‘Love to feed the people’: Authentic Korean restaurant in Washington City celebrates 5 years

WASHINGTON CITY — This restaurant is serving up the good stuff with items like made-from-scratch kimchi to Korean soups and sandwiches.

"I love to feed the people," Flavor of Seoul owner Sunghyun Taylor told St. George News.

Flavor of Seoul is a restaurant named after Seoul, the capital of South Korea, where Taylor was born and raised. While living in Chicago, she said her best friend told her there were no Korean restaurants in Southern Utah and suggested she open her restaurant in the St. George area.

"I love the challenge if I have a goal I want to achieve," Taylor said. "So I did. There were a lot of hard times but I opened anyway and was very very happy."

Growing up, Taylor said she had the best cook — her mother — whose generation focused on making all meals healthy, fresh and 100% from scratch. She's taken that generational homemade cooking and put it into her own restaurant, specializing in handmade menu items like kimchi.

Kimchi is a traditional Korean dish that consists of salted and fermented napa cabbage or Korean radish. A wide selection of seasonings is added such as garlic, onion, green onion, chili powder and fish sauce. Because it is a fermented food, kimchi is also an excellent probiotic, containing the same lactobacilli bacteria found in yogurt and other fermented products.

"Many of my customers learned how to eat kimchi here — who never had it before — and I’m so, so proud of that," she said. "Everything is fresh and made to order, not ready-made. That was my concept when I opened the restaurant – very fresh and very hot. And it is."

Taylor expressed appreciation to the employees who have helped with her business over the last five years, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, and for the locals and tourists that have supported her passion.

As for future plans, she said she hopes to open additional locations around Washington County and eventually own her own kimchi factory.

Visit Flavor of Seoul at 568 W. Telegraph Street, #8 in Washington City. For more information, visit this website or follow them on Facebook.

Photo Gallery

Flavor of Seoul owner Sunghyun Taylor stands in front of the menu inside her restaurant, St. George, Utah, May 31, 2023 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News

The outside of Flavor of Seoul is pictured in St. George, Utah, May 31, 2023 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News

Items from the Flavor of Seoul menu are pictured, location and date unspecified | Photo courtesy of Sunghyun Taylor, St. George News

The lunch special at Flavor of Seoul features a "lunch box," St. George, Utah, May 31, 2023 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News

Items from the Flavor of Seoul menu are pictured, location and date unspecified | Photo courtesy of Sunghyun Taylor, St. George News

An item from the Flavor of Seoul menu is pictured, location and date unspecified | Photo courtesy of Sunghyun Taylor, St. George News

The inside of Flavor of Seoul is pictured in St. George, Utah, May 31, 2023 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News

Items from the Flavor of Seoul menu are pictured, location and date unspecified | Photo courtesy of Sunghyun Taylor, St. George News

An item from the Flavor of Seoul menu is pictured, location and date unspecified | Photo courtesy of Sunghyun Taylor, St. George News

Items from the Flavor of Seoul menu are pictured, location and date unspecified | Photo courtesy of Sunghyun Taylor, St. George News

Flavor of Seoul owner Sunghyun Taylor stands in front of her restaurant in St. George, Utah, May 31, 2023 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News

Jessi Bang was born and raised in Utah and has a passion for nature and the great outdoors. She graduated from Kaplan University in California with a degree in criminal justice. She has extensive experience in marketing, content creation, photography and copywriting. You can find her showcasing outdoor adventures through her blog, "The Rambling Raccoon." In her free time, she enjoys climbing mountains, trail running, working out and cuddling her two lovable pups.

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