At QC's Woorijib, This Oppa Serves Korean Dishes That Remind Him of Home

(SPOT.ph) “I don’t like cooking,” says JB Cho, the Korean chef and owner of newly opened 14-seater Korean restaurant Woorijib in Quezon City. But Cho cooks anyway because it always delivers positive results. “For me, food is a bridge. Without these,” he gestures at the three dishes that encompass his soft-launch menu, “I wouldn’t be able to get to know you.”

While Cho does come across as soft-spoken and reserved, he’s clearly motivated by an extrovert's desire to connect with people, in this case over home-cooked meals. This is why he says he spends hours practicing techniques, tweaking ratios, and scouring supplies for his humble little restaurant—every dish is a medium, a way to reach out to the fellow human across the table.

It’s apparent in Woorijib's bright Spartan interior—clean white walls, utilitarian stainless steel kitchen, big picture windows, and light wooden furniture—that it's a blank slate waiting to be filled with stories, those that Cho and his customers would bring to the table.

He welcomes guests to this "house"—Woorijib directly translates to “Our House,” though the restaurant is not JB's literal home—from Tuesdays to Sundays, which is also his way of inviting people to a serving of his personal history through the food he prepares. “These dishes are the background music to my life,” Cho shares.

Every dish represents an era in the Cho timeline: from being born in Jeju, immigrating to China, studying in the US, hustling in South Korea, and now making a home in the Philippines. With each plate, diners get to taste the South Korean flavors that continue to connect the Korean cook to home no matter where he found himself.

If you love Kimchi and are craving for something unpretentious and homey, the Kimchi Jigae (PHP 185) might just be what you're looking for. Kept simple by Cho, it allows the distinct sour and spicy qualities of kimchi to mellow out into a warm soup of tender pork and soft tofu. 

The dish sparks nostalgia for Cho. He says that no matter what he may be up to back home in Korea, a pot of Kimchi Jigae was always waiting for him. “...There was always a pot of [Kimchi Jigae] sitting on the stove. One of my favorite midnight snacks was scooping up a bowl of hot rice and mixing it directly with the room-temperature stew straight from the stove—no reheating required—so I could just enjoy it in seconds,” he shares.

When JB’s family moved to China to open a Korean barbecue restaurant, he spent much of his childhood around his mother’s kitchen. The experience made him independent and entrepreneurial, eventually inspiring him to leave for the U.S. for college. In hindsight, he was already preparing to follow in his parents' footsteps. 

Years later, while working grueling 12-hour days as a brand manager in China and South Korea, JB often turned to his favorite dish: jeyuk. “The ultimate comfort food for Korean workers—it’s the top lunch pick because it’s deeply satisfying and gives you the energy to power through a long afternoon.” 

Today, at his own restaurant, he serves Jeyuk (PHP 225) to revitalize fellow hard-workers. The deep umami, bold sweetness, and touch of spice of the gochujang-centered sauce cling perfectly on every tender piece of pork. Matched with a fresh leaf of lettuce for a ssam (lettuce wrap) every bite offers a crisp palate cleanser that keeps the overall experience of eating well-balanced. 

“For Bulgogi, I instantly think of my grandmother," says Cho. "She would cook it for me without fail every time I visited her during summer and winter school vacations.” It’s likely this memory he holds dear that’s made him committed to serving high-quality Bulgogi (PHP 255) at Woorijib.

Of the three dishes on the menu, the pronounced savoriness of the Bulgogi makes it our clear favorite. Cho turns up the heat high for this one, and allows the onions, carrots, and beef to take on some charring for their natural sweetness to come out. But much more than the technique, what really shines in this dish is the intentionality of the ingredients.

At 33, Cho is already thinking beyond the viral success of his TikTok videos—those carefully staged, K-drama-inspired clips of an “oppa” cooking for his partner, complete with K-drama music. He hopes to build a life and a family with his wife in the Philippines, while continuing to serve the dishes customers keep asking for.

But his vision for Woorijib remains surprisingly simple: he doesn't want a sprawling chain or a faceless corporate operation. He wants it to remain, quite literally, "our house"—a place where he's still taking orders, cooking meals, and chatting with guests.

The challenges of running a restaurant, from plumbing problems to sold-out rushes, are constant. But for Cho, the reward is equally simple: "You always find a way to solve the problem, grow from it, and get better. Ultimately, when a guest smiles, makes eye contact, offers a sweet compliment, or leaves behind a completely cleared-out bowl—all that stress just washes away.”