Mukbang Korean Restaurant and its founder, Hyeonju Park, have a story that reads like a love letter to the city of Kochi and its people.
Mukbang, Kochi's first authentic Korean restaurant introduces the city to a unique cuisine and serves customers with an intimate, almost familial hospitality. (Supplied)
As you ascend the stairs to Mukbang Korean Restaurant & Bakery, you might as well be entering the home of founder Hyeonju Park and her family.
Located in Eroor, Mukbang resides in a quieter part of the city. The first authentic Korean restaurant of the city, Mukbang serves customers with an intimate, almost familial hospitality that transforms them into cherished house guests.
With abundant greenery and rivers around, the restaurant is precisely where Hyeonju, who is lovingly called Mrs Park, always wanted to be.
“Kochi is my home now,” she tells South First, reflecting on the journey that brought her to the city.
Nineteen years ago, Mrs Park decided to move to India, drawn to the country’s multicultural landscape.
“I was always someone who loved challenges and asked a lot of questions. I love learning more about how different things work and why things are the way they are,” she shares.
“In my schooldays, when we studied World History, I remember being fascinated by the Taj Mahal and the Ellora caves in Aurangabad. At that time, our teachers told us that the culture of many places came from India,” she explains.
Hyeonju Park. (Supplied)
Mrs Park also wanted to provide her son with a good education — one that did not just expose him to the world of academics but to the world itself.
“Schools in Korea are good, but as the country developed, I noticed that the school culture was also changing,” she shares.
As someone who values people’s character and attitude, Mrs Park witnessed Korean schools becoming more individualistic.
“My teachers used to dedicate their whole lives to their students,” she recalls, sharing that schools now lack the community mentality she deeply valued.
India’s cultural diversity and her desire to give her son a more holistic education brought her first to Bengaluru.
But after two months of navigating through traffic and enduring the city’s dust, she realised that the city was not for her.
After exploring other cities around South India, she finally reached Kochi and immediately felt like she arrived home. The fresh air, green cover, and waterways made her fall in love with the city as she made preparations to settle down.
“At that time, my English was very poor!” she exclaims, adding that the helpful demeanour of the people she met here helped her settle down easily.
“Everyone could speak at least a little bit of English, so communication was also much easier.”
Among the many helpful faces in her life, one individual made the city all the more special to Mrs Park.
In her pursuit of her son’s schooling, Mrs Park was given the names of Kochi’s top five schools by the manager of the hotel she was staying in at the time.
Most of the sauces and noodles at Mukbang are handmade. (Supplied)
With the help of a Korean counting rhyme, she settled on Toc-H Public School in Vytilla, and decided to visit its principal.
Not knowing it was a public holiday, Mrs Park arrived at an empty school, searching for a security guard to show her the way to the principal’s office.
“From a short distance, a very simple-looking man walked up to me and started saying something,” she says.
Not understanding him, Mrs Park wielded her trusted electronic dictionary and pointed at the words “principal” and “admission”.
He asked her to follow him, and Mrs Park assuming he was the security guard, readied herself to meet the school principal. But she soon noticed that the man led her past an empty principal’s office and walked straight into a room that said “president” on the door.
He went behind the desk, sat down, and introduced himself as Professor PJ Joseph, the president of Toc-H Public School, to a very confused Mrs Park.
“Slowly, word by word, he explained to me who he was and how my son could join his school,” she shares.
“Professor Joseph was like a father to me. He was a very kind man,” she shares, remembering the late academic as a constant source of comfort and support.
After exploring other cities around South India, Hyeonju reached Kochi and immediately felt like she arrived home. (Supplied)
“I did not know anyone in Kochi at the time, but for any difficulty I faced, he would just close his eyes and lend his help.”
Mrs Park’s friendship with Professor Joseph and other teachers at her son’s school made her love Kerala’s culture.
She was touched by the community’s support. “They made me love India,” she reveals.
After getting her son into school, Mrs Park started a centre that helped Korean students get admission into Kochi’s educational institutions.
“Many people helped me with my work in education,” she shares, remembering how Professor Joseph used to prepare special English classes for Korean children who were not proficient in the language.
Her centre began to grow with the help of her staff members whom she became very close to.
But as the COVID-19 pandemic struck, many students returned to Korea, bringing Mrs Park’s business to a halt.
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“I visited Korea at the time, and my family kept telling me to stay back, but my mind was with the life and the people I had in Kochi,” Mrs Park reveals.
“During the lockdown, even though our centre was not generating income, I still made sure my staff received their full salary. I’ve helped them in the past with their housing and children’s education, so I wanted to continue taking care of them by giving them a livelihood,” she says.
“I don’t want to see tears in the eyes of anyone I work with,” she adds.
Mrs Park soon began to think of other viable business ideas that would allow her to continue living in Kochi while making sure that her staff had jobs.
Since Kochi did not have an authentic Korean restaurant, she thought it would be a good idea to start one.
Little did she know that Mukbang would soon be a beloved spot for Kochi’s food lovers.
Mukbang’s delectable dishes, made using the freshest of ingredients, are a testament to Mrs Park’s dogma of making healthy and hearty meals.
“For me, quality is important. Our customers’ health is important,” she declares.
Although the restaurant is only a few months old, it has gained popularity among customers because of its exceptional taste and the remarkably healthy feeling that follows.
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She attributes this to the nutrient-rich, chemical-free ingredients they use in the kitchen. Most of their sauces and noodles are also handmade, using only the best ingredients they can source.
While purchasing raw materials from wholesale markets like Broadway can be very cost-efficient for the restaurant, Mrs Park actively avoids it because she does not know chemical they may contain.
“We buy most of our ingredients from Lulu Mall. Even though it’s expensive for us, the meats and vegetables they sell are very fresh,” she shares.
Mukbang’s branch manager trainee, Kavya Prakash, reveals the strict specifications laid out by Mrs Park when it comes to quality in the kitchen.
“She is very adamant that the water we use in the cooking process is purified at least three times,” she told South First.
“My staff finds this very amusing,” Mrs Park adds, owing to her ability to identify when something is wrong in a dish just by its appearance.
“Once, when the mayonnaise looked a different colour, I realised they didn’t use extra virgin olive oil,” she shares.
Kochi has found favourites in many of Mukbang’s chicken dishes and the pork bulgogi. (Supplied)
As for taste, Kochi has found favourites in many of Mukbang’s chicken dishes and the pork bulgogi. The kimchi is also much sought after.
“Many people are asking me to sell my gochujang now,” she shares.
The red chilli paste she makes is gaining legendary status as many chefs are left in awe at her mastery of the fermented condiment.
“Many cooks have asked me why my gochujang tastes different to theirs. It’s because mine is entirely handmade and fermented for long periods,” she reveals.
As Mukbang continues to grow, the team is eager to make the restaurant more accessible to customers living in the heart of Kochi city.
Although setting up a foreigner-owned business in Kerala has its difficulties, Mrs Park currently has no plans of branching outside the city she loves.
“This area is very important to me,” she firmly believes, despite being approached by customers and patrons from outside Kochi with opportunities to expand.
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“I visit Korea two to three times a year now. While the first week is enjoyable, by the second week, I start missing Kochi and eagerly wait to come back,” she mentions.
“Korea is a comfortable country; there are many facilities there. But my mind is always in Kochi. For me, facilities aren’t important. It is about human beings and human connection,” she shares.
Mrs Park’s family is now with her in Kochi. She runs Mukbang along with her husband, son, family of friends and supporters.
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