Restaurants are places of abundance — where dessert is a must and drinks flow freely. Jeju, a hit Korean dining spot in Vancouver designed by &Daughters, builds on that spirit by taking its culinary and design cues from South Korea’s Jeju Island — also known as the Island of Three Abundances. The locale’s trademark trio includes strong winds, volcanic stone (which forms the backbone of many of the island’s walls) and, historically, its hardy Haenyeo “sea women,” who learned to free dive to harvest seafood after the majority of the population’s men perished at sea. (Today’s population includes a more even gender distribution.) That said, the island has been just as well known for what it lacks: thieves. That has had a big impact on the community’s domestic design. Rather than locks, residences have adopted three-pole jeongnang gates, which use different pole arrangements to signal when someone is home, gone, or away but nearby.
Jeju adopts this symbol as an alternative to the typical open-closed sign, installing a jejongnang of its own inside just behind the space’s exterior floor-to-ceiling glazing and three-metre-high wooden entrance door. A lowered pole signals the start of service, and the raising of the pole marks the ceremonial end of each night.
The 44-seat restaurant, located on East Broadway in East Vancouver, is a sequel to an earlier, since-closed establishment of the same name opened by chef Dylan Kim and his wife, Sung Kim, in Tofino back in 2021. The Vancouver Island setting (known for both its surfing community and its fine dining) had prompted the couple, both originally from South Korea, to explore coastal parallels to Jeju Island. Now, Dylan Kim has partnered with his mother, chef Myungseok “Julie” Suh, to carry the concept back to the mainland. The menu at the Vancouver iteration of Jeju is presented as a Venn diagram, with traditional Korean dishes by “mama Julie” on the left, modern dishes by her son on the right, and collaborations in the middle. (This fun idea came from Glasfurd & Walker, who also developed the restaurant’s broader graphic identity.)
Meanwhile, the space boasts its own mix of modern and historic flavours. As you might expect, stone is abundant, with basalt-capped CMU blocks forming the bases of the bar, chef’s table and host stand. Jeju vernacular architecture is another key point of reference, with thatched chogajip houses translated into two light fixtures built from lumber and hand-thatched grass dried and secured with braided ties in an ode to time-honoured craft. Other lighting skews more contemporary: Slim, tubular black pendants join backlit bar shelving and recessed geometric lighting panels to contribute a warm, layered glow.
The dining room gains an extra hit of texture via its concrete flooring, which predated the restaurant design. During polishing, this flooring started to reveal unexpected, unusual variations in tone — a feature that the design team came to embrace, noting its parallel to perfectly imperfect Korean ceramics, or windswept sandy beaches. Another pre-existing element in the space, a ramp, now leads up to the elevated kitchen, heightening the intimacy for chef’s table diners while also giving the chefs themselves a great vantage point looking over the whole restaurant and out to the street beyond. Cork wall cladding throughout adds another warm, natural texture, while also bolstering acoustic dampening. On the other hand, a full mirrored wall installed on the east side of the room amplifies the lively visual buzz.
Translating a rich backstory into an inventive menu and thoughtful design, Jeju has quickly become a top Vancouver destination, with seatings booking out as soon as monthly reservation blocks open. The reports of memorable meals will no doubt be abundant.
The post Great Food and Design are Abundant at Jeju in East Vancouver appeared first on Azure Magazine.
