Park Chung Gun (standing) takes care of his diners at the Ông Park - Bún Chả Việt Restaurant. Photos courtesy of Park Chung Gun

Thanh Hà

HÀ NỘI — In a corner of a garden, Park Chung Gun spoke about his life and career. The shooting trainer said he has enjoyed every moment of his five years living in Việt Nam, spending time travelling and cooking for family and friends after work.

"I really like cooking. I sometimes go out to drink coffee with friends and eat Vietnamese food. I love bún chả, nem and phở the most. I will open a restaurant in Hà Nội," he said.

Nearly six years later, the South Korean has made his dream come true, running a restaurant with the Vietnamese specialty bún chả as the main and best-selling dish in the capital's Nam Từ Liêm District.

Most successful foreign coach

Park was recommended to assist Việt Nam’s shooting team while they were on a training course in South Korea in 2006. Eight years later, Park made the most difficult and important decision of his life: to sign a contract to work as a coach for the national team.

"After many years of working with Vietnamese shooters, I have great affection for them. I spent many sleepless nights thinking when I received an offer from the Việt Nam Shooting Federation," he said.

"I decided to give up a stable job and a good income, and left my family home to come to Việt Nam. It was a difficult, risky decision and the biggest turning point in my life — leaving all the good things behind without any regret."

In his new life in a new country, he worked hard to help his new but familiar athletes improve their performance.

"Whether sunny or rainy, summer or winter, we always try our best to practise. The Vietnamese athletes' basic techniques were good, so in the first few days after I arrived I only focused on physical training. Only when their physical strength grew could they work to improve their techniques," he said.

He found that Vietnamese shooters were talented and full of potential, but could not achieve high results in major competitions due to weak mental preparation, stemming from a lack of international experience.

"To fix this problem, I asked all of the athletes to say 'I can do it' whenever they practised," said Park. "We used all sorts of things to make the loudest noise possible to distract them during training. This method worked very well because later, when they competed at the World Championships or the Olympics, they stayed focused — even if there was drumming next to them."

Just two years after his arrival, Park pushed Việt Nam to the highest podiums in shooting.

Under his guidance, Hoàng Xuân Vinh earned Việt Nam’s first-ever Olympic gold in the men’s 10m air pistol, as well as a silver in the 50m pistol at the Rio Games in 2016.

Thanks to his extraordinary achievements, Park became the most successful foreign coach in Việt Nam’s history and was awarded the Friendship Medal by the president.

"When Vinh won, I felt like I had won the gold medal myself. This was my lifelong dream," said Park, who guided his athletes to dominate the Southeast Asia region and secure medals in the Asian championships, 2023 Asian Games and fourth place in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Park Chung Gun (centre) and his athletes after winning the 2024 Asian championships gold medal in the mixed pair 10m air pistol category. -- Photos sggp.org.vn

After the Paris event, Park decided to leave the hot seat, saying it was time to say goodbye.

"The decision to come to Việt Nam changed my life. I love the country and the people so much, even the food and the beautiful scenery here. The wonderful memories of my time here will always be in my mind. No matter what, love for this country will forever be in my heart," said Park, who was also awarded the Third-Class Labor Medal by the president.

Back in a different role

That love brought him back to the country just a few months later.

"To me, Việt Nam is my second home, where I experienced both success and failure — all good memories. I came back because I want to be with the love of my life," Park said.

By the end of 2024, people saw a familiar man in a suit, warmly guiding diners to park their motorbikes on the corner of Trần Văn Lai Street. He then seated them in a restaurant serving Vietnamese bún chả (rice vermicelli with grilled pork) and nem cua bể (fried crab spring rolls).

Park had finally opened his dream eatery, a restaurant called Ông Park - Bún Chả Việt (Mr Park - Vietnamese Bún Chả).

"Vietnamese cuisine, and especially Hà Nội's, is very delicious and unique. Bún chả is a Vietnamese dish that I like and want to introduce to as many Koreans as possible, so that they learn more about Vietnamese cuisine and culture," he said.

Park Chung Gun plans to help spread Vietnamese cuisine and culture through bún chả. -- Photo courtesy of Park Chung Gun

The newly opened restaurant has drawn in a huge number of customers. They are all well taken care of by the owner, who enthusiastically serves each table, listens to feedback and takes notes to adjust.

"No matter what job I do, I have to do it with all my heart, dedication and with a loving heart and gratitude," said Park, who learned the recipe himself from Vietnamese cooks to ensure he can provide the traditional flavour.

Former national coach Nguyễn Thị Nhung supported Park in opening the restaurant, choosing the ingredients and designing the dishes.

"Park loves Vietnamese food and wants to popularise a bún chả dish that has a pure Vietnamese flavour and meets the demanding requirements of foreign diners," said Nhung.

"At first, many customers came partly because of curiosity about the attractive brand name 'Ông Park - Bún Chả Việt'. Then, thanks to the delicious food, many came back, even choosing it as their favourite restaurant, because the food is delicious."

Asked if he remembers shooting while working at the bún chả restaurant, Park said: "I haven't thought about it yet. Now is the time for me to wish good health to my loved ones. And of course, I always wish my former students success." VNS