They are among the first spaces where people in Ottawa’s Korean community gathered after arriving in the city — and where the next generations grew up.
But after decades of keeping the lights on, the chefs and owners at some long-standing restaurants, stores and other institutions in the community are thinking about closing their doors, and the pandemic didn’t help.
Freelance photographer James Park, who came to Canada from Korea when he was 13 describes these as “spaces where I can relate, make connections and to a degree, find refuge.”
“It's not an easy thing to uproot and move to another country with a different language and culture yet many of us made the trip in search of a better life,” he said, explaining his motivation to document these spaces and the people that run them for CBC Ottawa.
“I wanted to ask about [the owners’] immigrant experience and why they continue to operate the space,” he said. Park also provided translation.
Koreana Restaurant, 711 Somerset St. W.
Sang Kon Jo and YoungRea Jo, owner/chef and owner
For longtime Ottawa chef and restaurant-owner Sang Kon Jo, when customers stopped asking for Korean BBQ and started asking for more obscure delicacies, he realized how much taste buds had changed for people in his adoptive city during the many years he’d been cooking here.
“Nowadays because of K-pop and other influences, customers have been trying spicy foods and the response has been better than I thought,” he said.
“Some tell me they never tasted anything like it before and it makes them happy. I realized Korean food has become global and it made me feel happy.”
SangKon started cooking in Ottawa in 1983 at Alilang, which was then the only Korean restaurant in Ottawa.
“Pierre Trudeau used to come and Justin Trudeau used to come holding the hand of his dad. During the last election, I closed the restaurant for the first time to go vote for Justin,” he recalled.
Thirteen years ago, he opened his own restaurant, Koreana in Chinatown, to accommodate what he called a "boom" in Korean tourism in the early 90s.
Over the years, he says he hasn’t experienced outright racism. But the current rise in anti-Asian racism has him worried for his grandchildren, who were born here.
“I saw the attacks on TV … they just attack anyone who are Asian,” he said.
“It's hard to understand and makes me sad. It would be very difficult for me to accept if it happened to my kids. However, I never really felt anything like that in Ottawa.”
After closing four times during the pandemic, he’s now wrestling with the possibility of retirement.
“I have been working for a long time and I'm old now,” he said, but he’s also realized that it frustrates him to stay home, as he was forced to do during the covid-19 closures.
“I'm used to working and being in the restaurant makes me happy,” he said.
The couple plans to keep going a while longer after things reopen, and then make a decision.
“I hope we can get back to sharing Korean food with the community. We have to stay healthy for that to happen.”
Mu Goong Hwa, 376 Rideau St.
Kyung Rae La, owner/chef
Kyung Rae La also knows the challenges and long hours of restaurant life.
After arriving in Canada in 1997 she worked in various Korean kitchens before opening her own restaurant, Mu Goong Hwa on Rideau Street in 2012 (she also raised two daughters here, though she jokes, "they mostly raised themselves.")
Though she starts her workday at 10 a.m. and doesn’t leave before 11 p.m., she says it’s worth it.
“This restaurant is my life in Canada. I make a living doing this and feel pride because I make and sell Korean food to non-Koreans,” she said, adding that those in the Korean community also come to eat what she calls the most authentic Korean food in the city.
In pre-pandemic days, customers often filled the space and formed a line outside to get in.
“It's a big pride when a customer tells us that we are the best. We also have long-time loyal customers who have been coming for 10 to 12 years,” she added.
La says the pandemic was difficult and the restaurant barely broke even during the third wave. But she hopes things will improve when students return in the fall.
She plans to keep the doors open five more years and is keeping an eye out for a replacement who can cook Korean food since her own children all have their own jobs and don’t have the skills to take over.
Meantime, she dreams about what she’ll do when she hangs up her apron.
She says she’s begun to forget about Korea, so her plan is to return for just the second time since moving to Canada.
“I want to stay in Korea for a couple of months and make up for the lost time and memories. I want to go to my favourite Korean singers’ concerts, visit nice places, and eat good food all over the country,” La said.
Ottawa Korean Community Church
Reverend Suk Jae Kang, pastor
Though he’s a church pastor, Suk Jae Kang can also trace the evolution of this city’s Korean community through food.
He says when he started at the church in 2009 people would ask for general information about being Korean in Ottawa, or to find foods from home. Now, their focus is more spiritual.
“They come because they are Christians and want to attend worship,” he said.
“They no longer come because they are in need of kimchi.”
The church is one of the city’s oldest for this community, opening in 1976 and later moving to the current space on Arlington near Bronson Avenue. Kang has been a pastor there for over a decade after arriving in Canada as a student in 2003.
He’s seen the community shift and grow during that time, but says the church remains the space where spirituality, community and culture come together, especially for the next generation.
“For second generation youth, [this church] is a place to form their Korean identity, meet people that look like them, share culture and language," he explained.
"You don't become Korean just because your parents tell you but by joining and belonging in the group. We are a community church, therefore helping to create a community is a big part of us.”
Kang says over the years the downtown church has broadened the community it serves, including others in need in the neighbourhood such as those from the Myanmar community and those who sponsor refugees.
“We try to make it a space for all and I feel proud when we can,” said Kang, who uses the Korean word "sarangbang" to describe it, meaning a meeting place where everyone is welcome.
“You will go to the Korean embassy for any legal matters and diplomatic issues,” Kang explained.
“For many Christian Koreans in Ottawa, [this] is an emotional embassy … Our church provides a space to meet, communicate, receive and provide consolation for the people.”
Seoul Mart Grocery, 22 Pretoria
Co-owners Sujeong Yang, David Hyun Yang, Greg Soonbum Lee
Founder Jung Yang
On the other side of the Queensway, the co-owners of a relatively new Korean grocery store also see their space as open to the community — and those wanting to learn more about the culture — even if it is also a business.
“Something [founder] Mr. Yang considers a lot is making sure to have items that Korean customers need available but doesn't necessarily have high profitability. He tries to think like a Korean customer,” explained SuJeong Yang, 26, who is the youngest co-owner of the store, which opened just three years ago.
Despite its newness, the owners say it has become one of the main destinations for Korean ingredients in this city thanks to the focus on stocking hard-to-find items.
“It's a business that helps put food on the table but we feel pride providing items the customers are looking for. Not just a mindset of selling for profit but contributing. Let's make customers who shop at our store happy,” added Greg Soonbum Lee, 46, who is also a co-owner.
Seoul Mart has its roots in a store founder Jung Yang, 61, opened in Winnipeg in 2010, and where Greg Soonbum and Yang’s son David Hyun, 32, worked. Years later, that next generation has taken on more of the operations, and say they’re proud to offer this service to their new community.
“I've had my own life elsewhere before in a different field,” said David Hyun.
“It's not about inheriting family business at al l… I'm here because life flow brought me here and there are many reasons.”
Though they’ve only been open a few years, the owners say they’ve noticed a change with more non-Korean customers coming in to try new flavours.
“Because we are Korean we can answer their questions on Korean food. I feel proud and it makes me want to work harder,” said SuJeong, who has started recipes on the store’s Instagram for these newer customers.
“She is responsible for explaining Korean food to non-Korean customers … After that the customer comes back saying the Korean food was very delicious. If they tried 'A', then they try 'B' next," added Greg Soonbum, who says they see the store and its food as a way to introduce Korean culture to the city.
Their hope is to grow and sell a bigger selection of products like those offered in larger Toronto grocery stores.
For the three, it’s important the store remain a welcoming space where both Korean-Canadians in Ottawa and those getting to know the culture feel ownership.
“There's many connections, not only just Korean tourists and Korean residents of Ottawa, but someone with a Korean friend, someone who has been to Korea. Many who know about Korea seems to come visit at least once,” said Sujeong.
James Park is a freelance photojournalist based in Ottawa. His work has appeared in the Ottawa Citizen, The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, Maclean's, and Bloomberg among other publications.
Watch Adrian Harewood's interview with James Park on CBC television's Our Ottawa program by clicking here.