How Atoboy Set the Stage for a Glorious Era of Korean Cuisine

Through dishes like lotus root served atop soft curded tofu, braised mackerel with green chile (their take on a classic jorim), and of course, a fried chicken that remains on the menu today, Atoboy seemingly tied together the past and future of Korean American cooking — in part because of timing, and in part because the Parks chose banchan as their medium, something Americans could understand. (If imperfectly, as many of the early writeups made clear.)

And it was, of course, just prelude to the small empire they built: In 2018, they would open the 14-seat Atomix, an intensely personal chef’s-counter meditation on Korean haute cuisine that quickly became one of New York’s most coveted tables, earning two Michelin stars along the way.  That would be followed by Naro, their Rockefeller Center ode to more traditional Korean cooking, and Seoul Salon, an interpretation of the sool jib, essentially Korea’s version of a pub.

With their grand New York project nearly a decade in, it seemed time to catch up with the Parks to revisit what inspired Atoboy in the first place, how it has evolved, and how they have found themselves in the center of a rapidly growing universe of exceptional Korean cooking in New York.

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity and length.

RESY: Right after Atoboy opened, even after it got that New York Times review in 2017, everyone described it as being a restaurant focused on banchan. As we’ve discussed many times, that might have said more about how Americans understood banchan than what you were trying to achieve. When you started, how did you envision Atoboy? How has it evolved?

Junghyun “JP” Park: As you know, banchan are such an essential part of eating in Korea. When you go to Korea, it’s how they set up the table, usually having both rice and banchan on the table. Even myself, when I was young, I always had different types of banchan on my table. And that is a part of the meal, all the time.

But when I moved to the U.S., when I went to K-Town, you would get a main dish, and banchan would come out as a side dish. People didn’t really value the culture of banchan. So, I wanted, using the word and the culture, to share this kind of setup, to show how different side dishes, all the banchan, come together as a meal. That was what we brought to Atoboy.

And of course, now, Atoboy has been set up with more of a standard menu. A lot of guests want to more specifically have an appetizer and so on. At the same time, we want to always serve the rice with the kimchi, and the second appetizer, and also the main course, as banchan together. So, that is what we are still trying to do at Atoboy, to bring some joy of the banchan culture to the table. 

I look back at that Pete Wells review, and he talked about banchan as being freebies. Now I think there’s an understanding that this is a way of eating, not just some side dishes you get for free. But sometimes, the dishes at Atoboy are described as bringing in Western ingredients or Western elements. Is that how you see it, or is it simply part of Korean cooking, to use the ingredients that you have nearby?

JP: For me, banchan is more a kind of concept. It’s not about one solitary dish. If you want to make the namul [salad-like dishes] with asparagus, if you want to make the jorim [simmered dishes] with sunchoke, it’s definitely not commonly served in Korea. But that’s the kind of ingredient you can easily find in New York, at the Union Square greenmarket. You can find other vegetables. So, I want to use those kind of vegetables to make the banchan, without it being that only Asian produce can be used. I’m trying to incorporate a lot of local ingredients.

What brought you both to New York was Jungsik, in 2012. So, in a way, you’ve seen the entire arc of modern Korean cooking in the U.S. How would you describe it when you arrived versus now? 

Ellia Park: The thing about New York and Korean cuisine, is that it made Korean cuisine blossom in the world. I think Korean cuisine itself in Korea is probably nothing special, because it’s simply a part of life there. But when it comes to Korean food, New York has changed so much in the last decade. It has made it more accessible internationally. I mean, if I compare the number of Korean Michelin-starred restaurants in Seoul, and the Korean Michelin restaurants in New York, I think that New York has more. [New York has 10 listed restaurants according to Michelin’s categories, Seoul has nine.] So, I’ve been able to tell chefs in Korea, and Korean people too, that New York is one of the strongest Korean culinary scenes in the world.

It’s fascinating — a decade ago, everyone was talking about L.A. being where Korean food happened in the United States. Today, New York is clearly where a lot of the energy is. You both had quite a lot to do with that. Why do you think New York became the center?

JP: I think that, probably, it was the CIA [Culinary Institute of America, in Hyde Park, N.Y.]. Also maybe Jungsik, but in the culinary scene in Korea, the CIA has been the most high-profile culinary school in the United States. Not only in the U.S., but globally. So, a lot of the young generation that’s passionate about food in Korea, they wanted to learn about different types of the cuisine in the U.S. And they went to the CIA. I’m not sure the exact percentage of Korean students at the CIA, but I’ve heard that Koreans are the no. 1 nationality among foreign students. Which means a lot of Koreans go to the CIA, and after they graduate, they go do an externship in New York restaurants. Like Sungchul Shim from Kochi, he studied at the CIA and went to Per Se, and worked in fine dining throughout New York City. And then he opened his own place, Kochi. And then Mari. And in Korea, they talk about that.

Ellia: I think the culinary innovation is really connected with that sense of education.

JP: The other thing is, L.A. has been growing as well, but most of the chefs who are making L.A. a place for Korean food are second-generation or third-generation Korean Americans. So, they’re doing slightly different things compared to what I’m doing, and what Hoyoung Kim at JUA is doing. And even the younger generation in New York, like Esther Choi [of GAHM by Mokbar] and chef Jae Lee from Nowon, they’re doing different things. So I think diversity is allowing for different types of modern Korean food. For me, I think New York is more interesting. I think people are getting access to all different types of Korean food here.

Interesting. So it sounds like New York is more sort of a direct connection with Seoul and with Korea, versus L.A., which is perhaps more about the immigrant experience.

Ellia: I think so. Sometimes the food in L.A., the Korean food, is more traditional than what they’re serving in Korea now!

JP: Yeah, Seoul is a very dynamic city. Even the Korean food in Korea has been changing a lot in the last 10 years. But when you go to L.A., there’s some restaurants serving the same dish for seven years, eight years. Which is great, but at the same time, it’s more “authentic” than Seoul. [laughs]

In terms of how New York’s Korean food universe has evolved, I’m curious, what did you want to show with Atoboy versus Atomix, or Naro? With each of the restaurants?

Ellia: I mean, Atoboy was simply about banchan culture. That was our first restaurant. We had to build a restaurant that was for everyone. 

Atomix is not only about the culinary culture, it’s about about Korean culture, including Korean ceramic artists, Korean music, Korean fashion, Korean interior design. The menu card features Korean art. So, I think of Atoboy and Atomix as different sisters or brothers. 

And Naro is a little more about the national Korean cuisine. I’m not saying authentic —  but Atoboy is more about us broadly, we who grew up in Korea but have experience internationally. Atomix is more personal. And Naro is more a snapshot of Korea.

JP: For example, our first guests who came from Korea, they would probably have said Atoboy or Atomix aren’t Korean. When they have dinner at Naro, they would say, oh, this is Korean food. Atoboy is more about us making dishes that take on, as much as possible, different cultures and different ingredients, presenting something that’s more about New York. Whereas Naro has more the core of flavors and ingredients and cooking that’s the ideal of what Korean food is driving for.

You mentioned culture. Has the timing of the rise of Korean culture been a catalyst? We talk a lot today about how in music, in film, in TV, in art, there is a focus on Korean culture broadly that I think, at least, has allowed for the visibility of the food at every level.

Ellia: I think so. I mean, there’s so much focus on Korean culture — on Broadway, in beauty, in music and the movies, everything. And Americans get an opportunity to understand the food, too. When we go to Koreatown these days, there’s not many Korean people, actually. It’s more people from other cultures who want to enjoy Korean food.

That interest really shows us we can do more with Korean cuisine. I think it has been changing so much, and now we feel, wow, people really want to travel to Korea, to try and experience Korean culture. Many of our regular [non-Korean] guests who come to Atoboy and Atomix now, they know the words for Korean dishes. They talk about banchan or dubu or mandu. Through the food, they’ve gotten to enter the culture.

What about those second-generation Korean Americans? Again, the Korean experience in the U.S. is very different today than it was 25 years ago. Are they part of your customer base? It sounds like they’re perhaps dining at Atoboy more than they’re going to K-Town.

Ellia: They are, and actually, many of them really want to work with us, because Atoboy and Atomix are not distinctly about Korean food. I mean, of course, the restaurants in K-Town are doing a lot for Korean culture. But some of that second generation, when they were young and went to elementary school, they probably didn’t publicly say they were Korean. But through the success of Atoboy and Atomix and all the other success that Korean culture has had, they now want to be part of our company, they want to talk more about Korean culture. So many of them come to our restaurant to experience the next wave of Korean culture.

JP: We have a lot of them who are interested, including Ahris [Kim, one of Atoboy’s early general managers and now director of operations for the Parks’ Na:eun Hospitality]. We have learned a lot through them. Because we moved here 12 years ago, and we still don’t know a lot of things about American culture, like politics or economics, they’re always giving us some kind of guidance or advice. At the same time, we kind of give inspiration to them. So, we’re definitely going through this all together.

JP, your cookbook, which came out last year, I suspect a lot of people figured, oh, JP is doing a cookbook, it’s going to be like Atomix. Very modern, very chef-driven. In fact, it was this love letter to traditional Korean cooking. Was that something you felt you needed to do? 

JP: Actually, the first time that Phaidon reached out to me about publishing an Atomix cookbook, Atomix was only three years old. Atomix is a strong restaurant. I believe our team is doing a great job. But at the same time, we still need to take time to determine what Atomix is really about, what Atomix’s culture means to the world. And at the time, when I was searching Amazon or Google, there were some Korean cookbooks, but nothing that I could call a bible. So, I felt it was the time to have that kind of cookbook, that could represent Korean food in a modern way but also a very traditional way. One that people can follow, not just professionals, but anyone interested in Korean food. And I think through that kind of cooking, there’s only going to be a growth of Korean cuisine worldwide, rather than just having a book for professionals.

Let’s talk about drinks for a second. Ellia, you built this great wine list at Atoboy. You offered Burgundy, natural wine, all kinds of riesling. And since, you guys have opened Seoul Salon and really brought the culture of the sool jib to New York. How do all these different types of drinking go with the food at your restaurants, or at any Korean restaurant?

Ellia: You know, French salon culture really brings together people who can share drinks and food, and talk about culture. That’s how we thought about Seoul Salon. And I don’t know if this is the case with American culture yet, but when we say, “Let’s drink together,” in Korea, that means “Let’s talk about something.” It’s not only about drinking. Let’s talk about our life or let’s talk about something else. So that’s how we thought about Seoul Salon. 

And with our wine lists, I love not only natural wine, I love all wines, all the good drinks, including Korean soju and beer and everything. So it depends on the interest at each restaurant. We try and do good drinks pairings with spirits as well as wine.

But I think the wine program at Atoboy was really fascinating. In a way, it was the first time that many people saw how very good wines could go with these flavors. Perhaps you knew that if you were in Seoul, or as in my case, if you had Korean friends who knew a lot about wine. But that was new at the time. And now you see it everywhere.

Ellia: Well for Atomix, I didn’t create the wine list, Jhonel [Faelnar, their wine director] did. But for Atoboy, it was our first restaurant. I’m not a wine professional, but still, I love wine and I love drinks. And whenever you’re trying to make good food, you need to pair good drinks, too. So I went to all the tastings, and would compare the food together with the wines. That’s how I made my first wine list at Atoboy.

Speaking of Atoboy, what does its next chapter look like? 

JP: I think now, what we are looking for at Atoboy is, we want to be neoclassical. We still have some concept of the banchan culture, of serving with rice and sharing with the table, and different types of seasonal products. So, as long as we keep that as our core, we can take on Japanese flavors, we can take on Filipino flavors. I think part of growing Korean food is not only having kimchi or budae jjigae, it’s having different things. We want to take a different road. I think, compared to the first time you came into Atoboy, it’s definitely become more of a mix of different cultures.

Ellia: I think what JP wants to say is, that Atoboy wants to flow. When we opened Atoboy, our team was mostly Korean people. But now our team’s grown, our company has grown, and the culture has changed. Many team members are coming not from Korea, not from the States, but elsewhere. And they want to do banchan. That is the soul of banchan. So that’s how we want Atoboy to grow in the future.

More broadly, what’s coming next for you two? And for that matter, I know you get back to Korea a fair amount. What are the next things we’re going to see come over from Seoul?

Ellia: We opened our research lab, Common Era, in Seoul a few months ago. And our goal is not about opening more restaurants in New York or in Seoul or elsewhere. What we really want to do in the future, is to be a company, and people, who have an impact in bringing Korean culture and Korean food to the world. 

JP: Korean food has grown so much, and generally, promoting Korean food is one of the important tasks for chefs, even in Korea. At the same time, we don’t want to copycat each other. We don’t want to all have the same voice. We want to offer different voices. We want people in Korea to see how big Korean food culture has become. That’s the reason we opened the seed food lab in Korea. We are going to do a lot of R&D and studying of ingredients. And we want to bring these ideas and recipes to New York. 

It’s really about New York Korean food only getting more exciting, so you don’t only talk about gochujang or banchan. When it comes to Korean food, it’s about saying there are many other things I can show you, which is very exciting for the future.

Jon Bonné is Resy’s managing editor, a two-time James Beard Award winner, and author of “The New French Wine” and other books. Follow him on Instagram. Follow Resy, too.