ABOUT ME

My name is Christina Hong and I am the founder of Seoulmates.

Alongside my family, we own three franchises in the Chicagoland area. Growing up, I remember the burdened shame of the stinky smells of Kimchi, embarrassed by my culture. I was bullied and harassed for being Asian and I battled with my identity for years.

I’ve always loved baking and cooking as a teenager (definitely began with the easy bake oven), but this journey really began in college. They say you don’t know what you have until it’s gone and I sure as hell missed all the things I took for granted; every Korean meal, cooked from scratch and made with love by my umma. I would call her to ask how she would make certain dishes, I missed all those dishes, especially stinky kimchi! So I would cook to recreate the warm feelings of love when we gathered for dinner as a family. I knew right at the end of college, when I was months away from graduating with a degree in education, that I would pay off student loans for a degree I’ll never use. I wanted a restaurant. I saved up for years as a bartender and when my parents asked me to invest in a restaurant in 2017, I definitely hesitated for a moment because well, what about my dream? What about my restaurant? But I didn’t hesitate too long, they were my parents. They sacrificed everything they knew to come to the United States for a better life for their children. So from there, we opened two more.

I moved to LA to finally open my restaurant. I spent two years during the Pandemic hosting a pop up called Bulghoagie. with such great reviews, it was time to open a home for these dishes.

So this is my story, every menu item, every dish that leaves this kitchen, is a story of my umma’s love. You will be fed like family, because that’s what Seoulmates means to us.