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Boston Globe

East Village restaurateur Jae Lee brings Korean gastropub Nowon to the Seaport, with juicy burgers and 1990s hip-hop

Tell me a little bit about Nowon. Nowon is a Korean American gastropub, or pocha. I hate to use the word 'fusion' because my old boss used to say, 'fusion is confusion.' But you're going to find American dishes like burgers and fried chicken, done so with Korean flavors. Get Winter Soup Club A six-week series featuring soup recipes and cozy vibes, plus side dishes and toppings, to get us all through the winter. Enter Email Sign Up Why open in Boston? I opened the first location in Lower Manhattan, or specifically the East Village of New York City, in 2019. Then, I opened up in Bushwick, Brooklyn, in 2023. This opportunity in Boston came about with a restaurant group here who wanted to add a Korean restaurant to their portfolio [Flying Lion Hospitality]. They operate restaurants in Boston, such as Madras Dosa in the Seaport. They had an Indian American restaurant in the East Village, in the same neighborhood as my restaurant. We became good friends. I lived on the same block, so I would go to their restaurant, and they would come to my restaurant. When they were looking at new opportunities in Seaport, they realized that there were no Korean restaurants here, and they were very interested in [opening] a Korean concept, so we started to make something happen. Advertisement I came to check out [the Seaport], and I fell in love. I'd been here two years ago, and couldn't believe it — it had been so developed. There was a lot of energy. I could just tell: In places like the Seaport, you need good food, and you need places where people can go after work. I'm living in New York, but I'm going to be coming here frequently to help develop the menu, to check on the staff, to say hello to our guests, to make sure that we're blending in and that we're becoming what Seaport needs us to be. Did you love to cook growing up? I was born in South Korea. I moved here when I was 8 years old and lived in Queens and on Long Island, and what's really interesting is that I didn't like cooking at all when I was growing up. My mom is an incredible chef. My grandma on my mom's side owned a very famous local restaurant in Korea. My mom grew up cooking in restaurants since she was a little girl. She had a love of cooking, and I think eventually I realized that I had a knack for it as well. Sometimes, you don't know you have a gift for something, you don't know if you're passionate about something, until you try it. Advertisement I started cooking right when I got into college, because I wanted to move out of my parents' house in the suburbs. I got accepted to Hunter College in Manhattan, on the Upper East Side. I told my dad I wanted to move out and be closer to college. I'm the oldest son. My dad said, 'If you want to move out, you can do that, but you have to get a job, pay your own rent, and we'll take care of your college tuition.' I told him I didn't know where to find a job, and he said: 'Don't worry. I got you a job already.' It was at a ramen shop in the East Village. He's a carpenter, so he's built a lot of restaurants' interiors. His friend owned the restaurant. I take it you enjoyed the work. I fell in love. I knew it was the job for me when time would just fly by. There were no boring moments. There was always something to do: the teamwork, the hard work, seeing the smiling faces of our guests who came in. It was just the best feeling, and I was the youngest cook. The older staff would always look out after me and teach me. That's when I decided I wanted to be a chef. What's the biggest lesson you learned on the job? You can't fake hard work. That means you show up on time or early. You work together as a team. You have to clean toward the end. There's no easy way to clean: You have to lift heavy things, big pots of broth and boxes of noodles. You just have to do it — there's no way around it. Advertisement Ultimately you launched a pop-up. The pop-up wasn't doing well in the beginning, but within a few months, a food writer from Gothamist secretly came in three times and wrote an article saying I was serving one of the best New York City burgers. I'd added a Korean flair to it, with homemade kimchi. It was a smash burger, juicy. … I had been selling about five or 10 burgers a night. The article came out, and I was selling hundreds a day, and it just didn't stop. I realized it was time for me to open up a restaurant in the neighborhood. What will be special about your Boston menu? Even though it's the same restaurant, it can't be exactly the same in different cities. Every city is going to have its own needs. For example, here in Boston, we're going to be opening up at lunch, and we don't do that in New York City. We're going to be doing lots of corporate catering and late nights here. Whatever the neighborhood needs, that's my job. We want to work with local fish purveyors and see what we can put on year-round. We don't exactly know what that's like yet. For example, the market price for lobster is just insane. I went to one local restaurant, and the lobster roll was $69. We want to serve our own version of clam chowder: a little spicy, savory, umami-driven. At lunch, we're going to get a little creative in the sense that we'll do something we're not doing in New York: rice bowls and healthy options, like our version of avocado toast. We want to serve things that are familiar to you, done well and delicious. Advertisement How would you compare the Boston and New York food scenes? I don't think it's as saturated as New York City. In New York City, you'll find four Italian restaurants in a 1,000-foot radius, maybe more. And, you know, the Seaport is so new. We're the first Korean spot in the Seaport, I think. It's interesting — not exactly the same — but we had David Chang's fried chicken place, , in the Seaport, and it didn't last. I'm not telling you to watch out, but: What do you think will make Nowon endure? What's the secret? I tell my team that having a good restaurant is not rocket science. It's great hospitality, great food, great energy, and a memorable experience. That's really it. Those are the four philosophies. When it comes to the brand identity, it needs to be meaningful. There needs to be cohesiveness. We're a Korean spot; it needs to be Korean-inspired. If I start having a bunch of non-Korean dishes on the menu, it just wouldn't make sense anymore. I would lose identity. We're still a young restaurant that's trying to figure it out. But what I'm learning about identity is to keep it simple, train the team, and drive the same energy, no matter where you are. Which restaurants do you enjoy up here? Actually, I ate at Advertisement I know that there's a really distinctive soundtrack in the New York store. What about up here? We're going to play late '90s, early 2000s hip-hop and R&B, and music videos from that era as well. I want people to come in and be taken back in time with burgers, tots, fried chicken. These are very simple things that you grow up eating as a child. As an adult, you enjoy the same things subconsciously, because it's tied to your upbringing. And when you hear the music, when you see the music videos in the background, it'll all come together. It's an emotional roller coaster. Who is your favorite late '90s artist? I'm an early 2000s guy. I love 50 Cent. I love Eminem. Those are my top two, right there. Are there any foods that you just won't eat, or any ingredient that you really try to stay away from? As a chef, I stay away from micro herbs. I think they're highly overrated. Just use herbs the way they're supposed to be grown. We don't need micro anything. Just use what nature just gave you. You don't need fancy flowers to make food look pretty. What would you choose for a last meal? My last meal would be my mom's kimchi stew. When I'm stressed, when I'm going through a hard time, a bowl of that and I'm energized. Interview was edited and condensed. Kara Baskin can be reached at