Jun Won has long been one of Koreatown’s most important restaurants, first opening in 1994 and accruing high praise pretty much ever since then. Despite their successes, the seafood-focused Korean specialist was forced out of their longstanding location on 8th Street in April of this year in favor of some new development, and Life & Thyme’s cameras were there to capture it all for their ongoing KCET collaboration The Migrant Kitchen.
The loss of Jun Won on 8th Street is a heartbreaking story for Jung Ye Jun and her son Yong Won Jun, and speaks to topics of loss and rebirth and what it means to be an immigrant in Los Angeles. Thankfully (spoiler alert) the family has managed to rebound somewhat, opening up again recently in a strip mall off Western with a new look and reformatted menu.
The vital Migrant Kitchen series has been absolutely fantastic since debuting weeks ago, and this fifth segment in the lineup is among the best. In previous iterations, the documentary crew has tackled the kitchen of Providence, one of Los Angeles’ most important fine dining gems, and the emerging nature of Filipino food across the city.
