LE CHOZEN

A Korean restaurant run by a Korean-Japanese owner raised between two cultures, Japan and Korea. The aim was to give form to the Korean food culture and memories that had been close to the owner since childhood—not only through the cuisine, but through the space itself.

The site is the ground floor of a building facing the Yutenji shopping street, on the former grounds of an izakaya (a traditional Japanese tavern) long loved by the local community. By carrying over as much as possible of a structure that still held the original scenery of an old Japanese izakaya—its tiled roof, its exposed posts and beams—we sought to preserve the memory of a place rooted in this neighborhood.

The damaged ceilings and walls were stripped back to a skeleton state, lending the space a contemporary sensibility. The distinctive andon (traditional paper lantern) lighting above the counter was likewise understood as part of that memory, reinterpreted through a modern sensibility and woven into the design.

As new finishes, lauan walls and a granite counter were inserted. When these materials found their balance with the finishes inherited from the existing building and the bare concrete structure, a curious quality emerged—one that feels neither quite Japanese nor quite Korean. By mixing antique pieces into the tables and loose furniture, we eased the tension of an over-designed space, searching for a balance between the comfort this neighborhood calls for and a fitting, gentle sense of poise.

Reconstructed while retaining the character the original building carried, the space lets old and new, Japan and Korea, tradition and modernity coexist. Where each tradition meets a contemporary sensibility, a place at once nostalgic and new has come into being.