{"id":357731,"date":"2026-06-12T11:31:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T11:31:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/357731\/"},"modified":"2026-06-12T11:31:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T11:31:11","slug":"this-busy-sf-korean-spot-is-keeping-lunch-prices-in-the-single-digits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/357731\/","title":{"rendered":"This busy SF Korean spot is keeping lunch prices in the single digits"},"content":{"rendered":"

When\u00a0Jae Wook Baek studied abroad in San Francisco in 2006, he noticed a gap in the restaurant scene<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cWhile there are so many kimbap restaurants in Korea, they\u2019re relatively hard to find in the United States,\u201d he said. (SFGATE interviewed\u00a0Baek in Korean with the help of a translator; the interview was translated into English for this story.)<\/p>\n

Kimbap<\/a> is a Korean dish that visually resembles sushi, but with a very different taste profile: Rice seasoned with sesame oil is wrapped in seaweed and stuffed with fillings such as bulgogi or fish cake and vegetables such as carrots and danmuji (yellow pickled radish).\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Today, Baek runs Kingbob, a small Korean eatery on Clay Street in San Francisco\u2019s Chinatown<\/a>. The restaurant is beloved by downtown office workers, Korean tourists and Chinatown residents alike for its affordable kimbap lunches: A 10-piece roll costs as little as $8.75.<\/p>\n

But it wasn\u2019t an easy road to get here, from having to drain his savings to living across the world from his family for over two years.<\/p>\n

After returning from his time studying advertising design in San Francisco, Baek spent years working in advertising and running a business in South Korea. But eventually, he decided it was time to pursue his dream of opening a restaurant in the U.S.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\"Owner<\/p>\n

Owner Jae Wook Baek holds the bulgogi\u00a0kimbap at Kingbob in San Francisco on June 3, 2026.<\/p>\n

Douglas Zimmerman\/SFGATE<\/p>\n

First, he needed experience. At the age of 40, he found no restaurant owner in South Korea would hire him, so he had to get creative. He started going out to different restaurants every day in search of the perfect\u00a0kimbap.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I thought something had the right taste, I would go to eat it every day,\u201d he said. \u201cI would become friends with the owner and learn the recipe.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Finally armed with his perfect kimbap recipe and ready to start his own restaurant, he decided to move to San Francisco\u00a0\u2014 both because of his prior connection to the city, and because he believed the people here were open-minded.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThere are a lot of people who are willing to try new things rather than be trapped in old habits,\u201d he said. \u201cSo I thought this would be the best place to open my restaurant.\u201d<\/p>\n

He arrived in San Francisco in 2020, leaving his wife and then-7-year-old daughter behind in South Korea. Knowing no one in the city, he moved into a garage he found for rent on a Korean community website. But his timing was unfortunate \u2014 he had purchased the restaurant at 645 Clay St. just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While Baek was able to open Kingbob\u2019s doors by late April 2020, he then began experiencing visa issues. The Korean embassy was closed at the time, so he couldn\u2019t do the interviews required to extend his 90-day visa. In July 2020, he was forced to fly back to South Korea, and Kingbob closed.<\/p>\n

\"Soondubu<\/p>\n

Soondubu jjigae with seafood cooking on the stove at Kingbob in San Francisco on June 3, 2026.<\/p>\n

Douglas Zimmerman\/SFGATE\"Flavored<\/p>\n

Flavored soju bottles at Kingbob in San Francisco on June 3, 2026.<\/p>\n

Douglas Zimmerman\/SFGATE\"A<\/p>\n

A customer dines at Kingbob in San Francisco on June 3, 2026.<\/p>\n

Douglas Zimmerman\/SFGATE<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t until March 2021 that\u00a0Baek was able to secure the proper visa to return to San Francisco. He reopened the restaurant, slowly building a customer base by handing out kimbap samples to people passing by on the street. Back then, he was only charging about $5 per 10-piece roll.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cMy goal is to share kimbap with a wider audience, so I\u2019ve intentionally kept my prices accessible,\u201d he said. \u201cI want as many people as possible to try it and become familiar with this everyday Korean food.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today, all but one kimbap on the menu is still under $10\u00a0\u2014 the bulgogi kimbap, his most popular roll, is $10.95, due to the high cost of beef. Most other rolls are between $9.25 and $9.95. He\u2019s not sure how long he can keep prices this low, but he plans to hold out as long as possible.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI really believe kimbap should be sold at prices in the single digits,\u201d Baek said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

To keep his prices affordable, he has to sell a lot of kimbap. While the ingredients are not very expensive, kimbap is labor-intensive \u2014 each roll is made to order.<\/p>\n

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\u201cBecause kimbap takes a lot of time and labor, if only a few rolls were sold a day, this business would not have succeeded,\u201d he said. \u201cBut because we are a kimbap restaurant and kimbap is our main item, kimbap is the thing we sell the most.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

An employee assembles a bulgogi\u00a0kimbap\u00a0with marinated beef, pickled radish, burdock, carrot and cucumber at Kingbob in San Francisco on June 3, 2026.<\/p>\n

Douglas Zimmerman\/SFGATE\"Owner<\/p>\n

Owner Jae Wook Baek puts toppings on the bulgogi\u00a0kimbap at Kingbob in San Francisco on June 3, 2026.<\/p>\n

Douglas Zimmerman\/SFGATE\"The<\/p>\n

The bulgogi\u00a0kimbap with marinated beef, pickled radish, burdock, carrot and cucumber at Kingbob in San Francisco on June 3, 2026.<\/p>\n

Douglas Zimmerman\/SFGATE<\/p>\n

On my weekday lunch visit to Kingbob, K-pop music videos were playing behind the counter, the peppy tones of Twice\u2019s \u201cWhat Is Love?\u201d accented by the sounds of an employee slicing bulky\u00a0kimbap rolls into pieces. While one customer dined in, most opted for takeout, retreating back to their desks with boxes of kimbap and Korean fried chicken in hand.<\/p>\n

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I ordered the fried shrimp\u00a0kimbap ($9.95) and the chamchi (tuna) kimbap ($9.75). While both tasted very fresh, I preferred the more flavorful tuna roll with creamy wasabi mayo, accented by a crunchy, sweet-savory symphony of julienned pickled radish, cucumber, carrot and burdock. Each roll also came with a side of spicy mayo for dipping.<\/p>\n

Another popular roll is the jaeyook, or spicy pork, as well as the most budget-friendly choice on the menu: the classic, a ham and egg roll for $8.75. Other fillings include surimi imitation crab,\u00a0tonkatsu, kimchi and fried tofu.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kingbob\u2019s menu also extends beyond kimbap to include rice bowls, kimchi fried rice, ramyun and tteokbokki. One dish Baek is particularly proud of is the soondubu jjigae, which took him years to perfect.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Soondubu<\/p>\n

Soondubu jjigae with seafood at\u00a0Kingbob in San Francisco on June 3, 2026.<\/p>\n

Douglas Zimmerman\/SFGATE\"Ganjang<\/p>\n

Ganjang (sweet soy garlic)\u00a0Korean fried chicken\u00a0at Kingbob in San Francisco on June 3, 2026.<\/p>\n

Douglas Zimmerman\/SFGATE\"Classic<\/p>\n

Classic tteokbokki at Kingbob in San Francisco on June 3, 2026.<\/p>\n

Douglas Zimmerman\/SFGATE<\/p>\n

\u201cEven though the restaurant has been open for five, six years, the soondubu is a new menu item,\u201d he said. \u201cIn my opinion, if a menu item is not good enough for customers to want to come back for it, then I don\u2019t put it on the menu. Because I am of the perspective that the recipe should be perfect.\u201d<\/p>\n

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For those willing to spend a little more than the price of kimbap, the seafood soondubu jjigae ($19.95) lived up to Baek\u2019s high standards. The broth had a vibrant, peppery heat and complex savory flavor, and was teeming with jiggly tofu, perfectly cooked shrimp, squid and mussels.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The exterior of Kingbob in San Francisco on June 3, 2026.<\/p>\n

Douglas Zimmerman\/SFGATE<\/p>\n

Since first opening\u00a0Kingbob, Baek has watched Korean food skyrocket in popularity in the U.S.\u00a0\u2014 today, you can even find kimbap in the\u00a0frozen section at Trader Joe\u2019s<\/a>. Things weren\u2019t easy at first, but now, the restaurant is a success. He\u2019s even been able to move his wife and daughter over to the U.S. Plus, he\u2019s seeing his dream come true: San Franciscans love kimbap.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI hope many people will eat and come to know kimbap,\u201d he said. \u201cMaking money is of course important, but my goal is for customers to return even once a month to eat kimbap, that kimbap becomes more well-known and even one more person tries it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Kingbob<\/a>, 645 Clay St., San Francisco. Open Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m.-8:30 p.m., closed Sunday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When\u00a0Jae Wook Baek studied abroad in San Francisco in 2006, he noticed a gap in the restaurant scene.\u00a0…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":357732,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[101,103,102,104,106,105,4991],"class_list":["post-357731","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco-headlines","tag-san-francisco-news","tag-sf","tag-sf-headlines","tag-sf-news","tag-sfgfood"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=357731"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357731\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/357732"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=357731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=357731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=357731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}