Min Cook Barbeque: An Interview with Kang Woong-min

By Jana Milosavljevic

Southern-style American barbeque lovers – fear not! Min Cook Barbeque can be found in two locations in Gwangju: Kumho-dong and recently also in a new location in downtown on Chungjang-ro.

What was supposed to be just a regular Tuesday lunch with the Gwangju News team at a newly opened place near the office that we did not know a lot about turned into a two-hour talk with the restaurant’s kind owner, Min, a Gwangju News restaurant review, and an interview because we could not possibly keep this gem of an appetizing discovery only to ourselves.

The moment one steps into the spacious, secondfloor dining area feels like an instant teleport to the US, as the interior is carefully decorated with bits and pieces the owner himself gathered during his 65 days and 10,500-mile-long bucket list camping car trip across America and brought back to Korea, with a somewhat bigger dream of bringing and sharing a special taste of the American south with everyone in Gwangju.

The fact that we arrived to the minute right at the opening time as the first customers, combined with the owner’s remarkable hospitality and readiness to reply to each and every one of our curious “What is this?” questions, led us to learn not only a bit about his personal journey as a cook, but also a lot about the meat he prepares at Min Cook Barbeque.

The food at Min Cook Barbeque can be easily ordered by using a tablet located on each of the tables. At the time, the tablet ordering systems are only available in one language – Korean – but you can ask for an

▲ Kang Woong-min

English-language menu separately, or ask the owner for recommendations directly, as he is fluent in English and usually bustling around between the kitchen and tables, making sure that everyone is satisfied with the taste.

The main dish on Min Cook Barbeque’s menu is, of course, barbeque. Not just any kind of barbeque, I may say, but the most delicious, mouth-watering barbeque you will have tasted in a while. The menu consists of four main types of meat – pulled pork, pork belly, brisket, and ribs, and the combinations of the meats on your dish depends on, of course, your preference, as well as on the size of the platter you might need. The four of us chose a “Large Platter”

▲ A large platter set menu.

meal, and it was a perfect match, since we chose to try out all four types of meat, and it was quite a filling portion for four hungry ladies’ lunch.

Now, the best part about Min Cook Barbeque is that it is actually eaten in a burger, and the unique part of Min Cook Barbeque’s experience is that you make your burger yourself. That is right – all the ingredients for a yummy barbeque burger are placed right in front of you, and there is no need for phrases like “Remove the onion, please” or “Could I get some extra salad?” because you are creating your own burger, to your taste, right before your eyes. The experience is enriched with a flavorsome side of crispy French fries sprinkled with a bit of paprika seasoning.

Curious as we are, we asked the owner to show us how to make the tastiest burgers (you can find our actual step-by-step guide on how to do so below!), to which he replied that the secret is very simple – just put a lot of meat inside and top it with the special homemade Min Cook sauce!

Looking at the photos now and very vividly remembering how the smoky smell of barbeque was tempting us from the moment the chef put the platter in front of us, I am still not sure what force in the universe gave us the ‘patience of steel’ to take the photos before digging into our feast. Needles to say, from the moment each of us had our first bite of the burgers, there were no more curious questions – just the delightful sound of chewing and all kinds of onomatopoeia reflecting just one word: tasty.

As I was enjoying my second burger, by that time already saying out loud “This is so tasty!” in as many languages as I could remember, I clearly recall that when I suddenly became worried over eventually running out of languages to praise the taste of the food, one of my partners in crime sitting right next to me just said, and I quote: “It’s easy – saying ‘tasty’ in any language – it’s just simply: Min Cook Barbeque!”

Possibly touched by our words of praise for the food, but also, I believe, wanting to present with pride his most precious possessions, the actual tools that made our taste buds dance together with his amazing cooking skills, owner Min decided to let us have a sneak-peak into his kitchen. He showed us the stateof-the-art smoking machines, as well as the special brand of wood pellets he imports straight from the US that he uses for achieving the original Min Cook Barbeque taste. And right there and then, after the short tour of the kitchen and when our tummies were quietly singing with joy following an amazing meal, is where our interview started.

Gwangju News (GN): Thank you for taking the time for this interview and for the warm welcome – the food was delicious. Could you please briefly introduce yourself? Kang Woong-min: Hello, my name is Woong-min Kang. I graduated with a degree in computer science at the University of Memphis in the US. During my university years, I enjoyed Southern-style barbeque at the very famous Corky's BBQ – undoubtedly the best barbecue restaurant in Memphis that even politicians and famous people visit whenever they are in the area! So, honestly speaking, ever since that time, I had dreamed of opening my own barbeque shop in the future. However, I did not have much experience, and I had no opportunity at that time. GN: And here you are today! Which brings us to my next question: How did you come to the idea to start Min Cook Barbeque? Kang Woong-min: Actually, the idea to make the real original American style barbeque restaurant

▲ The restaurant interior

came to me for the first time about 5–6 years ago. Even though I was a foreigner in America and not accustomed to the food taste, whenever I used to go eat barbeque, the taste felt familiar. Then in 2019, due to my wife’s work, our whole family went to the US for a year, which is when my dream of owning my own barbeque restaurant and the fact that I knew nothing about preparing barbeque myself came back to me. So, I attended a semester of a barbeque expert course at the University of Que, where they taught me all I needed to know, including how to use fire, how to smoke things, and how to make the meat very tender.

GN: Well, they taught you very well. The meat was so soft it was melting in my mouth! Kang Woong-min: Thank you, I am so glad you enjoyed the taste.

GN: Coming back to the story about Min Cook Barbeque, what would you say is special about it, something that sets it apart from other restaurants? Kang Woong-min: What sets Min Cook Barbeque apart, for sure, is that I use the same grilling technique that is used in America. When most Korean people think about barbeque, they think of direct grilling, you know, camping, putting meat directly on fire. What I have learned in the States is indirect grilling – smoking, using low temperatures, boiling, and other special techniques like with water pans and such. I actually prepare the meat overnight. The whole process takes about 16 hours, out of which around 8–10 hours is smoking, then I put it in the oven. Another big difference with Min Cook Barbeque is that while everyone simply puts the sauce on the meat after it is done and serves it to the customers, I put on the sauce and then grill it all over again so that the meat is really juicy and tender.

GN: I have honestly never heard of such a long process of preparing barbeque. I see you are doing an amazing job, but as with leading any other business, there is bound to be some difficulties along the way. Would you mind sharing if you have had any rough patches along the way and how you have overcome them? Kang Woong-min: Actually, I am trying to overcome some right now. It seems to me that Gwangju is still not familiar with this type of American-style barbeque like some other big cities in Korea, so they seem hesitant to try it. I hope to introduce this unique taste to everyone in Gwangju with reasonable prices so that everyone can enjoy it. I think the key to overcome this is simple – just keep doing my best!

GN: Please do! I am sure that everyone who visits Min Cook Barbeque once keeps coming back. Speaking of visitors, who is your usual clientele at Min Cook Barbeque? Kang Woong-min: Mostly the young generation – Koreans, Americans, and other international visitors. I actually never advertised a lot, but those who come spread the word to their friends, so the customer numbers always kept growing. Finally, I decided to open a second shop here in Chungjang-ro, as it is somewhat the heart of Gwangju, where many tourists also visit.

▲ Wall decorations which were part of Min's collections in the U.S, were brought back to Korea.

GN: So, for our Gwangju News readers who might visit for the first time after reading the article, what would you recommend as a must-try item? Kang Woong-min: The ‘must-try item’ is definitely the pulled pork – it is unlike anything you have tried before. My pulled pork was voted the tastiest by visitors at a barbeque festival in Atlanta, Georgia. After we graduated from the barbeque academy, we actually went as staff to this festival, where many big restaurants had their booths, but since the big restaurants could not cover all the booths, we also tried grilling a bit, more like testing our skills fresh out of school. And believe it or not, the people choose my pulled pork as number one! This is exactly what gave me the confidence to actually go through with my barbeque restaurant dream at that time.

GN: That is amazing! Congratulations! Before we wrap up, is there anything you would like to tell our Gwangju News readers? Kang Woong-min: I am sure that among Gwangju News readers there will be those who are very familiar with how America’s southern-style barbeque tastes. If you miss that taste, I assure you, I will try my best to serve you that authentic taste again at Min Cook Barbeque. For those among the readers who are still not familiar with the taste but remain curious, I invite you to come and experience the unique American barbeque taste from the south. I really hope that Min Cook Barbeque will not only be a place for eating, but also a place for meeting, where people from different cultures come to spend their time together and enjoy the taste as a part of American culture.

Photographs by Gaukhar Akhmetzhanova.

Jana Milosavljevic was born and raised in Serbia. She currently lives and works in Gwangju as a GIC coordinator. She loves exploring new places, learning about new cultures, and meeting new people. If you are up for a chat, she can talk to you in Serbian, English, Korean, Japanese, or German.

Min Cook Barbeque (민쿡바베큐)

19, Jungang-ro 160beon-gil, Dong-gu, Gwangju 광주 동구 중앙로160번길 19 2층 (Downtown branch) 8-2, Geumbu-ro 103beon-gil, Seo-gu, Gwangju

광주 서구 금부로103번길 8-2 11:30–21:30 (daily, last order: 21:00) 070-7806-2580 mincookbbq

1. Start with a salad base and some pickles, if you like. 2. Add meat and the special 'Min Cook Sauce', and don't hold back, put as much as you like! 3. Top it off with some more veggies. 4. And, voila! Your own handmade 'Min Cook Burger' is ready to be savoured!