It-S-OK

“I'm truly blessed. What kind of customer sends flowers just because a shop is closing? Their kindness and praise warm my heart, but running this business left me with no real friends, and I rarely stepped outside the store. Only now do I realize how lonely I’ve been” - Owner

Photography and Digital Media, 60x40 inches, Diasec Mount 2023

"Even the people who come to learn cooking get exhausted and give up. But I still stick to the traditional way." - owner

Photography and Digital Media, 30×20 inches, Diasec Mount 2023

"My grandmother used to run a daepo stall. She sold alcohol and even phone service, and that's how she bought this house. It was originally a home for war refugees. Now, after years of selling oil myself and gradually buying up one piece at a time, it's become what you see today."

Photography and Digital Media, 30×20 inches, Diasec Mount 2023

“How firmly you press when peeling squid skin — that’s what determines its freshness.That kind of sensitivity doesn’t come with average skill.I didn’t even realize that, living like this, I was ruining the nerves in my own hands.”

Photography and Digital Media, 30×20 inches, Diasec Mount 2023

"When I was little, whenever we had an important guest, my mother would place a millstone on top of a sack of soaked soybeans.
By the next day, a soft, delicate sediment had settled at the bottom.
I remember watching her turn that bean sediment into ongshimi dumplings."

Photography and Digital Media, 30×20 inches, Diasec Mount 2023

“My son—and even the younger folks—keep telling me I need to let go of my stubbornness. But I can’t help feeling that the flavors I’ve held onto all these years are too precious to lose. Maybe it really is just pride… Still, I’m beginning to see it now—this isn’t something I can fix by just holding on. It’s me who needs to change.”

Photography and Digital Media, 30×20 inches, Diasec Mount 2023

“My father-in-law’s business didn’t go well, so my mother-in-law started making dakgalbi using the skills she had. She even used to stir-fry chicken offal for customers. Now, as her daughter-in-law, I’ve taken over the restaurant and continue what she started. My husband is currently in Thailand, opening our third dakgalbi location.”

Photography and Digital Media, 30×20 inches, Diasec Mount 2023

“Pollock dies as soon as it’s caught, so eating it raw is only possible right on the boat. According to my mother-in-law, the taste is absolutely incredible. That’s why we started using frozen pollock to make our own version of myeongtae naengmyeon (cold noodles with pollock raw fish). Truth is, the idea didn’t come from my father—it was my mother’s ”

Photography and Digital Media, 30×20 inches, Diasec Mount 2023

"Makguksu [casual noodles] is supposed to be made with dongchimi broth, but I don’t like using powdered shortcuts and pretending it’s the real thing.If we’re going to do it, let’s do it right — we’ll make the broth from beef bones, like seolleongtang. It may be makguksu, but we’ll go with naengmyeon-style broth — this broth, made honestly, is the one we’ll use."

Photography and Digital Media, 30×20 inches, Diasec Mount 2023

"I was born and raised right here in this restaurant, and now I run it.
Same goes for my mom, and my grandmother too — that’s just how we’ve always lived. When we serve food, it has to be real — food that people can actually eat, not just look at."

Photography and Digital Media, 30×20 inches, Diasec Mount 2023