Today we’d like to introduce you to Sean Kim.
Hi Sean, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
The Story of MOA Hospitality
I originally moved to South Carolina as a sophomore transfer student from Korea, planning to finish my degree in three years and move on. Those plans changed when I met my wife. We built a family here, and as my parents and brother eventually immigrated to Columbia, I shifted into the retail and service industry to provide for my family and support our new life in America.
After 25 years in the state, my professional focus became bringing a specific quality of dining to the region. We started with 929 Kitchen & Bar in Columbia. Its success gave us the confidence to launch MOA Korean BBQ in Charlotte as our second venture. Although the pandemic delayed that opening, we pushed through and achieved record sales immediately following the 2021 reopening.
Despite the success in Charlotte, I missed my family and saw immense potential growing in Columbia. I returned to open MOA on Main Street in 2023. A point of pride for us is that all three restaurants were built from scratch. I’ve collaborated with the same interior designer, Dana Jeong from New York, on every project; while each location has a unique theme, they share a consistent design language.
Today, MOA Hospitality has grown to include two partners who joined during the Columbia expansion. We are currently looking toward new locations in Georgia and Greenville. People often ask why the owners and partners are still on the floor every day working as General Managers. To us, the answer is simple: the meaning of the service industry is being there to fix problems and deliver the best hospitality personally. We believe you can’t lead a team or serve a community from a remote office—you have to be on the floor
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It hasn’t been a smooth road; it has been a series of calculated risks and logistical hurdles.
The first major struggle was the timing of 929 Kitchen & Bar in 2017. Right after finishing the culinary program at USC, I set out to introduce modern, upscale Korean cuisine to the Columbia market. At that time, “K-Culture”—the music, the beauty, the food—hadn’t yet become the global phenomenon it is today. Columbia is a historically conservative market when it comes to new cuisines, and there was a heavy cloud of doubt. I worried that people simply wouldn’t understand the food or the culture. However, that doubt vanished quickly after we opened in April 2018; I realized the community was much more ready for us than I had feared.
The second and perhaps greatest challenge was MOA Charlotte. In May 2019, I signed a 10-year lease for a 6,000-square-foot space in the heart of Uptown. It was a massive undertaking. We were installing a complex tabletop downdraft BBQ system with integrated fire suppression—something our contractors had never handled before.
In the middle of that difficult construction, the pandemic hit. Everything stopped. For 15 months, I sat with a massive, unfinished restaurant in a ghost town. No other companies were open, and no one was coming into Uptown Charlotte. It was a test of endurance and capital, but even in the quietest moments of the lockdown, I never once doubted the success of the concept. I knew that once the doors could finally open, the quality of the experience would speak for itself. It eventually did, but those 15 months were a hard-fought lesson in patience.
We’ve been impressed with 929 Kitchen & bar / Moa Korean bbq&bar, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Our business is built on two pillars: 929 Kitchen & Bar, which introduces traditional Korean ingredients with a contemporary twist, and MOA Korean BBQ, which elevates the communal grilling experience to an upscale level.
What sets us apart is our refusal to cut corners on the environment or the service. While many Korean BBQ spots focus on “all-you-can-eat” volume, we focus on the quality of the cut—using prime angus, a5 Wagyu and in house dry-aged meats—and a full-service approach. At MOA, our servers handle the grilling at your table to ensure every piece of meat is cooked to its technical potential. We also house a wine cellar with over 400 bottles, which is a rarity in this niche. We want the meal to feel like a destination event, not just a dinner.
What I am Most Proud Of
Brand-wise, I am most proud of our design consistency. each restaurant was built from the ground up with a unique, custom theme. Working with the same interior designer, Dana Jeong, has allowed us to create spaces that feel like they belong in NYC or Seoul while still being rooted in the Carolinas.
I am also proud of our reputation for on-the-ground hospitality. We have high ratings across platforms (averaging 4.7 stars), and if you read our reviews, guests frequently mention the attentiveness of the staff. That’s because my partners and I are General Managers who still work the floor daily. We don’t just own the restaurants; we run them.
What You Should Know
If you visit our brands, I want you to know that you aren’t just getting a meal—you’re getting a standard of service that we take very personally. Whether it’s a quick lunch at 929 or a celebratory dinner at MOA, our goal is to eliminate the “doubts” people once had about Korean cuisine by delivering it with world-class hospitality. We are a family-grown business that treats our operations with professional rigor, and that is reflected in every plate that leaves our kitchen.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
To be honest, I haven’t had a formal mentor throughout my career. Most of what I’ve learned has come from being on the floor every day, trial and error, and the practical demands of running a family business. For me, the best “networking” hasn’t happened at formal events, but rather through the relationships built with my partners, our staff, and the guests who walk through our doors daily. I’ve always found that if you focus on the work and treat people right, the right connections tend to follow naturally
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Moakoreanbbq.com
- Instagram: Moakoreancola
- Facebook: 929kitchen
- Other: https://929kitchen.com
