angeles where they soon found out that the economic resources they had in Colombia didn’t translate to living in the United States. His mother had to work multiple jobs to take care of her children in L.A., but soon moved back to Colombia to take care of their father, and for the first time in his life Kyu Min had to learn how to navigate the world without his parents by his side. As a teen, he recounts run-ins with gangs, being kicked out of multiple high schools, and “experiencing everything America had to offer—the good and the bad.” Encouraged by his high school art teacher, he applied, and was accepted to, the Otis School to study art, but dropped out a year later to pursue a career in the music industry, where he worked with a record label for almost 20 years. After the digitization revamped the music world, Kyu Min pivoted to operating a restaurant bar with a space to host various DJs and artists. Although he had little experience with food, he created a menu consisting of Korean-Colombian dishes from his childhood. He remains thankful for how “his life turned out,” while remaining fully aware that there were risks that could have taken him down a very different path.

Cathy Yi
Cathy Yi was born in 1950 in Gyeonggi Province, Korea, just outside of Seoul. At a young age, she moved with her family to Seoul, where she received her primary and secondary education; after graduating from high school, she moved to the United States to live with some of her relatives who had already immigrated to the country. She had heard stories of discriminatory attitudes towards minorities while living in Korea and was disheartened to experience such attitudes for herself in places as unassuming as the local grocery market, but was nevertheless resolved to make a better life for herself in spite of the racism she encountered. When she was 27 years old, she married and moved to New York where she and her husband lived for five years before moving to New Jersey to be closer to her business, which was located in Philadelphia. In 1986, she moved to Los Angeles where she and her family got by comfortable while working in wholesale, though a change in fortune would later cause her to close the business. Today, from retirement, Cathy appreciates how she was able to acclimate to an American way of life early on, recognizing that although there exists cultural differences between the Korea she remembers and the America she’d immigrate to, the choices we make as individuals are not predetermined by the society we live in.

Laura Park
Laura Park is a hanbok business owner based in Los Angeles. She was born in 1964 to a family that operated a textile store in Gwangjang Market in Seoul and recounted a comfortable childhood containing memories of time spent at her parent’s store. She explains how the store had been in operation since before she was born: her mother had begun working in the market when she was 18, and by the time Laura came around, she was running a textile business that had become woven into the fabric of Gwangjang. Laura initially expressed an interest in languages and so worked as a translator for diplomatic correspondences between Korea and Japan ahead of the 1988 Olympics, but realized that her true passions lay in business; with the money earned from working as a translator, she moved to Los Angeles, where her uncle lived. Following in the footsteps of her parents, she opened a hanbok store which she called “Lee Hwa Korean Traditional Dress;” before long, she was selling wedding dresses as well, and so renamed the store to “Lee Hwa Wedding and Korean Traditional Dress.” As more and more non-Koreans became familiar with what a hanbok was, she renamed her store to “Lee Hwa Wedding and Hanbok,” a final DBA change that reflected shifting attitudes toward Korean culture in the United States. Today, most of her customers are non-Korean—compared to her clientele being 90% Korean when she first began her business—and her store caters to three styles of hanbok: traditional attire, modernized, and streetwear.

Kyungbin Min
Kyungbin Min is a chef based in Los Angeles. He was born in Seoul, Korea, and immigrated with his family to SoCal where his aunt lived. He knew from an early age that his calling was in food service: as a child, he grew to love the instant gratification of being a part of dinner service, even if it it meant simply setting up plates at the table (even today, he says that it’s his customers’ positive reviews that “gives him the pump” to keep on going). He worked in restaurants right out of college, and after saving enough money paid his way through culinary school, after which he worked in a variety of kitchens, from fine dining to upscale casual. Though he enjoyed his time in culinary school, he says that it wasn’t necessary for him; the food he creates today, he says, is a mashup of what he learned in the kitchens with his own added flair. During the onset of the pandemic, he and his partners were furloughed, and so they set about starting their own food businesses: one of his partners started a meal prep company, while he and another partner together launched a dry aging meat company; everything, he says, was ecommerce. Soon, he opened “Hanchic,” which to his surprise was picked up by outlets such as Eater, Thrillist, and The Infatuation: what began as an ecommerce business soon turned into an outdoor patio, which then transitioned indoors. He owes the success of his enterprises to his community, which he tries to serve by introducing Korean flavors beyond the typical kbbq or kimbap that many are already familiar with. In acting as a middleman of sorts, he hopes more people will become comfortable ordering food from the “OG mom and pop” restaurants in L.A.’s Koreatown.

Grace Lyo
Grace Lyo was born in 1946 in Gyeonggi Province, Korea. While attending elementary school, she moved in with relatives in Seoul, and after completing high school found work first as a government employee of the Treasury Department, then in the actuarial industry where she met her childrens’ father. In 1981, Grace immigrated to Baltimore with her family, which by then included young children. Opening up a store nearby, Grace and her husband worked to sustain their new lives in the U.S. Grace, who had always wanted to pursue higher education, enrolled in the local community college; her husband, who was against the idea, demanded she quit school. The couple separated and sold the store, which allowed Grace to open a new business, starting anew. Soon after, she opened a second store, and then another: at one point, she was running three businesses alone, one of which she gave to her brother when he too immigrated to the area. In 2015, during the Baltimore Protests, one of her stores suffered an arson attack which led to its permanent closure. Despite this setback, Grace talks about all the love that local residents have given her and her businesses throughout the years she’s lived in Baltimore, and how she herself harbors nothing but gratitude and a desire to give back to her community and its youth.

Jason Cho
Jason Cho was born and raised in Houston, Texas, in the Aleaf area. His father owned a Taekwondo School business and was the first to do so in the 70s in their respective area. All his life he trained in Taekwondo at the Dojang which helped him develop strong qualities that show in his leadership. Jason’s introduction to the hospitality industry is owed to his sister and his love for food. While visiting his sister in New York, he tried Korean Fried Chicken for the first time and decided to bring it into Houston after realizing that he would be the first one to do so. It was an all-in situation for Jason and he persevered through his journey through the lessons he learned with Taekwondo. Discipline, structure, leading by example, and being a man of action are only some of what he learned. Jason now aspires to be a representation of Korean concepts in Houston through his restaurant Dak & Bop and carry on his father’s dream of buying land and building a community by creating a Koreatown in his city in the future.

Kaein Oh
Kaein Oh was born in Korea in 1954 and immigrated to Chicago in September 1985, joining her extended family who had already been here earlier. Originally an Estee Lauder staff member in Korea, she could have chosen to be transferred to another job in the US. Despite this, she decided to follow a sudden urge to open a Korean restaurant, going against the opposition from her sisters. Owning a restaurant was not easy, as she was met with constant work and rough times. But a newfound faith in Christianity and a strong trust in her employees helped her persevere; the work never overwhelmed or scared her. Her 24/7 work days turned into 20 years in the blink of an eye and her once 9-item long menu at the very first opening grew to 85 when they closed down. After closing her restaurant, she started a catering business which she believes is her calling: “making food honestly and in turn making her proud of what she makes.” Her son now follows in her footsteps and also has a food business of his own, in which Oh helps make kimchi. Meeting God and peace led her to feel constant happiness, which her sons could see radiating from her.

Mike Kim
Mike Kim was born in Korea but grew up in the United States. After struggling to find a job during the 2008 recession, his cousin invited him to live in Korea for a year. Initially intending it to be a temporary move, Mike eventually sold all of his belongings and has now been living in Korea for the past 14 years.
Since moving to Korea, Mike has constantly taken visiting friends to good restaurants, which ignited his passion for exploring and trying new Korean cuisine. Today, he has founded a food tour business that provides tourists with a delicious Korean food experience. Through food, he wants to share the beauty of Korean culture with as many people as possible.

Tae Kim
One night in Seoul, Tae Kim found himself in a Burger King, struggling to order his meal. Despite being able to speak Korean fluently in his home of Koreatown LA, he quickly found that it just did not translate so smoothly in his new home of Korea. As he tried paying for the meal he didn’t even want, Tae felt the realness of culture shock. Doubt and fear permeated as he began to settle into the new city, leading him to ask friends about finding mental health counseling. To his surprise, his struggle was met with judgment. Certain that he couldn’t be the only one, Tae took action. Starting with a Facebook group to provide a safe outlet for people struggling with their mental health in Korea, it became clear that he really wasn’t alone. So he made an app called “Gideb” where people could remain anonymous and find the right resources and access to the mental health support they need. Now, Tae is grateful to be living in Korea with his wife and son, happily running his company.

Sangmin Lee
The son of a pastor, Sangmin moved from Korea to McLean, Virginia at a young age. Reflecting on his parents’ struggle to provide for their family, Sangmin resolved to become an entrepreneur and make a lot of money. However, after moving to Korea in his late twenties, Sangmin found a new, though familiar calling in the ministry. Following in his father’s footsteps, Sangmin became a pastor at Jubilee, a church in Seoul. Having served at Jubilee for upwards of seven years, Sangmin was made the leader of King’s Cross Church, a new, English-speaking church in Seoul created by Jubilee, where he still serves today.

Joshua Hwang
Joshua Hwang was born and raised in Philadelphia as one of five boys in his family. His father was a pastor while his mother ran two dry cleaning businesses. Growing up, Joshua wanted to create an identity for himself as an American. He rebelled from the standard ideas of being a PK, or pastor’s Kid, and tried to avoid the Korean American community as much as possible. His parents eventually saw the recklessness and wanted to find an opportunity for him leave Philadelphia as soon as possible.