In South Korea, Baek Jong-won is the most successful. He is a well-known Korean food expert. At the same time, he is a celebrity, a chef and a business owner.

Apart from Korean restaurants recommended by Baek Jong-won, there are also restaurants owned by Baek that are worth a visit. Where are they?

Let's find out.

Baek Jong-won's Past History

Baek Jong-won was born into a wealthy family in the rural areas of Yesan, Chuncheongnam-do.

His great-grandfather possessed an enormous amount of rice, which explained their wealth.

He had always been interested in creating his own business under the influence of his great-grandfather since a young age.

He worked part-time at a pub during his first year at Yonsei University and later ended up taking over the business where he officially set his first foot in the door of the restaurant business. 

He also gained a lot of cooking experience in the military.

After being discharged from the military, he took over the 'Original Ssambap' (원조 쌈밥) and entered the industry. 

However, the IMF soon hit and caused his business to be in debt of 1.7 billion won (approx. 1.4M USD).

Feeling hopeless, he went to Hong Kong thinking his life is now over, but when he tasted the delicious food in Hong Kong, he decided to come back to Korea to restart his career.

When he returned to Korea, he revived his 'Original Ssambap' (원조 쌈밥) restaurant and began to establish the well-known franchise, Hanshin Pocha.

Thanks to his business ideas, his franchise restaurants have become a huge success all over Korea. 

Baek Jong-won's TV Appearances 

Since 2010, Baek Jong-won has appeared in more than 20 shows on TV, as an expert in the restaurant industry and has gained massive popularity. 

Let's look at some of his TV appearances which made him a household name!

Real Taste Of Korea (2010-2011)
진짜 한국의 맛 

Real Taste Of Korea, which was a show broadcasted on SBS aired from 2010-2011. 

It was Baek Jong-won's first official TV appearance. 

In this show, he introduced traditional recipes that the elderly around the neighborhood often cooked.

Korean Food War 2 (2014)
한식 대첩 2

The Korean Food War is a cooking competition TV show where many experts around each region in Korea gather to showcase their best Korean food recipes. 

In 2014, Baek Jong-won appeared as a judge on the show and proved his expertise in Korean food.

After this show, he became recognized as not just a restaurant entrepreneur but as a culinary researcher as well.

My Little Television (2015-2017)
마이리틀텔레비전

Baek Jong-won began to become a household name after his TV appearance on My Little Television on MBC in 2015.

In this show, he hosted his cooking show live with an audience where he frequently engaged in friendly conversation and gave tips.

His recipes went viral as they were very easy to make and he used ingredients that could easily be found at home.

In particular, he was known for using heavy amounts of sugar and brought a lot of laughter to the audience.

Baek Jong-won's Alley Restaurant (2018-Present)
백종원의 골목식당

He also shared a lot of tips and wisdom with other restaurant owners through TV programs. 

In Baek Jong-won's Alley Restaurant, he meets up with small restaurant owners and carefully analyzes their situation and the recipes to give tips on how to run a successful restaurant.

Paik's Cuisine YouTube (2019-Present)
백종원의 요리비책 유투브

He is also very active on YouTube while filming various TV shows.

On his YouTube channel, he uploads recipes and tips on running a restaurant.

The channel currently has over 5 million subscribers.

He received 1 million subscribers after his very first video uploaded on June 13, 2019, which labeled him as the fastest-growing channel in Korea.

Delicious Rendezvous (2019-Present)
맛남의 광장 

In the SBS TV show Delicious Rendezvous, which was first broadcasted in December 2019, the cast focuses its efforts on revitalizing local food from a region by introducing recipes using its local specialties.

It's a great way to help local farmers by introducing products such as chives, enoki mushrooms, and potatoes.

In Korea, pork belly is very popular, so other parts of meat such as hind legs are rarely ever sold.

So in collaboration with the Handon Porkboard, Baek Jong-won developed hind legs to suit the taste of Koreans and launched canned ham called Baek Ham.

He promoted his canned ham and Handon with BTS in an episode uploaded on the YouTube channel Run BTS on January 19th this year.

BTS members had a cooking competition using Baek Ham and Baek Jong-won was the judge.

On the show Delicious Rendezvous, the content from the cooking competition with BTS was broadcasted again.

In addition, Baek Jong-won held a Baek Ham tasting competition with the cast members of the show to introduce the taste of hind legs.

It is said that the sales of hind legs increased by 67.2% over the week after the show aired.

Baek Jong-won has received wide praise in the Korean restaurant industry after achieving so much success and helping other self-employed owners and farmers all over Korea.

He is still very active in his restaurant businesses and if you're ever walking on the streets of Korea, you'll see many franchise restaurants owned by him.

Now let's find out what restaurants were found and operated by him below!

1. Paik's Noodles
홍콩반점0410

Without further elaboration, Paik's Noodle is the most famous restaurant of Mr. Baek. The delicious fried noodles, sweet and sour pork and spicy seafood noodles are the best. 

Not only is it full helpings, but the price is also very good, as long as you see the red signboard of 홍콩 반점, you must walk in and try it.

Myeongdong Store：서울 중구 명동10길 14

Hongdae Store：서울 마포구 와우산로23길 44 B1

Dongdaemun Store：서울 중구 장충단로13길 11

Busan Seomyeon Store：부산 부산진구 중앙대로680번가길 38

Busan Gwanganri Store：부산 수영구 광안해변로 193 2F

Busan Haeundae Store：부산 해운대구 중동1로 29

2. Paik's BBQ
새마을식당

Paik's BBQ is also a very famous restaurant owned by Baek. It specialises in cheap and good quality grilled meat. If you want to eat but don’t want to spend a lot of money, you will no longer need to worry. 

The tender and juicy barbecue and kimchi pot are worth eating again and again.

Hongdae Store：서울 마포구 어울마당로 144

Sinsa Store：서울 강남구 도산대로11길 34

Jonggak Main Store：서울 종로구 우정국로2길 42

Daehakro Store：서울 종로구 대학로11길 3

Busan Gyeongseong Univ. Store：부산 남구 용소로8번길 7

Daegu Dongseongro Store：대구 중구 동성로5길 75

3. Hanshin Pocha
한신포차

Simple seats, paired with a few dishes, this is the favourite food pub in Korea.

Every weekend and holiday evenings, Mr. Paik's "Hanshin Pocha" is full of people. Order main courses here, and the rest of your tummy, you fill with alcohol, which is super satisfying.

Jongro Store：서울 종로구 삼일대로17길 40

Hongdae Store：서울 마포구 잔다리로 13

Sinchon Store：서울 서대문구 연세로7안길 10-4

Daehakro Store：서울 종로구 대학로12길 13

４. Udon0410
역전우동

The origin of Udon0410 is that Mr. Baek reminisced about eating udon noodles alone in front of a train station, and wants everyone to have this cheap but good place to eat since Udon in front of train stations are always cheap and comfortable.

And so came Udon0410.

The prices are all super cheap! A meal or noodles are not too heavy. Pay attention to the sign of Udon0410, because you're guaranteed to have a wonderful experience every time you visit this place.

Hongdae Store：서울 마포구 어울마당로 127-1

Gangnam Store：서울 강남구 테헤란로4길 46

Konkuk Univ. Store：서울 광진구 아차산로 224 

Dongdaemun Store：서울 종로구 종로 300-1 

Busan Seomyeon Store：부산 부산진구 중앙대로680번가길 9 

5. Dolbaegi
돌배기집

Dolbaegi is also a proud product of Mr. Baek, but this is not so well-known.

Compared with the similar "Paik's BBQ", Dolbeagi is similar in price and qualtiy. The aroma of meat fills the shop.

Sinchon Store：서울 서대문구 명물길 37

Jamsil Store：서울 송파구 올림픽로32길 18 7호

Yeongdeungpo Store：서울 영등포구 영중로4길 6-1 1층

Busan Seomyeon Store：부산 부산진구 신천대로62번길 47

Busan Haeundae Store：부산 해운대구 양운로80번길 8 

6. Paik's Pan
백철판

Source

If you have tried too many barbecues and want to eat different styled meat, Mr. Baek can meet everyone's needs!

Paik's Pan specialises in spicy fried chicken chops, and there are branches everywhere. The full pot of spicy fried chicken chops is completely delicious regardless of the season. Come and try it next time.

Hongdae Store：서울 마포구 양화로16길 34

Konkuk Univ. Store：서울 광진구 동일로22길 105

Gangnam Store：서울 강남구 강남대로78길 16

Busan Haeundae Store：부산 해운대구 구남로12번길 4

7. Paik's Coffee
빽다방

I believe that this shop is also an ultra-high cost-effective coffee shop that you will know without any introduction.

A large drink does not exceed ₩4,000, and a cup of Americano in any coffee shop elsewhere exceeds this price. And branches are everywhere, so let’s have a drink when passing by.

8. 0410Noodle
미정국수

The 0410Noodle is a bit similar to Mr.Baek's "Udon0410", but it's more focused on noodle dishes.

In addition to soup noodles, ordinary noodles, dumpling noodles, etc., it also has the characteristics of a crude and big bowl. There are branches everywhere, so let's taste it as you pass by.

Hongdae Store：서울 마포구 홍익로 10

Gangnam Store：서울 서초동 1308-10

Insadong Store：서울 종로구 삼일대로 405

9. Rolling Pasta
롤링파스타

Pasta is something we have to pay more than average for in Korea. You can get a Korean meal consisting of a meat dish, rice, soup and a load of banchan for just 7,000 won, but pasta goes well over 15,000 won here.

Perhaps that's why Baek Jong-won's Rolling Pasta has over 60 locations nationwide. You can get a flavourful plate of pasta for as low as 4,500 won!

If you've had more than enough of Korean food and want to change up the menu within an affordable range, consider this option!

Of course, Mr. Baek Jong-won's brand is not only these eight, but also many other brands that have not been introduced today, but I have not tasted it yet! Later, I will have the opportunity to come to Korea and try some more. His food will definitely meet your needs.

Dear friends, see you next time.