New joy in the second homeland!

When Mr. Park Chung-gun sold noodles

On a corner of Tran Van Lai Street (Hanoi) which is usually full of shops, there is a restaurant with a very strange name: "Mr. Park - Vietnamese vermicelli with grilled pork". And in that strange restaurant, a very familiar owner is standing at the door to welcome diners. Dressed neatly, wearing a polite suit with a characteristic gentle bow, expert Park Chung-gun is starting a new journey in Vietnam: opening a vermicelli with grilled pork restaurant bearing his name.

Expert Park Chung-gun is no stranger to Vietnamese sports. He is the most successful foreign teacher that the sports industry has ever worked with, when he and coach Nguyen Thi Nhung trained talented shooters such as Hoang Xuan Vinh, Tran Quoc Cuong, Pham Quang Huy, Trinh Thu Vinh. The peak of expert Park and coach Nguyen Thi Nhung was 1 gold medal, 1 silver medal that Hoang Xuan Vinh won at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Vietnamese vermicelli and grilled pork restaurant of expert Park Chung-gun on Tran Van Lai street (Hanoi)

Expert Park Chung-gun devotedly introduces dishes to diners

Expert Park Chung-gun welcomed special guests, including reporters and experts who have been involved in Vietnamese sports for many years.

To date, Hoang Xuan Vinh's gold medal in the men's 10m air pistol event is still the highest mountain that Vietnamese sports have ever conquered.

After that, expert Park Chung-gun continued to train Pham Quang Huy to win the gold medal at the 19th ASIAD (2023) in Hangzhou, China. To date, this is still the only gold medal that Vietnamese shooting has ever achieved in the largest playground in Asia. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, under the guidance and instruction of expert Park, shooter Trinh Thu Vinh ranked fourth in the women's 10m air pistol event, then entered the finals of the women's 25m sports pistol event. The athlete born in 2000 achieved this achievement in her first time at the Olympics.

However, Mr. Park Chung-gun later did not renew his contract with the Vietnamese shooting team. The Korean expert decided to take a break to spend time with his family. After a while returning to his homeland, then to the US (Mr. Park's family lives in the US), Mr. Park Chung-gun decided to return to Vietnam to start a bun cha business.

"Is the bun cha delicious?", Mr. Park asked me and the other diners with kindness, even though his Vietnamese was not fluent. Assisting Mr. Park in opening the restaurant, choosing the ingredients and designing the dishes, former coach Nguyen Thi Nhung of the Vietnamese shooting team affirmed that Mr. Park was very meticulous in choosing dishes.

Bun cha dish at Mr. Park's restaurant

Korean guests also love the Vietnamese flavor of bun cha.

"Mr. Park Chung-gun loves Vietnamese food and wants to create a bun cha dish that has a pure Vietnamese flavor and meets the demanding requirements of foreign diners," said coach Nguyen Thi Nhung, who is known as the "steel rose" of Vietnamese shooting. At first, many customers came partly because of Mr. Park, partly because of curiosity about the attractive name "Mr. Park's bun cha". Then, thanks to the delicious food, many people came back, even choosing it as their "favorite" restaurant because of its familiar and delicious dishes.

Love Vietnam with all my heart

Although it has not been open for long and has not yet made a big splash, Park Chung-gun's noodle shop is still bustling with both Vietnamese and Korean customers (because the noodle shop is near an area with a large Korean population). Despite the large number of customers, the former expert of the Vietnamese shooting team still enthusiastically serves each table, listens to feedback, and takes notes to tell the kitchen to make adjustments.

"I always want to be meticulous in every detail no matter what job I do. Whatever I do, I must do it with all my heart, dedication, and with a loving heart and gratitude, whether it is shooting training or business or service," Mr. Park Chung-gun shared, with his characteristic gentle smile that has left an impression on many generations of shooters.

After leaving the shooting team, Mr. Park Chung-gun was hesitant between staying in Vietnam or moving to the US. In the end, the attraction of friendly and peaceful Vietnam kept the Korean expert here.

"If I leave the shooting team, I will stay in Vietnam. Everything here is great. I have Korean friends, and my close brother Park Hang-seo. I want to enjoy every moment," Park Chung-gun shared with the writer nearly 2 years ago. He kept his word and stayed here to continue enjoying the pace of life in the place he has long considered his second home.

"Mr. Park likes life in Hanoi. It's just the right amount of hustle and bustle, just the right amount of peace, everything is just right," Coach Nguyen Thi Nhung confided.

For his contributions to shooting in particular and Vietnamese sports in general, expert Park Chung-gun was awarded the Third Class Labor Medal by the President.

In response, Mr. Park Chung-gun shared: "Over the past 10 years, while working here, I have always considered Vietnam as my second homeland. I have experienced both success and failure. But in the end, those are all beautiful memories.

I always think that the Vietnamese shooting team will be more successful, instead of stopping at the achievements in the past. I hope that Vietnamese shooting will invite more talented and excellent experts than me so that the shooters can win gold medals at the ASIAD and the Olympics."

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ong-park-ban-sung-mo-quan-bun-cha-o-ha-noi-niem-vui-moi-o-que-huong-thu-hai-1852501141613434.htm