Chef Bobby Yoon Brought Busan, South Korea To New York — and Found Food World Fame
To celebrate 50 years of ICE, we’re looking at the legacies of 50 distinguished alumni. Among them is Chef Ju Sung “Bobby” Yoon, who moved from South Korea to New York City to pursue his dream of becoming a restaurateur — and attending a culinary school that would help him make that happen.
In 2016, Chef Bobby graduated from the Institute of Culinary Education with a dual diploma in Culinary Arts and Restaurant & Culinary Management. Of this achievement, he said: “I am very proud to be part of [the] ICE community.”
Two years later, Chef Bobby applied his culinary school education to opening Yoon Haeundae Galbi, a New York City outpost of his family restaurant in Busan, South Korea (which first opened in 1964).
How It Started
The South Korean precursor to Yoon Haeundae Galbi is known for two key things: its small menu of Korean barbecue items; and its unique method of cutting short ribs. The latter was invented by Chef Bobby’s grandfather as a means of tenderizing the otherwise chewy cut of meat.
"This recipe has been in my family since before I was born,” he told Modern Luxury Magazine.
Branching Out… But Staying True To His Roots
Here in New York City — on West 36th Street in Koreatown, to be specific — Chef Bobby’s Yoon Haeundae Galbi walks the line between Korean tradition and American taste. The restaurant’s design is sleek and modern, and both the beverage and dinner menus are expansive.
Fusion, however, it is not.
“A lot of famous chefs right now in Korea think that to make Korean food more international, they need to [infuse] French style into Korean food,” Chef Bobby told Eater in 2018. “But for me, the best Korean food is…100 percent Korean food.”
A Pandemic Pivot
Chef Bobby’s greatest test as a restaurateur arrived in the form of a global pandemic. In 2020, when New York City eateries were forced to shutter due to Covid, Yoon Haeundae Galbi was just two years old.
But thanks to his culinary education, business acumen and quick thinking, Chef Bobby kept the restaurant alive. He did this by shifting his business model from communal indoor dining to open air dining and meal kits to-go. This successful pivot is made all the more remarkable when one considers that communal dining centered around an indoor grill is a hallmark of Korean barbecue.
Sunshine After the Storm
In the years since the pandemic, business has returned to “normal” for Chef Bobby.
In 2022, South Korea’s Ministry of Agriculture designated Yoon Haeundae Galbi a “Best Overseas Korean Restaurant” on account of its bringing authentic Korean culture and cuisine to the U.S.
One year later, Yoon Haeundae Galbi made the inaugural 100 Best Restaurants in New York City list published by The New York Times — and it has made this list every year since.
As the critic Pete Wells wrote in his 2021 review of the restaurant for The New York Times, “I will say that by ordering as if you were in Busan, you will get, ounce for ounce, the most impressive Korean barbecue that can be found in Koreatown.”
Never Stop Striving
After graduating from the Institute of Culinary Education, Chef Bobby used his skills to turn a celebrated family restaurant from a seaside city in South Korea into a contemporary success story in one of the world’s culinary capitals — and most competitive culinary landscapes.
In a 2024 interview with South Korea-based Mael Business Newspaper, Chef Bobby shared the secret to his success: "It may sound like a cliché, but I believe that we should never lose the beginner's mindset and keep striving.”
In that interview, Chef Bobby also shared that he has a goal to expand Yoon Haeundae Galbi and bring good Korean food to cities across the country. Here at ICE, we can’t wait to see where he goes next.
* Experience varies by student, with outcomes contingent on factors including graduate aptitude, job market, place of residence and work history, among others.
