January 23, 2025
SEOUL – One day, a woman in her 50s dined at Youth Mungan, a small restaurant that serves only one dish, a steaming bowl of kimchi jjigae for just 3,000 won, or a little over $2. After finishing her meal, she insisted on paying for everyone’s meals that day — a total of around 100,000 won.
“It was not that big of a sum. So, I just thought, ‘What a nice gesture,'” said Catholic priest Gabriel Lee Mun-su, who runs the restaurant, during his interview with The Korea Herald.
But what struck him was what happened next.
Diners, apparently surprised and moved by the stranger’s act of goodwill, said they would do the same for others someday.
“Every single one of them said that,” Lee said, “It made me realize that the value of money truly depends on how it’s used.”
Moments like this are what make Youth Mungan special. The restaurant, which now has five locations, offers struggling young people a chance to enjoy a hot bowl of kimchi jjigae.
Restaurant Youth Mungan
How did a priest come to start a restaurant business?
The story traces back to 2015 when tragic news emerged about a young man who lived alone in a tiny “gosiwon” — cramped, closet-sized dorm — who died of starvation.
Although the tragedy saddened him, the priest did not initially feel that he was the person who needed to respond. That was until a nun, who couldn’t stop thinking about that young man’s death, made a suggestion.
“What if there was a cheap restaurant for young people, like the ones that serve seniors or the homeless?” she asked.
It could’ve been one of those ideas that sounded great but never went anywhere. But this one stuck and led Lee to start Youth Mungan.
Lee credits the Claretian Missionaries, his religious community, for planting the seed that helped him not overlook the nun’s idea.
Earlier that year, they committed to reconnecting with young people drifting away from the church.
“If it had been about helping seniors, I might’ve thought, ‘That’s a nice idea,’ and moved on,” he admitted.
“So I say God is at the center of this restaurant’s story,” Lee added.
How $2 meal became possible
Kimchi jjigae — a comforting Korean stew — isn’t exactly a luxury item, but in Seoul, a bowl with rice will cost you about 8,200 won.
So how does Youth Mungan serve it for just 3,000 won?
“When we first opened in Jeongneung, (a neighborhood in northern Seoul) we were losing about one million won a month,” Lee recalled. To cover the gap, he gave lectures and appealed for donations. It did not look like a sustainable business model back then.
The big break came when he shared his story on the popular TV show “You Quiz on the Block.”
“I figured it would help, but I didn’t expect the response to be this massive,” he said.
Donations started pouring in. Big companies like Jongga began donating kimchi, and celebrity chef Paik Jong-won stepped up with free ham for the stew.
With all the support, Lee decided it was time to expand.
“It was too much money to run just one restaurant,” he said.
Today, Youth Mungan has five locations.
Initially, Lee thought about limiting the restaurant to young people or charging higher prices for older diners to stay true to the restaurant’s original intention. But the logistics didn’t make sense, he said.
“It’s hard to check the IDs of all diners every day,” he said. “We also didn’t want the space to feel stigmatized.”
He explained that labeling oneself as a youth-only restaurant with cheap food would actually hinder young people who want to hide their poor financial status from coming into the restaurant.
Instead, Youth Mungan welcomes everyone, regardless of age or background, while charging a modest fee to maintain dignity and avoid the label of a free handout.
Why Kimchi jjigae?
Kimchi jjigae is more than food — it’s home, comfort and a little bit of nostalgia for many Koreans. But sticking to one menu item wasn’t just about feelings, Lee said.
“At first, it wasn’t a choice,” Lee said. “We didn’t have the resources to do more. But it turned out to be a blessing.”
A simple menu smoothed things over with local businesses, some of which were unhappy about the low prices.
“People don’t want to eat the same thing every day,” he explained. “By focusing solely on kimchi jjigae, we avoided interfering with their business too much. It allowed us to coexist.”
That simplicity also opened up another opportunity: hiring people with borderline intellectual functioning at Youth Mungan’s Hyehwa-dong branch in Seoul.
These individuals aren’t classified as having disabilities under Korean law, but they face significant challenges in finding work in Korean society, Lee said.
The idea came from a parent who told Lee, “We’re not asking for much. I just want kids (with borderline intellectual functioning) like mine to have a chance to contribute to society.” Lee also saw how social interaction could help these individuals build confidence and prevent isolation.
“If we had a complicated menu, it wouldn’t have worked,” he emphasized.
Now, Lee wants to expand the program to all five locations, although it might take a while to ensure the restaurants can accommodate all employees.
“There are some changes that we have to go through. For instance, many of the people with borderline intellectual functioning are afraid of fire, so we have to install induction cooktops instead of gas stoves,” he explained. “That means we also need to replace cookware as well at all our branches. We also need a program to educate our work process.”