Pearl Lam (林明珠): Hello, this is the Pearl Lam Podcast. I’m here in Seoul, sitting beside one of my favourite person, Kuho.

Kuho Jung: Hi, my name is Kuho Jung. I live in Seoul, Korea. I work as a creative director in many different fields, from fashion to cosmetics and food and beverages.

Pearl Lam (林明珠): Performance Art.

Kuho Jung: Performance Art. And I mean, I go for whatever that I’m interested in.

Pearl Lam (林明珠): One of the reasons why, I mean, I invited Kuho is because I think creativity. I always say that with creativity, there’s no limits. And one of the biggest example is Kuho. So let’s start because I love when I first hear about you owning this bar and where you have. You’re so decadent. You have flowers. Can you tell people about this bar? Which I, you know, when I heard about it, I really wish that I would have gone to the bar you owned.

Kuho Jung: I mean, right after I graduated from Parson’s, I worked for the company called Book of the Month Club. It’s a New York Times publication company. And I worked there for a couple of years and the work is not expected. And it was a little bit boring for me. I need more active life. So I think about myself, what can I do to make me some cash? And maybe I can enjoy the life, but only something that I really like to do is cooking. I started opening small restaurants in village, and I had that restaurant for two years, and very successfully after that, I decided to have some social with the people because I don’t have a lot of people at that time that I’m going out with. So I opened up a small bar on 56th street between Fifth and Sixth. It’s called Rose City because I want some very precious people should come and enjoy the social life. So I imported about 50,000 dry roses from Denmark, and I cut up the bulb and placed it on the wall with the cement. So that place become a Rose City. And I had a bar for almost three years, and that was when I was 27.

Pearl Lam (林明珠): And I was told that all the who’s who in the Korean society all came to your bar because it became such a, such a must visit place. Was that right?

Kuho Jung: It was very popular because at that time, I was in New York for more than ten years. I don’t know a lot of Korean people, but now I know they are all very famous businessmen and actor actresses, influential people were there. And I came back to Seoul in 1996. And people that I meet and know here, 80% are from that bar.

Pearl Lam (林明珠): From that bar. I love it. So your name, being a Korean, attracted a lot of well travelled Korean going to New York. They must stop at your bar.

Kuho Jung: Yes, most people, they came to visit to New York, they came to my bar and it was. I mean, it was 1994, 1993, but I made a security camera at that time, and everybody has to ring the bell and I have to see the camera whether I like it or not.

Pearl Lam (林明珠): You like a bouncer?

Kuho Jung: If I like the person, I open the door. And if I don’t, I don’t open the door.

Pearl Lam (林明珠): And then you told me that when you first returned to Korea, so because you met these people, the Samsung people in New York, immediately they asked you to do a fashion line?

Kuho Jung: Yeah, in the beginning, actually, I came to Korea to open up the restaurant because I was so good at restaurants and.

Pearl Lam (林明珠): Yeah, because you’re foodie. In four days, he went to Hong Kong. And each day we were talking about. He has eaten 40 to 50 dishes each day for four days. We’re just talking about this obsession about food. Because I’m a foodie as well.

Kuho Jung: I love Chinese food. Maybe I was Chinese in my past life, but I just enjoy Chinese food.

Pearl Lam (林明珠): So. And so at the time, you were returning to Seoul to open a restaurant?

Kuho Jung: Some kind of a Korean fusion restaurant. At that time, it wasn’t fusion restaurant. But I mean, I was thinking at that time in Korea, I mean, fusion was a little bit too early, I thought. So I decided to learn French food. I want to do the real French restaurant, right? So I went back to Australia, Sydney to learn French. So I went to Le Cordon Bleu in Australia.

Pearl Lam (林明珠): Why Australia?

Kuho Jung: Because, I mean, it’s easier for me to stay. I can speak English, I don’t speak French, so.

Pearl Lam (林明珠): Okay.

Kuho Jung: Nearby. And I like fusion Australian food.

Pearl Lam (林明珠): Australian fusion food is excellent. It’s the most amazing.

Kuho Jung: I stayed there for six months to learn cuisine and pastry. I came back. Then I decided to open The Vegetable Bread because I love vegetables suddenly. So I just changed my goal and opened up my own boutique.

Pearl Lam (林明珠): Oh, so you were initially opening a restaurant, therefore you want to do. You went to Cordon Bleu and you decided to come back and you changed completely. No restaurant. You designed clothes.

Kuho Jung: Actually, I was trying to stay in Seoul for two months. And after two months I was going to go to Paris to have high chef courses to finish up the whole courses. And suddenly I just changed my mind. Because I love fast life, I should do what I like to do. So.

Pearl Lam (林明珠): So you came back and wow. You study fashion design, right?

Kuho Jung: No, I studied communication design. So.

Pearl Lam (林明珠): So how did you do fashion?

Kuho Jung: So after I decided to become a fashion designer, I took one class in S mode in Seoul.

Pearl Lam (林明珠): I don’t believe you.

Kuho Jung: Summer class, one month classes. I become a fashion designer. I took one. I mean draping classes for the lunch, summertime. And then I launched the brand.

Pearl Lam (林明珠): And then you started this. And did you design the whole fashion line?

Kuho Jung: Oh yes, I did. Like my own design. I did my own patterns. Three dimensional pattern I like to do. And I have. Of course, I have some assistance.

Pearl Lam (林明珠): Of course. Wow. And was it a success? I was told that it was a success and that’s why Samsung bought it. Right?

Kuho Jung: It was very successful in the beginning. And right after I opened up the boutique, the IMF came in Seoul. So no one. There was no one who opening a new brand. And I’m the only one who was starting the new brand. So everybody was like looking at me, who is this guy? Just opening up, opening up the business in this period of time. And then everybody’s interested in my brand. And I had to collaborate a couple of other company and a few years later, Samsung offered me to come to join the Samsung fashion and started women’s wear division.

Pearl Lam (林明珠): You never planned to be a fashion designer and then by default you became a fashion designer.

Kuho Jung: I just love to buy fashion.

Pearl Lam (林明珠): And then you create fashion.

Kuho Jung: Oh yes.

Pearl Lam: So what makes you successful when you don’t even have have a background? So you must have really good taste. You must understand the trend.

Kuho Jung: Yeah, trend that I can. Because when I was in New York, even if I didn’t learn fashion, but I love fashion. I will go to the fashion boutique every single day. Even if I don’t buy them, I just go walk through, try to wear them. And I still memorise from fashion from 1985. Now which designers are doing what? Which designers are doing what? I just. It’s all in my head.

Pearl Lam: I hear you were influenced by these Western designers to create your own line.

Kuho Jung: But after trying to wear them, see them, and I found out there’s some fashions lasting longer than the other kind. So I was wondering what is there? What’s the difference in between and then I decided to do let’s create something very modern but very classic. Classic base, contemporary, which can last longer, doesn’t go into the trend. So.

Pearl Lam: But for me, this is pretty amazing. You never even have that background. And then you became a creative director of the Samsung fashion. The whole thing, it’s just like you created some clothes, you set up your labels. It was selling the next thing you’re in the top spot of and of one of the biggest company.

Kuho Jung: I was luckier maybe.

Pearl Lam: It’s amazing. No, I think you’re very creative. Your creativity has no boundaries. Then next thing you. I mean, you create another line called Hessa, right? Yes, Hessa. But why did you need to create another line?

Kuho Jung: Actually, while I was working in Samsung, I directed twelve different brands. People don’t know, but I was renewing and creating like twelve different brands and like three biggest. One was the Kuho of course, but the other was Le Beige. It’s for the little bit mature lady. And then after that I was trying to go into the Paris collection and Europe collection. The global market. Expand the global market. So we decided to have a different name for the global market, which is more high end experimental line. So we decided to call it Hexa By Kuho. It did for quite well for six years. And then I decided to come out from the fashion trying to study my own creativity.

Pearl Lam: Yeah, this is what I’m very interested in. Because from fashion, then you jump and then you became an artistic director of dance, opera and all that. And. And what also amazes me is you have this strong passion and interest in traditions, in Korean traditions, dancing Korean tradition costumes. And how did. First thing is, how did you have the confidence to do that? Second is, you know, to have someone to give you that platform, that opportunity, you must be very good at sales?

Kuho Jung: I mean, people think of me I started fashion first. But actually the truth is I started performance first. When I was in New York, all of my friends around me, they are choreographers who are studying in New York. So I have a like bunch of crowd for the dance part. And I decided to go to their performance and starting to get involved with their costume, their stage design. So I moved with their dance project in 1992. Since 1992, which is much faster than fashion. But after I come back to Korea, after I open up the boutique and working for Samsung, the people were still all asking me for the project, dance project. So I did it on side work. But I mean, Samsung is such a great company. Good benefit. But if I stay there, that’s it for my life. There won’t be any variety of creativity.

Pearl Lam: Because everything become very commercial?

Kuho Jung: I decide, after ten years of Samsung, I decide to independently work by myself. So.

Pearl Lam: But it’s not independent, but because you were doing, you create your art pieces. And by the way, you are a great art collector, but you also create your art pieces. You do dance, you do performance art. What is your limit? And just now you even told me you’re directing a TV series with Netflix. There’s no limits about you.

Kuho Jung: All my close friends say, what are you going to be when you get old? I say, why do I have to decide? I want to explore myself. I call myself explorer. I go for my curiosity. I don’t want end as a doctor or lawyer or artist. One title for me is a little bit boring. Whatever I can explore, I love to explore. And I like to study and have experience with the field. So at the end, I don’t have any goal.

Pearl Lam: So when you first started to create, like, the dance I saw for paradise, I mean, it’s very tradition. So do you need to study all the traditions in all the. Because what is amazing about you is you contemporized all the traditions, so that when people who doesn’t have, like me, who has no knowledge about Korean traditions, you feel that you’re connected in one way or another.

Kuho Jung: Because people used to say, if you live in foreign country, you become patriotic. Because when I lived in US, I mean, I tried to find my identity because everybody ask how Koreans are different from all the other Asians. So I started to learn a little bit about our tradition. So. And on the other hand, I always said, if one country’s culture has to be mature, three different kind of people has to exist. One is like very like, how can I say? People who are focused on tradition only, they are trying to keep the tradition. The other person, the other people have to modernise tradition. And the third person, group of person should create something totally new. And I always think myself in middle person.

Pearl Lam: I think you got a combination of the three.

Kuho Jung: But I want to. I have to find the route and communicate in this time of the language, because I try to communicate the present language and present audience. So trying to get a motivation from the tradition and trying to translate into the modern language, that’s the work that I’m trying to do.

Pearl Lam: And also, I remember I visited one of the galleries where you’d, again, you used the traditional idea of a Korean cabinet and then you remade a piece.. And there was three pieces there or two pieces. It was really strong.

Kuho Jung: I mean, because when you think about all the traditional things, there’s a lot of great value of tradition, but some of the traditions are not words to use it in the modern time. Some of them disappear, some of them get wasted. And I feel so bad about getting those skills get wasted. So try to bring that traditional skill into the modern object. So I tried to modernise all this traditional craftsmanship. So that’s why I decided to do the installation work for my own.

Pearl Lam: Recently, the K culture has invaded the world. All right. You know, it started with Asia first. We love to watch K drama. I mean, all my Hong Kong friends are addicted to K drama. So that next thing, K pop, I mean, with Mickey Lee, with this K pop festival in LA, it just spread. Yeah, the K pop. Then all of a sudden, we saw from Netflix, there is all the K drama and. And K movie, because I remember the first one I saw abroad is The Handmaiden. And the next thing is, it is Parasite. Do you think. And of course, Squid Game. And then. And then, of course, Korean food is everywhere now. Right. So do you think that the strong of the K culture just does help you to elevate your career? Because you just did a big thing in New York. Right?

Kuho Jung: Of course. Of course.

Pearl Lam: And in New York, what was it that you were doing in the Lincoln Centre? Can you tell the audience about it?

Kuho Jung: The performance that I create is one performance we call One Dance, which used to be dance in front of the king to pray for the ancestor. And for me, there was a very modern form of the Korean dance. So I picked that in, rearranged it, and we had a performance for the Korea. And then we went to Lincoln Centre last year.

Pearl Lam: Last September?

Kuho Jung: Last September, to have a performance, and we had a great hit. All the tickets are sold out. And I was quite wondering whether they were on the stand.

Pearl Lam: Did they understand?

Kuho Jung: Yeah, they thought they had very good review, and they were like I create beautiful performance.

Pearl Lam: And how about the costume? Do you create a costume?

Kuho Jung: Yeah, I create a costume stage and everything. And I was telling them, because, you know, all the K pop and K movie, this pop culture of Korea. But when you think about all this pop culture came from the.

Pearl Lam: The old, of course, the tradition.

Kuho Jung: So what I’m trying to see is where this pop cultures came from, the original form of the Korean culture that I’m trying to show you. And that’s what I was trying to say to them.

Pearl Lam: Wow. And then. And then there’s. I mean, the. I’m sure that in America, they are very interested.

Kuho Jung: Yes.

Pearl Lam: In a different culture. But how long was this dance?

Kuho Jung: We had four performance and, I mean, they loved it. The review was. I mean, for me, I was quite moved by their review because they have been seeing many different cultural performance, but it’s the most modern, modern form of the traditional performance they saw, they say.

Pearl Lam: They said, so when you do a dance, what is the difference between a Korean traditional dance compared to, you know, in the west? There’s a lot of modern dance right there.

Kuho Jung: Very big difference in Korean dance and other modern dance, because Korea, other modern dance usually dance with the count. 12323 use the count. But Korean dance, we go with the breathing. So, like, how say you breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out. That’s the tempo they have to follow. So every step they make, it has to involve the breathing. So it’s a totally different move in a way.

Pearl Lam: I’m really touched that in the west, they can appreciate a foreign culture, so diversity works.

Kuho Jung: Oh, yes. I was so happy they understood what we are trying to do. And they said, this traditional form can be modern.

Pearl Lam: But you do a lot of things. It’s about a cross-cultural dialogue, which is something that I’m deeply interested, because you will bring a very traditional dance, costumes, and then you contemporize and you bring it to the West.

Kuho Jung: Because I’m a person who are in the middle of evolving Korean culture. I’m the person who are trying to evolve, developing traditional Korean culture into the modern world.

Pearl Lam: Okay, let’s. I mean, let’s. Let’s talk about the old Korean culture. I mean, the old korean culture is actually rooted from China. Right, and rooted from China. But nowadays, Chinese has actually forgotten their old culture. Now they’re trying to find back. And I always said that if we want to know about Taoism, Confucianism, we have to either go to Japan or Korea, because you have more Confucius than the Chinese. But with the. With a younger generation, with the K pop culture, have this all been disappearing? I mean, is it disappearing?

Kuho Jung: No, but still, the young people, they are trying to find their roots. Some of the K pop artists, like a Big Bang or just artists individually, when they do the individual work, they were trying to collaborate with the traditional music, traditional method. Yes, of course. There’s one of them is there was a very famous performance by the Big Bang members, and it’s about that traditional performance, like, how can I say, marching performance. To the king. And he created that into the rap performance.

Pearl Lam: Isn’t that amazing?

Kuho Jung: But so they’re trying to find the. They are rooted somehow.

Pearl Lam: You mean the younger generation, like the.

Kuho Jung: K pop crowd, they think the originality is very important for them. And, of course, the best way to find the originality is you’re finding your own roots.

Pearl Lam: Wow. Yeah. Because, you know, we are always talking about in France, we have the cultural minister during the middle time, Jacqueline. They come up with a word called French culture. French culture. So it’s really, really ingrained in and into the French. Japan is very, I mean, very rooted to and to the culture. But in Japan, either you go really to the extreme of the underground culture of the pop, you don’t have, like, the mainstream contemporary culture, because everybody is very. Is still very Confucius, very Taoist, and very traditional. But all of a sudden, you have Korea. This contemporary culture is just spreading. But I never knew that they are still being influenced by traditions, which is something very.

Kuho Jung: They’re always trying to explore them. They were trying to, like, experiment with their new subject, new material. So, I mean, when you think about Korean drama movie, the method and story bases are very interesting, never seen before. And they’re always trying to find some little thing, like, when you see the Squid Game, those games are very traditional Korean. I mean, I did it when I was five, six years old.

Pearl Lam: Your new project, which you just now, you told me, I think you should share with the audience about your Netflix.

Kuho Jung: Actually, I’m writing a scenario for the TV series.

Pearl Lam: You are so talented. By everything.

Kuho Jung: This series is going to be based in Li Dynasty in Korea. And it’s all about the food because I love food. So the main character will be the genius chef with the absolute taste. They are, like, arguing each other. And I almost finished with a script. And we. Are we gonna be on production this. This year? Trying to be in Netflix Original, but we have to see. We haven’t decided yet, but we are talking.

Pearl Lam: So your new Netflix movie is also during the Li Dynasty. That’s what you were saying.

Kuho Jung: It’s going to be a very contemporary period film, but the base in Li Dynasty Period. And it’s about the food. And all the foods came from the original royal cuisine. But I will change it into the modern version of the royal cuisine.

Pearl Lam: I mean, I always see you Kuho as embracing of all Korean culture. And by the way, audience, he does K pop dancing as exercise every day because he loves food, and he does K pop dancing. So you do, my God, you do fashion, choreography. And choreographing, not just that, even opera, right?

Kuho Jung: Oh, yes, I did opera, ballet, modern dance.

Pearl Lam: Modern dance. And then you take all the costumes, old costume and contemporize it. And now you’re doing tv and movies. What else are you missing? Food, of course. How about music?

Kuho Jung: Actually one of my bucket lists, having my own song came out.

Pearl Lam: Oh my God.

Kuho Jung: So already this year I did release my first song in that, my name in different name. My goal is trying to create three different optional characters that I tried to bringing in. And at the end of this month, I have a second song recording.

Pearl Lam: Wow. Wow. Where can we find that?

Kuho Jung: You can find it on YouTube or Mellon in Korean site.

Pearl Lam: So what is your, what is your pseudo name?

Kuho Jung: U unho.

Pearl Lam: Yu yuan ho. So you

Kuho Jung: Yu En Ho. It says it’s combined name with the three people, the composer, writer and singer.

Pearl Lam: Okay, so audience, please download. So I’m going to download next thing. And then is there another project that you’re working?

Kuho Jung: Yes. Also there’s another project called physical 100, which is very popular. The muscle mass. Like a fighting project. It’s completely hit. In season three, they were trying to do Asian Physical 100. So they will invite like twelve different Asian muscle men to join and play games together. And I decide they invite me for all the styling and designing, fashion design.

Pearl Lam: Non stop. Non stop.

Kuho Jung: Okay.

Pearl Lam: When the young people come and come and come to you school, what are you going to encourage them?

Kuho Jung: Only thing that I will say, they find what you like and go for it.

Pearl Lam: But you cannot. Because sometimes you find what you like, but that spread them. They don’t earn enough to support themselves. Then why? I mean, passion and career, sometimes it doesn’t have.

Kuho Jung: That’s true. But I mean, it worked for me. I mean, but you have to have something you really, really like. So in that purpose, you can do any other work to support that what you like. So that’s what I did also. I did all this company work to bring up the cash for me to work on what I like to do. If you like sort of consistently doing that, you become an expert in that, what you’d like to do. So the money comes later.

Pearl Lam: So now what is it? I mean, after all these works, are you going back to become a chef?

Kuho Jung: Food?

Pearl Lam: Yeah. Because food is in your life. It surrounded you.

Kuho Jung: I love cooking. I love like eating, but the food is like, it’s my friend. Not work not a hobby. It’s my friend. Something that really make me happy. So I’m not going to be as food as my occupation, but I would love to invite, when I retire, I love to invite every friend every month, have a food party at my place. You are invited.

Pearl Lam: Yeah, I’m definitely coming. I’m a foodie. Thank you, Kuho, for such a wonderful session. A man that embraces all talent.

Kuho Jung: Thank you very much.

Pearl Lam: Thank you.

Kuho Jung: Thank you.