Estrella Damm Chefs’ Choice Award 2026

Junghyun ‘JP’ Park

Understated innovator with a fresh perspective

When Junghyun 'JP' Park came to New York to bring the very best food and hospitality of Korea to the city, he could not have predicted his impact.

Born and raised in Seoul, South Korea, Park studied food science at Kyung Hee University before embarking on world travels that would later inform his culinary style. He visited more than 30 countries, working under Brett Graham at The Ledbury in London and Andrew McConnell at Melbourne's Cutler before returning to Seoul to take up the pans alongside legendary father of New Korean cuisine, Jungsik Yim.

It was this relationship with Yim that brought him to New York, moving halfway across the world to become chef de cuisine at Jungsik. In 2016, it was time for Park to go it alone – alongside his wife, Ellia, who runs the business side of the restaurants – and open Atoboy in 2016.

Two years later, the culinary power couple opened Atomix. Set in Manhattan's NoMad district, Atomix is a deeper reflection of Park's commitment to balance, storytelling and quietly brilliant hospitality. His thoughtful, modern manifestation of New Korean cuisine builds on the dried, fermented and preserved ingredients that are the bedrock of Korean cuisine with seasonal elements and modern techniques.

Dishes such as scallop with mustard kimchi and gim bugak, a traditional dried seaweed and glutinous rice-based snack, are presented on bespoke ceramics with explanatory cards pointing to memories or cultural traditions that inform the composition of each plate.

This philosophical approach to the New Korean cuisine that has boomed around the world resonates, with Atomix gaining two Michelin stars and being named The Best Restaurant in North America 2025. In 2026, it is ranked No.11 on The 50 Best Restaurants list.

Park's influence extends into a wider hospitality collective, including Naro, Seoul Salon and Somssi under the umbrella of Nae:Un Hospitality. It is his commitment to creating a new vision of Korean cuisine, distinct from traditional or New Korean gastronomy, inspiring both a new generation of chefs and his peers, that makes him the winner of the Estrella Damm Chefs' Choice Award, as part of The 50 Best Restaurants 2026.

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