Across Generations, Mu Gung Hwa Blooms

Words by

Cindy Julia Tobing

Photograph by

Dio Manalu

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For over 40 years, the family business of Mu Gung Hwa has evolved from a small home business making kimchi and other Korean kitchen staples to gaining a nationwide influence.

Inside the long-standing building of Mu Gung Hwa supermarket on Senayan street, a couple of Korean families and some local shoppers were seen sifting through the well-stocked shelves of pantry goods for the week’s groceries.

There’s a sundry of Hangul-written ramen brands from Ottogi to Nongshim Shin Ramyun; in the cooler section, fresh cabbage to make kimchi (grown at a farm in Cipanas with seeds brought from the Korean peninsula) sit between radishes and other vegetables; in another aisle, a spread of plastic-wrapped tteok, from the rainbow rice cakes usually eaten during birthdays to honey-seasoned rice cakes of yaksik, take on many shapes and fillings.

In the past ten years, this integration between Korean and local communities has become a rather common sight, a result of the formidable Korean wave that has imprinted its mark in stages, from TV dramas and K-Pop, further into food, fashion and cinema. “Before, people who came here would be 80 per cent Koreans and 20 per cent locals. But I’d say now, it’s the opposite,” observed Nicolas Kim, the second generation who currently runs the Korean supermarket and distributor, Mu Gung Hwa.

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“The Kimchi Man”

Founder Kim Woo Jae, who left South Korea in 1977, has often been credited by local news media for laying the cornerstone for the “Little Korea” neighbourhood in Senopati with the establishment of Mu Gung Hwa in 1980.

But his start was actually in Kalimantan, toiling away in a jungle on a log development project. After three years of fruitless labour, Mr Kim decided to move to the capital city where he was soon joined by his wife, Park Jemma, and three children. “Life was hard in Kalimantan. Compared to living in the city, even though we had no money, life was still easier here,” reminisced the 80-year-old.