How did you get the chance to open a restaurant at MIT?
It’s at the [Stratton] Student Center, second floor — more like a food court. They invited me because the students had a choice to pick any restaurant.
Did you always want to be a chef?
Well, I had an office job for 19 years. I was a market data analyst: finance, the stock market. But I always wanted to do a food truck on the side.
I don’t want to brag, but I had some cooking talent, cooking my mom’s recipes. Every time I had a party or something, my friends would be like, “Well, just start a restaurant!”
I actually got laid off from work in 2015-ish. With the package they gave me, after they laid me off, I was like, “This is probably a good time to start a food truck.”
I didn’t want to start a restaurant right away, because more than 50 percent fail. The truck was actually pretty busy. I started with MIT and Roxbury Crossing, and slowly it’s growing.
Tell me about the food.
Every recipe is Korean food: barbecue, Korean rice bowls. I grew up eating Korean food, and that’s all I know how to cook — my mom’s recipes. I was born in South Korea, and I moved to the United States when I was 10 years old.
What brought your family here?
Well, I have two brothers. There are three boys. My parents’ dream was to have everyone go to Harvard. But unfortunately, that didn’t happen. The main reason we emigrated from Korea was for education. I grew up in Andover.
Seems like things turned out OK. What do you do when you’re not trying to run a food business? Where do you eat?
I love eating Chinese food in Chinatown. I love Peach Farm restaurant.
Do you have any favorite hidden gems in Canton?
I go to the Italian place in Randolph, La Scala.
Coming from Canton, were you caught up in the Karen Read drama?
I followed a little bit, but not too much.
What does Boston do well, and what food do we need more of?
I think Boston is good, but not as good as New York. But I notice people from Massachusetts who move to Florida, they’re like, “Oh, I miss Boston food!” That’s when I realized that Boston actually has good food.
We do very well with roast beef, North Shore roast beef. We do good good steak and cheese, but not as good as Philly. And Chinese food, too.
Where could we improve?
You know, you can’t compare [New York] pizza to any other place. I don’t know how they do it, but they say it might be the city water.
If you were to eat pizza around here, where would you go?
Santarpio’s in East Boston.
Where did you grow up eating? Do you have any food memories from growing up in Andover?
We used to go to a Chinese place called Andover Jade. It’s not there anymore. And also a steakhouse called Grassfield’s.
My parents used to love Grassfield’s.
We used to go there a lot. I think it’s still there, as a matter of fact.
How did you end up finding a location in Roxbury?
I got an email from MBTA to bid on it. It’s the perfect location, very diverse, 600 people walk through that station every day. That’s what attracted me, the foot traffic.
What’s your favorite dish on the menu? What do you tell people to order?
We specialize in bibimbap, the Korean rice bowl with assorted vegetables. You get to choose any protein, like beef, chicken, pork, tofu, and then it comes with a fried egg on top and six different types of dressings. I’d get beef with gochujang dressing.
When you’re eating at home, what do you snack on? What do you eat for yourself?
A lot of fruit. I eat a lot of watermelon and blueberries. I’m trying to lose weight, too.
What do you do for fun?
I have a family. I have wife and two kids. Normally, when I’m home, I’m actually doing yard work in my house.
Are your kids good eaters?
They are — especially my son. My son is 19 years old and goes to Ole Miss. And my daughter is 17 and going to be a senior at Canton High School. She wants to go to an Ivy League. She’s a smart cookie.
If you could eat anything for your last meal, what would it be?
Barbecue food. Steak.
Is there any food that you hate, that you just never want to eat again?
Organ meats, like liver.
What’s your guilty pleasure?
Smart Food popcorn.
If you had to describe the Boston food scene in a sentence, what would you say?
I would say that it’s fantastic. My customers are mainly young working people and college students.
Is your current job more fun than what you were doing before, in the corporate world?
Definitely. I’d never go back to the corporate world, really.
I bet leaving a corporate job feels like a big risk to some people. What would you say to someone who wants to open a restaurant?
Nothing’s easy. What you see is not actually what you see. There’s hard work behind it. When my wife and I started this, we worked 80 hours a week. We did everything on our own. She still works with me: She runs MIT, and I run the food truck.
If you could have dinner with anyone in the world, who would it be?
Larry Bird. He’s my favorite basketball player. Actually, could I change it to Tom Brady?
Interview was edited and condensed.
Kara Baskin can be reached at kara.baskin@globe.com. Follow her @kcbaskin.