Korean American chef Austin Kang is building MLB watch parties for Seoul mornings
Yonhap interviews chef Austin Kang about MLB Breakfast Club at his Seoul restaurant Mukjung, blending American sports viewing with Korean-Mexican brunch dishes named after players.
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Korean American chef Austin Kang is turning Seoul mornings into MLB territory. In an interview with Yonhap News Agency, Kang describes MLB Breakfast Club, a watch-party campaign at his Michelin-listed restaurant Mukjung where fans gather around screens, cocktails, and brunch dishes named after major-league players.
Kang grew up in Los Angeles going to Dodgers games and eating Mexican food with friends in the Park Chan-ho era, he tells the outlet. He now frames food as the bridge that lets strangers watch baseball together in a city where live games air at awkward hours.
The menu mixes comfort staples with Korean touches. Yonhap lists dishes including nachos with kimchi carnitas, a Chipotle-style bowl, galbi eggs benedict tied to Dodgers infielder Kim Hye-seong, and a bingsoo dessert named for Giants outfielder Lee Jung-hoo.
Kang says the galbi benedict has been the early crowd favorite because it fits brunch expectations while still reading distinctly Korean.
He also positions the campaign as a culture-building experiment. MLB is testing whether Seoul fans want a recurring morning ritual around American baseball, not just highlight clips after work.
For diaspora readers, the story sits at the intersection of sports, food, and reverse export. An LA-raised chef is importing Dodgers-era nostalgia into a Seoul dining room and betting that Korean fans will show up for the social experience.
Yonhap notes former pitcher Kim Byung-hyun attended the launch event. Kang wore a Shohei Ohtani jersey during the interview.
Read Yonhap for the full menu breakdown and Kang's comments on how K-food keeps evolving through fusion rather than tradition alone.
