Hae Wha Pak is the owner of Kunjip, an always-packed, authentic Korean restaurant “full of fabulously fiery food,” which opened in 2001 to great reviews. Prior to Kunjip, she owned a deli and worked at two other Korean restaurants as a manager and waitress after immigrating to the U.S. in 1989. She is well known to visitors of K-Town and has been involved in its rich history for over two decades now. She got her entrepreneurial start in Korea, where she owned and managed two restaurants.

Christina Jang established herself as one of the next generation of K-Town restaurant owners when she successfully bought an old K-Town restaurant, revitalizing its image and menu before reopening in 2009 as the New Wonjo. Although there are more than 100 dishes on the menu, Wonjo, open 24 hours a day, is justifiably famous for its barbeque cooked over hot coals. Prior to owning her own restaurant, Ms. Jang worked at Kunjip for almost ten years. Ms Jang has a BFA from Chung-Ang University, a BA from Fashion Institute of Technology, and a MBA from Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business.

Jinbae Park, Ph.D., currently teaches aspiring designers as a professor of Interior Design at Fashion Institute of Technology, while continuing his work as an independent interior designer and a restaurateur. Combining his food and interior design backgrounds, Park has completed numerous up-scale restaurant projects, most notably “Le Club de Vin,” “Min's Club,” “Jungle Jim Bar & Grill,” and “FRAME gourmet eatery.” He is a consultant to businesses in the field of design, marketing, and hospitality management, and currently is a consultant to the Korean Cuisine Globalization Committee. Park has authored multiple books on design and has been a frequent contributor to design periodicals and magazines. Dr. Park has a B.A. in Economics from Yonsei University, a M.S. in Interior Design from Pratt Institute, and a doctoral degree in Architecture from Yonsei University.

Culinary programs are generously sponsored by SK

Elaine Louie is a staff member of the New York Times who writes for the Dining, Home and Styles sections of the paper.  She won the 1995 James Beard Journalism Award for a series of stories on ethnic foods, including Korean, in New York City, that was published in the Times.   She is the author or co-author of fifteen books on food, entertaining and design.  She is the author of The Occasional Vegetarian (Hyperion, 2011), and Savoir Fare: Stylish Dining for Under $25 (The Little Bookroom, 2008), and is the co-author of The Shun Lee Cookbook (Harper Collins, 2007)