When King Wang Jjang (KWJ) Korean BBQ Buffet opens its doors on Pitt Street later this year, some of the recipes hitting the grills will have travelled through one Korean family for more than 40 years.
At the centre of the story is Woojong Hwang, who first found his feet in Adelaide hospitality working with the Plus 82 Group, where he fell in love with the atmosphere and sense of connection that comes with Korean BBQ.
Plus 82 is an Adelaide hospitality group behind a number of Korean dining concepts, including Plus 82 Gogi, Plus 82 Pocha and Plus 82 Lite.
The sizzle of the meat, smoke from the grill and the ability of strangers becoming friends around a shared table.
Working the floor and around the grills eventually gave Woojong the confidence to take a leap of his own, co-founding CNB in Golden Grove, but his first attempt at running a venue didn’t unfold the way he had hoped.
After losing a significant amount of money in the venture, Woojong walked away with some hard learned lessons about the realities of the hospitality industry.
But rather than letting the setback put an end to his career, the experience ultimately led him towards another chapter.
With the support of his former Plus 82 colleagues and a belief that Adelaide had room for something special, Woojong decided to try again. It was during this next chapter that he connected with a couple who had already spent more than two decades in Adelaide’s Korean BBQ scene.
The husband-and-wife founders of GoJJi have been serving Korean BBQ in South Australia for more than 21 years, making them among the city’s longest-standing Korean operators in the space.
Over that time, they built a loyal following and became a familiar name within Adelaide’s Korean community. Now, after 21 years, the couple are preparing to retire and close the chapter on GoJJi.
KWJ will also open in GoJJi’s existing home at 15 Pitt Street, meaning the next iteration of the restaurant will continue in the very space where the couple built much of that 21-year legacy.
But its story won’t simply disappear with them.
Woojong, is taking the business into its next chapter, with KWJ representing the passing of more than two decades of hospitality knowledge from one generation to the next.
Rather than erasing what the GoJJi founders built, Woojong wants to respect its history while giving it a fresh future.
Seeing his passion for Korean BBQ and willingness to learn, the couple decided to pass on far more than advice. They shared family recipes dating back to the 1980s, along with techniques and knowledge they had spent more than two decades refining in Adelaide.
Those recipes will now form part of the foundation of KWJ, giving a new generation of diners the chance to experience flavours that have been handed down through the family for decades.
Woojong and the Plus 82 team are taking that history and building a new concept around it, combining an all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ buffet with a Korean butcher-style offering at the new Pitt Street venue.
The $49.90 all-you-can-eat offering is designed to cover the full Korean BBQ experience in one sitting, with a generous spread of meats, hot dishes, sides, sushi and dessert. Diners can grill Angus beef, brisket, oyster blade, pork belly, pork loin, prawns, mussels, marinated beef, LA galbi, spicy pork and teriyaki chicken at the table, while the buffet also includes Korean favourites such as fried chicken, japchae, tteokbokki, kimchi fried rice, bulgogi stir-fry and kimchi stew.
There is also a dedicated sushi bar with eight selections, including fresh salmon, aburi salmon and salmon avocado rolls, alongside bottomless banchan and DIY yoghurt ice cream with seasonal fruit to finish.
For Woojong, the restaurant represents a chance to take everything he learnt from his first venture and begin again, this time with decades of experience behind him.
And for the GoJJi founders, it means the recipes and traditions they spent more than 20 years sharing with Adelaide diners will continue long after they step away.
Losing everything once, Woojong is now opening of the most exciting Korean BBQ Buffet venues to hit Adelaide’s doorstep and let locals experience authentic family recipies made with love.
KWJ Korean BBQ Buffet
When: coming soon, 2026
Where: 15 Pitt Street, Adelaide
For updates, click here.
