Sang-Mu Yi, 67, watched favorably as a couple from Buckhead enjoyed jjamppong, a spicy noodle soup, for Saturday lunch at her Korean barbecue restaurant, Han Il Kwan, in Doraville.
Adding the Chinese-influenced soup to the menu was a survival move, she said, as Korean restaurants disappear from the stretch of Buford Highway near I-285 that was once the center of gravity for Georgia’s small but bustling Korean community.
“While we specialize in KBBQ, a lot of customers started looking for Korean-style Chinese cuisine when Yen Jing closed,” she said, referring to a beloved but now closed restaurant nearby. Yi is also catering to people with tastes for Japanese foods with Korean influences…