Ukrainian refugees find solace through cooking Korean cuisine in Warsaw

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Ukrainian refugees find solace through cooking Korean cuisine in Warsaw

Published: 15 May. 2025, 17:29

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Tanya Korbuchak, 41, front, and Iryna Nyblytsia, 46, two Ukrainian refugees work in the kitchen of Haru, a Korean restaurant in Warsaw, Poland. [JOONGANG ILBO]

In a Korean restaurant in Warsaw, two Ukrainian women displaced by war have found healing and purpose through cooking bibimbap and bulgogi — serving not just food but resilience and hope for a future they still dream of returning to.

As this reporter opened the door to the restaurant, the sharp, comforting aroma of dishes cooked with spicy red pepper paste — or gochujang — wafted in the air. For a Korean man tired of days filled with bread and sausages, the scent of his homeland's food is an instant comfort.

In the kitchen, two women — lovingly called imo-nim, or aunties, by regulars — were busy prepping lettuce, which they grew themselves. It was a scene that could easily be mistaken for a typical lunchtime rush in Seoul — except this was in Warsaw, Poland, and the cooks were Ukrainian refugees.

Tanya Korbuchak, 41, and Iryna Nyblytsia, 46, now run the kitchen at a Korean restaurant in Warsaw called Haru. Tanya, a veteran of nearly two years at the restaurant, and Iryna, a newcomer of just one month, both discovered Korean cuisine in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Before the war, Tanya was a civil servant at the prosecutors’ office in Ivano-Frankivsk in Western Ukraine. Like millions of Ukrainians, her life was upended on Feb. 24, 2022, the day Russia invaded.

That afternoon, at around 4:30 p.m., an explosion rang out near Tanya’s office. A month later, she fled, taking a four-day bus journey to the Polish border. Polish volunteers met the refugees with bread, water and essentials — gestures she still remembers with gratitude.

“I am very thankful to the Polish,” said Tanya.

Korean dishes, including Bibimbap, that were cooked by two Ukrainian refugees are seen served in a Korean restaurant, Haru, in Warsaw, Poland. [JOONGANG ILBO]

But she never imagined the war would last over three years. People close to Tanya have been injured or killed. Her friend’s 25-year-old son died shortly after the war began. Her younger brother, four years her junior, is still on the front lines. Occasionally, he calls her, never revealing his exact location. She sends him care packages filled with gim — Korean seaweed — and clothes.

“My brother says Korean gim is delicious,” Tanya said. “He’s determined that Ukraine will win this war.”

She discovered Korean food through a job advertisement in the fall of 2023. After initial struggles, she now says she’s confident with dishes like bibimbap and jjajangmyeon (black bean noodle).

“Tanya even makes her own jjajang sauce at home and brings it in,” says Moon Eun-kyeong, the owner of Haru.

Korean food often reminds Tanya of holubtsi, a traditional Ukrainian dish made of cabbage rolls stuffed with rice, minced meat and onions, and served with tomato sauce. She likens the dish to eating bibimbap wrapped in ssam (Korean wrap).

When the bibimbap this reporter ordered arrived at the table, it was served with the lettuce Tanya had been preparing. A regular once told her to try wrapping the rice and toppings with a bit of doenjang (bean paste) in the lettuce.

Tanya Korbuchak, 41, front, and Iryna Nyblytsia, 46, two Ukrainian refugees prepare food in the kitchen of Haru, a Korean restaurant in Warsaw, Poland. [JOONGANG ILBO]

“I hope the war ends soon, but I don’t know when,” Tanya said. “I’ll go back to Ukraine someday.”

When asked if she’d consider opening a Korean restaurant there, she laughs: “Maybe — I’ll think about it.”

Unlike Tanya, Iryna’s village was captured early in the war — just 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) from the Russian border. Residents who resisted were killed or imprisoned. Her family survived on stored food until Ukrainian forces reclaimed the area two months later. As the Russians returned, the village became a violent battleground.

Iryna fled with her two sons in April 2022, traveling on foot and by train and bus to reach Poland. After arriving, she worked with an aid organization supporting Ukrainian refugees. Recently, she joined Haru’s kitchen, and says bibimbap and bulgogi are the Korean dishes she feels most confident preparing.

“The cease-fire negotiations don’t seem to be going well,” Iryna said, sighing. Putin doesn’t seem serious about peace, in Iryna’s view. But if peace comes, she wants to return home.

Her house may no longer exist.

“It might be here today, gone tomorrow,” she said. “But I still miss the forest where we picked mushrooms, the small pond where we fished, and the blue sky over Ukraine that looks just like our flag.”

“Another employee currently on parental leave keeps saying she’ll open a Korean restaurant in Ukraine once the war ends,” said the restaurant owner Moon. “I plan to teach her everything — even how to make kimchi.”

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY PARK HYEON-JUN [[email protected]]