Seoul multicultural baker urges govt support for immigrant-owned shops

A Cameroonian café owner in Seoul is pressing South Korean authorities to formally recognize and support multicultural family businesses, arguing they function as community anchors far beyond their commercial role.

The appeal highlights growing pressure on immigrant-run small businesses in South Korea as they navigate rising rents and economic volatility — challenges that mirror the realities facing multicultural entrepreneurs in Korean-American communities across Orange County.

Ronald Munkoah, a Cameroonian national who arrived in South Korea in 2018 as an exchange student, now co-owns Beginning Bread Bakery Cafe in Seoul's Gongneung-dong neighborhood with his Korean wife, Baek Su-min, whom he met in 2019.

"We operate with the mindset of being a neighborhood anchor rather than just a business," Munkoah told The Korea Times.

The bakery donates a portion of its daily bread output to the city council's food bank for homeless and low-income residents. The cafe also prioritizes hiring local workers and sourcing ingredients from nearby suppliers, keeping profits circulating within the neighborhood. The shop runs seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

"This means that even on difficult days, the oven at Beginning Bread Bakery Cafe is on not only for sales but also for social responsibility, because we see ourselves as part of the local safety net, not just the local market," Munkoah said, according to The Korea Times.

Munkoah said immigrant-owned businesses perform a social function that goes well past commerce. "Multicultural families like mine play a crucial role in this local story — we invest our savings here, we educate our children here and we often act as informal ambassadors who connect Korean customers with global perspectives and vice versa," he said.

He warned that closures would carry costs beyond lost revenue. "If our shops close, we do not just lose income; we risk losing our foothold and sense of belonging in Korean society," Munkoah said.

Munkoah called on government officials to act. "Targeted support and clear government recognition of such multicultural enterprises would help us expand this positive impact," he said.