Just minutes after opening for the day, Austin restaurant Korea House was packed with customers.
Nearly every seat was filled as strangers squeezed together at the same table. More waited in line outside, braving the July heat for a spot.
In a city like Austin, you might assume the crowds were for the newest trendy, expensive restaurant.
But Korea House has been around for nearly 40 years — and every person at the restaurant was about to eat for free.
On the first Wednesday of every month, the North Austin restaurant offers a free meal and fellowship to anyone who walks through its doors. After decades of providing food for a price, the owners said the recent free meal days are their way of serving the community and a greater purpose.
Pok-Cha Kim has owned the restaurant since 1988. In 2016, she took a break from work for several years, and during that time, "she was called for God’s work,” said Vivian Newton, her longtime friend and co-owner of Korea House.
Kim and Newton were looking for a way to help others and make their time on Earth more meaningful.
“Our life is not about … get up, eat, go to school or go to work, and every day, just circle around, do the same thing,” Newton said. “We used to talk about, like, this is not everything.”
They were ultimately inspired to give back by doing what they know best: making and serving Korean food.
Korea House hosted its first free meal day in September 2023, offering several dishes from a modified menu. The restaurant ended up serving more than 500 customers over the course of the day. Nearly two years later, the restaurant has now given out around 15,000 meals.
The monthly event is an extension of the owners’ faith — Christian music plays through the speakers, and workers offer a sympathetic ear and a prayer for those who ask. Newton said everyone is welcome to dine, regardless of religion or circumstances.
“Everyone [is] struggling with something,” Newton said. “I just want whoever comes to the restaurant, after they taste our food, I want them to be filled up spiritually.”
Siblings Lillian and Alice Gray grew up going to Korea House. “It was probably one of my first restaurants,” Alice said.
Now, they are both college students, and their family still visits the restaurant on both regular and free meal days. Alice said her favorite part of the event is talking to people she doesn’t know.
“Because of the long shared tables, every time we get to know someone new, which is really sweet, and learn about their life or time in Austin,” she said. “It's a fun way to connect because you don't always have times like that in restaurant spaces.”
Moses Yoo, who is Korean American, was visiting Korea House for the first time in July after he saw a post about the free meal day on Facebook.
“I'm actually homeless,” he said. “I haven't had Korean food in like four years. So I was really jazzed about it.”
There were so many things he was interested in trying that it was hard to decide, he said. He ended up ordering bibimbap — a rice dish that comes with beef and vegetables — and rice cakes coated in a spicy gochujang sauce.
“That first taste brought [me] back to Korea,” Yoo said after his meal. “The smells of the streets, of all the different foods and just hearing Korean at a Korean restaurant here in Austin. … It was nice to have someone speak back Korean.”
Yoo plans on coming back.
“As long as I am welcomed, I hope it to be my second home,” he said.
Giving away thousands of meals isn’t easy or cheap.
Korea House’s staff, who volunteer their time unpaid on free meal days, continue to work until the last person in line gets to eat — even if that’s hours after the restaurant officially closes.
Newton said they spend thousands of dollars a month on the event. They are also forgoing profit; entrees on regular days cost around $12 to $28. The restaurant has a produce supplier who covers a fraction of the cost through ingredient donations, but Newton and Kim have been dipping into savings to continue the free meal days.
“We’re not rich, but when we share with others, always God provide us better things somehow,” Newton said.
Things have gotten pricey, she said, and as Austin has grown, Newton and Kim have seen more restaurants come and go. Still, they’re not worried about the future.
“If we have to close down, we'll close down,” Newton said. “But until then, we're just going to keep on going.”
Korea House’s free meal days are on the first Wednesday of every month, 12-4 p.m. and 5-8 p.m. Tips or donations are accepted but not expected; the restaurant often pools what it receives to give to someone in need. More information is available on the restaurant’s social media.
