Hawker Hustlers: Jin Kimchi’s Jack Chu wants to keep Korean food here authentic and affordable

As someone that craves Korean food relatively often, I first found out about Jin Kimchi when I was blindly scrolling through the delivery apps, looking for something suitable to satisfy my cravings. 

The brand, which came about in the throes of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020, is probably best known for its kimchi and banchan (side dishes) — available online and some supermarkets —  but its hawker stall version has also been steadily growing, too. 

Priding itself on providing authentic and affordable Korean fare, Jin Kimchi Express has grown to a staggering eleven outlets across Singapore within a span of less than 3 years. (Its first outlet opened in 2022.)

And when we say affordable, we really mean affordable — the shop sells a bibimbap with a fair amount of protein, starting at just S$3.50. 

The man behind the magic is none other than Korean native Jack Chu, 28, who moved here with his family as a child from the town of Suwon, around the age of eight.

The story behind Jin Kimchi

It was over a meal of hearty Jin Kimchi fare that Jack tells us about the brand’s origins. He was running his own marketing agency in 2020 when clients started dropping off due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

By then, he had already begun exploring the idea of selling kimchi made using his mother’s recipe, so he was able to quickly pivot to this new business model.

He felt that a lot of the kimchi options available in Singapore back then tended to be too sour.

“I wanted to bring to Singapore the fresh kimchi that my mom always makes for me,” he says. “I really love my mom’s kimchi. It’s very sweet and very savoury.”

The brand, Jin Kimchi, is named after his mother’s maiden name, which he felt had a better ring to it instead of his own, Chu.

The then-home-based business started off with kimchi and banchan (side dishes) and ran for all of one week in early 2020, before they were overwhelmed and he had to start a factory to cope with the incoming orders. 

Even then, the pragmatist in Jack knew that selling kimchi alone wouldn’t be able to sustain his overheads, adding that it’s “hard to live on”. 

He explored ways to grow and even ran a kimchi fried rice at a pop-up with Invade, the company behind ArtBox Singapore, at one point. This was before he was eventually approached by Fairprice Group to start a hawker stall at one of their food courts. 

Apparently one of their staff had chanced upon Jin Kimchi as a paying customer, and liked it so much she had put forth their brand as a potential tenant. 

One thing led to another, and the entrepreneurial Gen-Z now has eleven outlets to his name, some with Fairprice food courts, some with other landlords. 

Keeping things affordable at Jin Kimchi

Before Jin Kimchi Express came about, it wasn’t as common to see authentic Korean fare at hawker centres or food courts, sold at reasonable prices. 

Sure, you’d often see stalls boasting Japanese and Korean cuisine — hotplate chicken, pork and beef, as well as Chinese-Korean fusion dishes. But not much in the way of true, authentic dishes — a little similar to how hawker western food is a catch-all for non-Asian and Hainanese-western fare.

If you did want authentic Korean food, however, you’d probably have to head to a restaurant, perhaps one along Tanjong Pagar, where a kimchi stew can set you back around S$20. 

Recognising that, Jack’s goal with Jin Kimchi and Jin Kimchi Express has always been to “do something more authentic, at a more affordable price”.

The cheapest main at Jin Kimchi is its julienne radish bibimbap, which goes for S$3.50, while the most expensive one is its bibim mul naengmyeon (cold noodles with spicy sauce) at S$9.20. 

He hopes that diners will see Korean food in Singapore as something that you could have everyday, if you wanted to, rather than a once-a-week or once-a-month thing.

Jack explains that Jin Kimchi is able to provide Korean fare at lower prices as he relies mostly on directly imported items.

A good 70% to 80% of his ingredients that he uses at all of his shops and factories are imported directly, without going through middlemen, which then allows him to pass these savings onto consumers.

After growing quickly over the past two years, Jack tells us he’s now working on stablising his import sources, as well as improving the quality of the food at his outlets. 

“We’re always looking for ways to work better operationally,” he adds. 

The serial entrepreneur has also gone back to his marketing roots, and is concurrently working on marketing efforts for popular Korean hair salon Juno’s latest outlet in Singapore, at Scotts Square. 

Trying Jin Kimchi Express’ menu

At Jin Kimchi Express, Jack’s philosophy is to “always give more, such that they (the customers) cannot finish the food”.

He says, for example, the fan favourite Jin signature kimchi stew (S$6.80) is marketed as a single-person meal, but it’s actually good enough for two. 

(Having ordered this very item off GrabFood, I can attest to being shocked at the amount of food that I received — from the stew to the side dishes, and even the rice.) 

Jin Kimchi’s signature kimchi stew is a perennial favourite for me — it’s fiery-red as all good kimchi stews should be, and has just the right amount of spice and tanginess, with a tinge of sweetness. 

The hearty, thick stew also contains tender pork belly slices, tofu, and lots and lots of kimchi; Jack really wasn’t kidding when he said it is good for two. 

The other item that really caught our eye and growling stomachs was its grilled galbi pork belly meat set (S$7.90), which comes with lightly charred, juicy grilled pork belly slices, rice and a side of kimchi and radish.

The flavours and the portion size easily rivals that of a Korean restaurant along Tanjong Pagar, but at a significant fraction of the price. 

Admittedly, the meat may be a tad too charred for some (thanks to the sweet marinade, which tends to burn quickly), but hey, you gotta be okay with some level of char when you’ve committed to having grilled meats.

Those who prefer all-in-one dishes will love its fuss-free Jin kimchi fried rice (S$6.50), or the julienne radish bibimbap (from S$3.50 for a small bowl), both of which come topped with a fried egg. 

The julienne radish bibimbap is a lot simpler than most other bibimbaps, with just three vegetable toppings — lettuce, cucumber, and julienned radish — but it’s a filling dish nonetheless. You can also add pork belly for S$2.50, if you want more protein. 

With eleven outlets around the island, you probably wouldn’t have much difficulty locating one near you to try these affordable, authentic dishes.

While you’re at it, you can also grab some bottles of kimchi at its hawker stalls to-go, too. Prices start at S$10.80 for the Jin cucumber kimchi and go up to S$23.90 for a bottle of Jin “white” kimchi, a non-spicy take on the side dish. 

Or you can just be like this writer and just order off the apps — the brand is well-equipped with machinery that properly seals all your dishes (yes, even the soupy ones!), so it’ll be just like you’re having them in-person. 

For more ideas on what to eat, check out Lantine, a new Chinese dessert spot at Farrer park, or just explore our new openings round-up!

Jin Kimchi is on the GrabFood delivery service and offers free delivery (up to S$3 off) with GrabUnlimited.

Enjoy up to 50% off when you dine with GrabFood Dine Out.

You can also book a ride to Jin Kimchi Express outlets around Singapore.