Joo Ok Relocated Its Restaurant — and Prestige — Across the World

1. Shin wanted to return to New York at the right time.

The American dining landscape has evolved since Shin last worked here stateside over a decade ago, with Korean cuisine now at the forefront — and New York at its epicenter.

Reopening Joo Ok in New York felt like a natural choice, given Shin’s strong ties to the city’s Korean culinary community and his many friends in the industry. “New York is one of the biggest food cities in the world and chef Shin wanted to absorb everything as much as he could somewhere he’s already familiar with,” explains Choi.

A partnership with Hand Hospitality, the hospitality group behind many Korean hot spots like Seoul Salon, Her Name is Han, and ARIARI, whose founder Kihyun Lee is close with Shin, sealed the deal.

2. Shin plans to make his own jangs (the mother sauce of Korean cuisine) and grow his own Korean vegetables.

Back in Korea, Shin could easily source ingredients, but in New York, he’s still learning. Choi recalls Shin telling her, “I thought I knew what an onion tastes like, but it tastes different here. I want to better understand the ingredients and work with them.”

To that end, Shin is collaborating with other chefs from the Hand Hospitality orbit — Junghyun Park (Atomix, ATOBOY, NARO, and ACRU), Ok Dong-sik (OKDONGSIK), and Hoyoung Kim (Moono and JUA) — on a two-acre farm upstate, located about an hour and a half north of the city, where they plan to grow native Korean vegetables. His ultimate goal is to create entire dishes using only locally grown ingredients.

Another major project underway is making his own jangs, the Korean mother sauces, from scratch. Choi explains, “Chef compares the process to winemaking. Different terroirs produce different notes and flavors. So, what if he made jang here using locally grown soybeans? How would it taste?”

Shin has already begun fermenting meju (dried soybeans blocks) with Okdongsik’s chef-owner. Once the meju is ready, it will be placed in an onggi (earthenware vessel) with water and salt to ferment — the resulting liquid becoming ganjang (soy sauce) and the solid, doenjang (fermented soybean paste). Gochujang is made using meju powder.

3. The tasting menu is rooted in ancient Korean royal cuisine.

Joo Ok’s 11-course tasting menu honors Korean royal court fare, the traditional cuisine of Korea’s Joseon Dynasty (1392–1897), which has seen a revival in the last decade in Korea’s fine dining scene, according to Choi.

“Chef Shin wants to display traditional Korean cuisine and reinterpret it in a way that makes it approachable,” says Choi. “As a native [of South] Korea, I’ve learned so much about ancient royal cuisine working here, in ways that most Koreans aren’t familiar with.”

The meal begins with a trio of bites highlighting the holy trinity of Korean cuisine, the three traditional jangs: ganjang (soy sauce), gochujang, and doenjang (fermented soybean paste).

The ganjang reimagines jjimdak (soy-braised chicken) wrapped with taro, deep-fried and finished with perilla sauce. The gochujang tartlet features American wagyu beef yukhwe (tartare) with onion jangajji (soy sauce pickles). Finally, the doenjang pairs foie gras with three-year kumquat preserves brought over from Korea.

Shin’s dishes are a modern take on Korean classics like the mandu, which is served deconstructed. The pheasant and mushroom filling sits underneath a striped flat noodle inspired by the colors of the hanbok, the traditional Korean dress. The jat jeup chae showcases poached lobster with Korean pear and salted cucumber slices, finished with a yuzu-infused pine nut sauce poured tableside. The deul gi reum features spotted shrimp, geoduck, and quail egg, topped with Kaluga caviar and dressed in perilla oil — pressed in New York from seeds harvested from Shin’s mother-in-law’s garden.

Banchan, served with the wagyu course, includes Shin’s house-fermented selection like celtuce jangajji, red mustard kimchi, and scallion kimchi. “The kimchi definitely has a little kick,” Choi notes. “I asked chef if he’d adjust the spice level for guests. He answered, ‘No, because this is how kimchi is supposed to taste. I want people to experience it as it should be.’”

The final course, the byung gwa, captures the essence of Shin’s project. The Joo Ok team spent months in Seoul mastering how to traditionally make the confections from scratch. Amongst these tasks, they shave the rice powder, make the red bean paste, and infuse honey with ginger. The assortment includes sweet tteok (rice cakes) filled with red bean paste, gaesung yaggwa, a layered pastry coated in ginger-infused honey, and yanggang, a jelly-like treat reminiscent of Turkish delight.

4. The beverage menu features thoughtful pairings and housemade vinegars.

“We want people to feel comfortable going into the meal,” Choi explains. Upon arrival, guests are greeted with a cup of fruit tea and snacks. The tea highlights chef Shin’s housemade vinegar, which is intended to promote digestion.

Two beverage pairings (offered in five or seven glasses) are carefully created to complement the menu and include both wines and soju, like a grüner veltliner from F.X Pichler in Austria followed by Jinmaek Soju, a premium soju from Andong made from organic wheat. The team is also developing a traditional Korean beverage pairing to further enhance the experience.

For à la carte cocktails, the Wooeong includes soju that’s infused with burdock before it’s milk-washed.

5. The space was inspired by traditional Korean houses named hanok.

While the previous restaurant’s design was centered around white porcelain, this time, the New York location bears a more personal touch. Inspired by traditional Korean houses called hanok, the space reflects Shin’s desire to create a sense of warmth and home. The name Joo Ok translates to “threading precious jade marbles,” and Shin hopes that guests will feel like they’re visiting his house rather than dining in a restaurant. Choi says, “We’re simply hosting them at chef’s house.”

Junho Choi of Two Point Zero (a frequent collaborator on Hand Hospitality ventures) led the design, while Shin personally selected the artwork from Korean artists.

The 40 seat-restaurant is located on the 16th floor of an office building, accessible by a manually-operated freight elevator. The building’s nondescript exterior contrasts with the serene interior — once guests have made it past the bustling noise of Koreatown, they are welcomed into a bright and zen-like foyer modeled after a hanok porch, built with wood sourced from Korea, including a 200 year-old pine beam gifted to Shin as a symbol of good fortune.

Choi describes the experience: “Guests sit down on the porch before entering the dining room. In Korea, porches are social gathering spaces. We wanted to bring that here — to create a warm and welcoming environment in the heart of K-town.”

Core team members — including two sous chefs, line cooks, a sommelier, and a captain, some of whom have worked with him since the first opening —followed Shin from Korea, uprooting themselves and their families to New York.

“It’s beautiful to witness because you don’t often see that,” continues Choi. “We’ve put so much passion into this to help people understand what we’re doing — and to show that our Korean roots aren’t going anywhere. They are here to stay.”

Joo Ok is just getting started.

Joo Ok is open from Thursday to Tuesday from 5:30 to 11:30 p.m.

Coralie Kwok is a French-born writer and hospitality professional based in Brooklyn. She’s always on the quest for the best baguette. Follow Resy on Instagram.