Mukja
By: Daniel L. Smith | Categories: Alumni Achievements
“Honestly, this felt like an opportunity we might never see again,” says Peter Chung, BA 19, who teamed with Sean Chang to open Mukja in Midtown Atlanta in October 2020.
After Chang, a Georgia State student and Chung’s collegiate roommate, produced a delectable dish blending Southern-style fried chicken with Korean-powered flavors and cooking techniques, Chung invited friends over to the pair’s apartment for a taste.
“It was incredible,” Chung says. “And I mean incredible.”
So much so that Chung and Chang were soon welcoming a revolving cast of guests into their apartment, including prominent Atlanta area chefs, to trial the ballyhooed recipe.
“Universally, everyone told us it would sell,” Chung says.
When one of those early visitors offered an investment to open a restaurant, Chung and Chang tabled any other professional thoughts and placed a bet that Korean food would trend in Atlanta much like it was in New York and L.A.
“We saw the upside and wanted to be an early mover,” Chung says.
At Mukja, which translates to “Let’s eat!” in Korean, Chang’s original fried chicken recipe is the undeniable star. Combined with Korean-inspired sides like roasted kimchi-infused mac & cheese as well as corn cheese, a Korean staple featuring buttered sweet corn, bell peppers, onion, and mozzarella, Mukja offers an East-meets-West culinary experience complemented by the restaurant’s dramatic décor—charcoal-colored walls punctuated by a vibrant street-art graphic paying homage to Chung and Chang’s cultural duality as the American-born sons of Korean immigrants.
“Mukja is something new and refreshing for fried chicken and an expression of our cultural identity,” Chung says. “It’s a different concept and that's why it's working."
