Park’s family moved to the United States from Korea when he was three, and he grew up in San Francisco’s Sunset neighborhood, not far from where Kothai Republic stands today. Just around the block was his parents’ small liquor store, which is now a bookstore and coffee shop. Self-taught and drawn to restaurant life from an early age, Park often worked as a busser or server. He remembers being taken to dinner by teammates and discovering the riches of San Francisco’s dining scene little by little. “At my household, all we’d eat was rice bowls with kimchi,” he says. “Being really young, I couldn't really understand why people paid so much for food, but then you go out and fall in love with a really good piece of pork.”
At Kothai Republic, Park channels his fascination with local flavors and the magic of cooking with gusto. He is not afraid to recreate a dish he tried elsewhere with his own twist or attempt a viral recipe he saw on YouTube. At the heart of his passion for running the restaurant is the reaction from guests. “[When you set down the food and they start] nodding their heads…that feeling is indescribable.”
In both his cooking and hospitality, Park draws inspiration from his late mother. “She was an angel on earth, who cared for the homeless and had compassion for people,” he says. Another influence is one of San Francisco’s better-known chefs, Chris Cosentino, whom Park watched on television during his early days in the industry. “When we first opened, he came to the restaurant and tried to be obscure, but I spotted him,” he says with glee. Since opening Kothai Republic in 2022, Park has focused on building recognition and longevity for the restaurant, much like his role model. “I hope that one day people would say they were proud for the restaurant to be a part of the city,” he says.
