Song Jeong-hoon, known as the God of Cupbap, shed tears while reminiscing about the early days of his business.
On the afternoon of the 13th, KBS2's entertainment program 'The Boss's Ears are Donkey Ears' (hereafter 'Sadangui') featured Lee Soon-sil and boss Song Jeong-hoon revealing their daily lives in turn.
On this day’s broadcast, Lee Soon-sil's team appeared as the first boss. Lee Soon-sil visited an omakase restaurant to learn how to prepare a course meal.
The omakase chef, noticing that Lee Soon-sil was only eating throughout the training, remarked, "You are cooking, right? It seems like you came here to play." Lee Soon-sil expressed her displeasure in an interview, saying, "She has a strong aura. She seems to be trying to take my energy. It felt like she was suffocating me with her gaze, which was quite unpleasant."
The omakase restaurant, which has a separate main location, stated, "This place only gets 1,000 customers during lunch. The food is only served here. There is a soul in the food."
When Lee Soon-sil said, "Are you doing this for the broadcast? I'm already doing it," the omakase chef countered, "I'm planning to do a food-related program too. I'm also doing it." Later, when Lee Soon-sil boasted about her connections with famous people like Nam Hee-seok and Lee Kyung-kyu, the chef interrupted, saying, "Aren't you here to learn, not to compete?"
Afterward, Lee Soon-sil got to eat the omakase's food like a customer. She insisted, "Sister, please give me the whole abalone. I don't care about it being sliced; just give it to me whole." As others looked on, the omakase chef said, "I have an extra one today, so I'm giving it to you," and handed over a whole abalone.
Even when other dishes were served, Lee Soon-sil kept asking for "one more abalone," to which the omakase chef firmly replied, "You came here to learn omakase from me today. If you eat everything now, you won't be able to enjoy the food coming out later."
As dishes like bossam, whelk, and scallops were served in succession, Lee Soon-sil showed excessive affection by mixing bibimbap with her gloved hands for the table next to her.
When the one-hour omakase course ended, Lee Soon-sil said, "The omakase chef hasn't eaten yet. So I prepared North Korean food for her," serving a course meal that included corn rice cakes, glutinous rice sausage, bean curd, North Korean kimchi, and nurungji soup.
However, the omakase chef criticized the limited variety of dishes for a course meal and began a lecture on grilled kimchi. Lee Soon-sil showed determination, saying, "The omakase chef taught me a lot of dishes, but my style is different, so I'm going for a North Korean style."
The second boss to appear was Song Jeong-hoon, the God of Cupbap. Meeting a close acquaintance, he said, "Today, I'm going to have a new menu competition with the chef," calling in Lim Jong-bin, the only chef for cupbap. While Song Jeong-hoon chose seasoned chicken, Lim Jong-bin decided to cook artichoke spicy beef soup with tomato.
Judges tasting Song Jeong-hoon's seasoned chicken praised it, saying, "Why is the skin so crispy and delicious?" and "At this point, it should be soggy, right?" Those who tasted the artichoke spicy beef soup exclaimed, "The soup is really delicious!" and "There's depth to the flavor." Song Jeong-hoon's business partner, Deok-eun, remarked, "I wanted more chicken, but it was too tough," and switched his preference to the soup. Ultimately, Chef Lim Jong-bin won with a score of 3 to 2.
On another day, Song Jeong-hoon visited the Utah State Capitol with his employees. He explained, "I wanted to expand my business more. I hold a Bapsim Festival once a year. Two years ago, during the 10th anniversary event, 20,000 people attended. Now, I hope the Utah government can help us."
After a successful meeting with a senator, Song Jeong-hoon arrived at the location where his cupbap journey began. However, upon arrival, he couldn't help but cry. He said, "It's been about 3 or 4 years since I left this place. It's a special location. It brings back memories and feels nostalgic. While customers are the best, the true best in our company is the employees," showing a mix of emotions.
While looking around the building, Song Jeong-hoon made a surprising remark, "A shooting happened here! Someone shot and ran away." He continued, "There were really many troubles. There were shootings and a lot of thefts. On weekends, I couldn't deposit money. An employee who knew that came with bad friends and took all the hidden money and even the camera... It was about 50 million won, and they took it all," he recounted. He added, "There were more joyful moments, but because of those incidents, it feels even more intense," reflecting on the past.
Song Jeong-hoon also met with a family who helped him without receiving rent for six months.
His business partner, Deok-eun, said, "I started with him in 2019, and then COVID-19 hit. Sales dropped by 50%," indicating the crisis they faced. However, by implementing delivery services, they managed to increase sales by 200% instead.
Song Jeong-hoon mentioned that he faced a third crisis, almost losing the company he had built over nine years overnight. He explained, "I started with my idea, and I divided the shares 33.3% with three acquaintances. When the youngest partner left, the shares went to someone else, and those people said they would cut me off..." He added, "There should be a reason to cut someone off. They claimed I hit and cursed at employees, but my employees said that never happened," trailing off.
His wife and employee, Kim Ye-ri, said, "My husband suffered a lot and had quite severe depression and panic disorder. One day, he asked our daughter, 'Should I quit cupbap?' and she replied, 'Dad, you always tell me to stick with something until the end, so why are you telling yourself to give up?'" Song Jeong-hoon stated, "From that moment, I thought I had to hold on!" and revealed that he participated in the investment program 'Shark Tank' to rise again.
‘Sadangui’ airs every Sunday at 4:45 PM on KBS2.
[Seo Ye-ji, Star Today Guest Reporter]
