Just don't ask for 'jajangmyeon'

Stir-fried egg plant

For authentic Chinese food, find restaurants run by ‘Joseonjok’

By Kim Young-jin

In the lunch hour, Chinese restaurants near Kyung Hee University, eastern Seoul, fill with chattering students. They bend over bowls of “jajangmyeon” — wheat noodles covered with sauteed black bean sauce — and other dishes localized for the Korean palate.

Down a small alley, however, one restaurant doesn’t serve jajangmyeon. Instead, a picture menu on the wall displays more than a dozen stir-fry dishes, which, outside Korea, are associated with Chinese cooking.

The restaurant, called Giri, caters to the university’s Chinese student population, offering authentic food at affordable prices. Groups share dishes such as julienned pork with greens, stir fried shrimp with bok choy, or plates piled with lamb and scallions.

Tofu-wrapped pork

Cho Yong-hae, owner of Giri

“Ninety percent of our business comes from Chinese students,” said owner Cho Yong-hae, an ethnic Korean from Harbin, China. He migrated to Seoul to run the business a few years ago. “They come here for familiar food. And it’s cheap.”

Cho and other ethnic Koreans from China, called “Joseonjok,” are capitalizing on the influx of Chinese migrants and students arriving to Korea. Down the road near Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS), Waedae Lamb Skewers — a hot weekend destination for international students — serves the mutton kebabs popular in northern China.

Such businesses, located near universities or neighborhoods with a high concentration of Chinese, not only fill a culinary void but also tell the often-difficult stories of their Joseonjok owners.

The diversity of Chinese food here underscores the turbulent migration patterns of the region. Ironically,

restaurants owned by ethnic Chinese

, or “hwagyo,” serve localized dishes such as jajangmyeon and the fiery noodle soup “jjamppong.” Joseonjok offer authentic cuisine, but neither group feels accepted by the larger society.

Most Joseonjok descended from Korean migrants who crossed the border into China between the 1860s and 1940s, either fleeing famine or Japanese colonial rule. Most settled in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in southeastern Jilin Province. They began migrating back after Beijing embarked on an opening policy, and in particular when Seoul and Beijing established diplomatic ties in 1978. Chinese communities have sprouted in Seoul, such as the one near Daerim Station in the southwest.

Mutton kebabs

Another example is a street near Konkuk University, dubbed “China Street,” where Chinese signboards mix with the lively leisure district.

The community began to form a decade ago when a large numbers of Chinese migrants landed sewing jobs in nearby factories. The demographic has changed given a recent boom of students; now cell phone shops and markets are advertised in Chinese.

Choi Ji-yeon arrived there from Yanbian in 2000 and opened her restaurant, Yerim. She believes that despite earlier hardships, living conditions have slowly improved.

“Back in the 1990s, it was harder. If you worked for a Korean company, your wage would be smaller than Koreans. That’s still the case, but now because there are more and more people from other countries coming, Koreans’ attitudes towards foreigners are changing,” she said.

Such a shift may be behind the success of Choi’s restaurant, which attracts Korean and Chinese people. Kim barbecues the lamb outside, and the meat stays warm on griddles at each table.

Another specialty is a dish similar to “mu-shu” pork. A plate of pork, smothered in a tangy brown sauce, is served alongside carrots, cucumbers, scallions and cilantro; diners wrap the ingredients in thin, chewy wraps made of tofu.

Success stories such as Kim’s, however, are rare. One restaurant owner near HUFS, who requested anonymity, also counted himself among the lucky.

“Most Joseonjok work in ‘3D jobs’ — dangerous, dirty and difficult,” he said. “There are also problems with visas.” Joseonjok receive shorter visas than ethnic Koreans from wealthier countries such as the United States or Japan.

Others say they face stereotypes, especially when high-profile crimes, including murders, involving ethnic Chinese make the headlines.

It remains to be seen whether the situation will improve for Joseonjok because Korea, facing a demographic crisis due to a rapidly-aging society, struggles to come to grips with multiculturalism.

When it comes to food however, at least one Chinese student eating at Giri near Kyung Hee University was all for the availability of authentic food.

“I do like jajangmyeon, even though it’s different from back home,” she said, declining to be named. “But I come here when I want to get a taste of home.”

To find Giri (02-965-5288), walk away from Kyung Hee’s front gate and turn left down a small alley. It is located above the restaurant Biya. Waedae Lamb Skewers (02-959-6977) is located near Hankuk University of Foreign Studies Station, exit 1. Yerim (02-463-0325) is accessible from Konkuk University Station, exit 6. Take the first left and walk 200 meters. Take a right at the Tomato convenience store.