Korean restaurant in Christchurch

Citation

Dana, T.E. (2003), "Korean restaurant in Christchurch", British Food Journal, Vol. 105 No. 1/2. https://doi.org/10.1108/bfj.2003.070105aab.005

Korean restaurant in Christchurch

Situation summary

In the central business district of Christchurch, a small eating establishment was serving traditional Korean food. The small business was owned and operated by Mrs Han, an immigrant from South Korea, who had acquired it in 1997 and for four years enjoyed growing success. Unexpectedly, the owner of the building sent an eviction notice, forcing her to set up elsewhere – with only a one-month notice. The restaurant was quickly re-located, just a block away, but in an area with less pedestrian traffic. The new site was bigger in terms of floor space, but lacked direct access to the tourist traffic that used to flow by way of her first store. In addition to the re-location of her primary restaurant, Mrs Han had recently signed a lease to start up a second restaurant. Bewildered by the events of recent months, she was faced with many decisions to make with regard to both her establishments.

Mrs Han

Mrs Han left South Korea, with her son, and immigrated to New Zealand, in February 1995. Her husband stayed in Korea to earn enough money to them in New Zealand. Upon arrival, Mrs Han invited a Korean student, the same age as her son, to stay with them as part of the home-stay programme whereby families provide a room and daily meals for a small fee. Her son's friends and the border all agreed that her cooking was superb and there was nothing like it in Christchurch. She laughed when they told her this, but appreciated the compliments. Initially, she did not think that she could make a business out of her love for cooking Korean food, but an opportunity knocked and Mrs Han opened the door with great enthusiasm.

The Korean community

Since 1996, more than 2,000 Koreans have immigrated to Christchurch. Koreans choose New Zealand, as it is known for its relatively easier and laid-back lifestyle compared to that presently found in Korea, especially for youth. In addition to the families who immigrate to New Zealand, a considerable number of students from Korea enrol in the polytechnics and universities; they live with families or on their own.

In Korea, high school students must study an average of 14 hours a day just to earn mediocre grades. Students are often stressed and many find it very difficult to cope. For parents, who have the means, sending their children abroad, is a very interesting option. As a result, many Korean families leave their country so that their children can study in Australia, Canada, England, New Zealand or the USA. Parents must therefore find a means of earning money to support their children, as well as themselves, in these new countries. Many choose to be entrepreneurs by either buying a business or starting one up.

In Christchurch, some recently arrived Koreans opted to drive taxis, which involves a low initial investment. Others, with more capital, chose to open beauty salons, travel agencies, and Internet cafes. The most popular sector for investment, however, has been in the food industry, because "everyone must eat". A number of Koreans opened Korean food warehouses; others bought farms close to the city and planted common Korean vegetables and sold them locally. One of the more popular options, for many, was to buy the corner dairy and offer convenience food items in the neighbourhood.

At present, there are 12 Korean restaurants operating in the central business district of Christchurch; three new restaurants opened in 2001. Although the Korean restaurant industry has a low market share, there is evidence that it is entering a relatively high growth stage.

Christchurch

Christchurch is the third largest city in New Zealand with a population of more than 325,000 people. It is the main city on the South Island and its airport hosts over 800,000 international tourists annually. Known as the "Garden City", Christchurch offers a wide range of opportunities in high-tech manufacturing, agriculture, food processing and service sectors, particularly in tourism and education. The city is increasingly becoming more international as many people from around the world are choosing to settle here. As New Zealand becomes increasingly multi-cultural, its people are starting to become more adventurous in experimenting with new and somewhat exotic foods. New Zealanders themselves are travelling more and therefore willing to try new things.

Christchurch is home to two universities, two polytechnics and the College of Education, all of which host a number of Korean students, who miss their native food and appreciate going to Korean restaurants to satisfy their palates. They bring their friends, who then start to appreciate this type of cuisine. Korean food is quite a unique dining experience for the Western-trained palate, as it can be quite spicy.

The restaurant

In March 1997, the Korean restaurant, Jako, was not yielding a satisfactory return on investment and so its owner decided to sell the business. The news of the sale reached Mrs Han who got to thinking that it might be a good opportunity for her since she loved cooking and since many of her friends had been suggesting that she sell her food. The fact that the Jako restaurant was a Korean restaurant was good inasmuch as it had all the necessary equipment with which to cook Korean food. Why it was not doing well was a bit of a concern, but Mrs Han had her own suspicions. The location of the restaurant was very central and next to a busy pedestrian traffic mall. Directly in front were a number of parking places. Across the street, two popular hotels hosted a variety of international visitors.

Mrs Han consulted her husband in Korea and they agreed that buying the Jako Restaurant would be a good starting point to lay the foundation of a family restaurant that was attractive to both Koreans as well as to others who wanted to try Korean food. After considerable negotiations, the restaurant was purchased and Mrs Han embarked on starting a business based on what she had always loved doing – cooking. As she had no prior experience in owning or operating a restaurant, Mrs Han had to go through a fast learning curve. She initially asked her son, who was taking management classes at the University of Canterbury, to do some research for her. He looked into the regulation and licence requirements in order to operate a restaurant.

Initially, Mrs Han had a hard time getting the business off the ground. She began by changing the name from Jako to the Woori Restaurant, meaning "Our Restaurant" in Korean. The menu was limited at first, but gradually new dishes were added. Customers made suggestions and Mrs Han was only too willing to comply. At the time of opening, competition started to heat up and "extras" became important. The side dishes – a small sampling of bean sprouts, fish cake, kimchi (essentially pickled cabbage, similar to but stronger than European sauerkraut) and marinated potatoes – which were initially charged, were included in the price of the meal. Tea was also served gratis.

Gradually, the Woori Restaurant earned a good reputation for its excellent food quality and was highly praised by the local Korean community. In May 2001, the restaurant was featured in The Press, the newspaper with the largest circulation on the South Island. The reporter described Woori as: "not a place where the food has been adapted to the Kiwi palate. Instead, there are so many unknown ingredients and surprises involved that eating is more an experience than a mere meal."

Perhaps the biggest strength for Mrs Han's restaurant is that she has a very loyal customer base, consisting of people with whom she developed a special relationship. She knows what her regulars like and adapts the seasonings to suit each person's taste buds. Overseas Korean students go to Woori mainly for the homemade taste of the food, especially for kimchi.

The menu is written in English and in Korean, which is not the case at other Korean restaurants. Also available is a photo album with pictures of each menu item and a description of the ingredients, in English. Items include, mul-nengmyon (cold buckwheat noodle soup garnished with pickled radish, cucumber, pear, two slices of boiled beef, and a boiled egg in clear beef soup), kimchi-zzigae (a spicy kimchi soup), bibim-bab (assorted vegetables, beef, and a soft-fried egg served on top of rice in a hot earthen bowl), to name a few. Dishes averaged about NZ$10 each, equivalent to US$4.50 at the time. About two fifths of her customers were ethnic Korean.

After the initial difficulties, business grew at an even pace for almost four years and there was a steady influx of customers. However, early in 2001, Mrs Han received orders from Westpac Trust, the owner of the building, to vacate the premises. Having only one month to pack-up, Mrs Han was in shock. It would take some time to find another suitable location and also time to move all the equipment. With the help of her son, she found another place nearby. Unfortunately, the new site was not as good as the first one; however, it was more spacious. There is far less parking space and pedestrian traffic is not as abundant in front of the new shop as it was in the first location. In the haste of moving, which kept her out of business for two months, she had not taken the time to inform her customers of the new location.

Competition is increasing in the area and not just by other Korean restaurants. Curious customers are willing to try anything new, be it Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Korean or Thai cuisine. Yet, they are not willing to walk too far to make their meal decisions. Customers have a choice of a wide range of restaurants in downtown Christchurch, many of which have liquor licenses and smoking areas – two things that Woori does not offer. Mrs Han has invested in creating a large colourful outdoor sign and has displayed photos of all her dishes in the window. She needs to figure out new ways to attract clients to her restaurants as sales have dropped over 20 percent since the relocation.

Another restaurant?

Mrs Han has just signed a lease for another site, which she feels is a more suitable location right down the street from the present location. She hopes that her son will manage this second location upon his upcoming graduation from university. The new location has plenty of off-street parking and a more modern atmosphere. Mrs Han will need to hire a cook and decide what meals to serve and whether to open it as a Korean restaurant. She is very interested in other cuisines and, if she expanded her product offerings, the second restaurant would not compete directly with her first one. She is considering a Japanese-style sushi restaurant but is concerned about the difficulty surrounding the hiring of a Japanese chef that speaks English fluently. She would also need to buy the appropriate cutlery for the new-style restaurant and to learn everything about a different cuisine. Decisions need to be made soon as lease payments are starting. There are many options to consider; what should she do?

Teresa E. Dana University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand