Pulse / Plunge in Korean Cuisine

Publication : Pulse

Date : October 2013

Title : Plunge in Korean Cuisine

Lucia Cho, the Owner of Korean Fine Dining Restaurant Bicena, stated that “Korean cuisine becomes truly Korean when you put your heart in it.” For any types of cuisine, one has to put his identity into his dishes to bring out the true flavors of his cuisine. Cho as someone who has spent only 3 years on operating a restaurant made the author became curious about what Korean cuisine meant to her.

A year ago, a new Korean restaurant opened in Hannam – Bicena operated by Lucia Cho. As the second daughter of the Kwangjuyo Group, Cho started out with a lot of burden and high expectations on her shoulders.

“Bicena stands for three Korean verbs that mean to ‘empty, fill in, and then share,’” she said. Rather than being comfortable with a perfect form of a culture, she believes it is possible to seek for more complete flavors of her cuisine. As one can fill in an empty bowl with more new and diverse objects, he can obtain more diverse perspectives when freed from prejudices and stereotypes.

As Cho wanted Bicena to be more than just a restaurant that sells Korean cuisine, every part of the restaurant reflects her thoughts and philosophy. After working with acknowledged artists including Space Designer Youngbok Ma, Stylist Younghee Seo, HanbokDesigner Youngjin Kim, and Furniture Designer Jihoon Ha, Cho established Bicena as a space which institutes true essence of beauty beyond time rather than a place that restages existing traditions.

The Korean food industry has been changing rapidly for the last few years as if globalization of Korean cuisine is a trend. It is no exaggeration to say that Cho’s father, Tae Kwon Cho, the CEO of the Kwangjuyo Group, has opened the path for the globalization of Korean cuisine – and he has invested billions of dollars and the last 15 years into it. He may have been the biggest role model for Cho, but she confessed she didn’t like seeing her father trying hard and spending so much time on globalization of Korean cuisine. “I didn’t like how much he worked since the results weren’t as big as how much time and effort he put in,” she stated. She added, “but now that I’m following his path, the effect of education is crazy.”

Although she didn’t see herself in her current situation 3 years ago before she came back to Korea, she is now a restauranteur and a chef. She is not just a regular restauranteur or a chef, but is qualified enough to be invited to participate in 2013 Hawaii Food & Wine Festival, known as the Food Olympics, held on September 5thin Honolulu. She was invited by Chef Alan Wong, one of the most acknowledged and respected chefs in Hawaii. When he invited her, she didn’t want to let him down, so she kept throwing so many questions at herself and thought hard what kind of Korean cuisine she wanted to introduce to the global audience. She wanted to make sure she presented Korean cuisine that would be remarkable to stay in everyone’s memories for life.

Cho felt that she had a mission to deliver cultural experiences through her food. She wanted a dish that would make people happy and leave a long-lasting impression; she decided on pork as Polynesians love their cultural event of roasting an entire pig. Pork is very simple, yet has so many strong characteristics. Although it is a cost-efficient ingredient, everyone enjoys it.

After Cho decided on pork, she wanted to present jangjorim(soy sauce braised meat). There is countless number of great Korean side dishes, which are not very well-known. She chose to use gochujang (red pepper paste), which has a deep rich flavor. “Dishes that are made with gochujangmust have the sauce in order to create the flavors they yield. So I thought people who have tasted our dish would look for gochujangto experience what they experienced once again,” she told.

The reaction at the festival was exceptional. Participants were so impressed with the Bicena’s dish that they sent much praise and support. Cho asserts that the simple and neat plating as well as the unique flavors of the dish were the factors that brought positive response.

Cho insists owners and chefs of Korean restaurants all over the world should offer dishes that genuinely seem and taste Korean even to themselves. The reason many star chefs in Italian and French cuisine exist although an outstanding number of Italian and French restaurants is in the market is that they have strong bases and chefs put so much work into creating their own style with much confidence.

Cheers to Lucia Cho who continuously endeavors to find ways for Korean cuisine, which has a long history and tradition to naturally absorb into the modern cultural context.