What the K-Wave Means for Hotel and Restaurant Design - Thomas Oh & Daphne Shin - Defining Hospitality

In this episode of Defining Hospitality, Dan Ryan sits down with Thomas Oh, Co-Founder & General Manager of Perilla Korean American Steakhouse, and Daphne Shin, Founder & Principal Designer of the Ruimte, two passionate creators working at the intersection of culture, cuisine, and design. Sponsored by BERMANFALK, the episode delves into the unique approach Thomas and Daphne take to blend Korean cultural elements into their business ventures in Chicago.

About the Guests:

Thomas Oh is the co-founder and director of operations at Perilla Korean American Steakhouse. With a mission to introduce Korean culture through dining experiences, Thomas highlights the seamless integration of Korean and American culinary elements at Perilla.

Daphne Shin is the founder and principal designer of the Ruimte, an interior design firm. Through her design work at L7 Hotel, Daphne strives to create environments where every guest, regardless of background, feels at home.

Chapters:

02:26 Defining Hospitality

04:38 Building L7 Chicago

06:33 Designing Perilla Steakhouse

15:26 Korean DNA in the Hotel

19:40 Reception in Chicago

24:49 The K Wave Momentum

27:28 Entrepreneur Lessons

30:08 Teamwork Solves Problems

30:43 Exhaust System Collaboration

32:13 Sponsor Sustainability Note

32:48 Immigrant Path to Hospitality

34:56 Little Victories in Service

38:17 Design vs Operations Reality

42:15 Dream Projects and Timelessness

46:35 Hotel and Restaurant Synergy

49:43 How Lotte Found Them

51:09 Luck Meets Hard Work

53:27 Closing Thanks and Farewell

Quote of the Show:

"It's exciting for me and for the team here, for them to come into our space… We're not screaming this is Korean to them, but they're loving the design of this restaurant and the hotel." - Thomas Oh

Building a hotel, brand, or guest experience? Reach out to Dan on LinkedIn or hit reply on the Substack to share what you’re working on.

Links:

• Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@defininghospitality?sub_confirmation=1 
• Substack: https://www.defininghospitality.live/ 
• BERMANFALK: https://www.bermanfalk.com/ 
• Thomas Oh LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-oh-b6164570/ 
• Daphne Shin LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daphne-shin-1a223b44/ 
• Daphne Shin Email: daphne@theruimte.com 
• Dan Ryan LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thedailydanryan/ 

Tags:

#hospitality #Koreancuisine #design #Kwave #defininghospitality #podcasting #ChicagoDining