John and Katianna Hong’s goal for Yangban Society in downtown Los Angeles transitioned from the idea of fine dining to an approachable, neighborhood-driven experience. They wanted to create something that was authentic to them.
While both John and Katianna are Korean American, they had different upbringings: His family came to the U.S. from Korea and he had a more traditional upbringing, while she was adopted from Korea as an infant and grew up in New York with a Jewish father and an Irish-Catholic mother.
Their stories inspired Yangban Society’s food and atmosphere.
“We are cooking food that is authentic to us, but is coming from two different lenses, so it’s interesting to see how that comes together,” Katianna said.
Downstairs is the deli, where visitors can get deli-style food as well as specials and heartier dishes.
And upstairs is Super, inspired by traditional corner stores in Korea. There, visitors can find all kinds of snacks, drinks and merch from L.A.-based companies or Asian American-owned businesses.
Katianna said she enjoys hearing visitors say they’ve never seen anything like Yangban before.
“That was the goal, so I hope they mean that in a positive way,” she said, laughing.
For more information about Yangban Society, visit the restaurant’s website, or Instagram.
This segment aired on California Cooking with Jessica Holmes Episode 123.