Why Sunmi Kim went from playing volleyball for South Korea to serving kimbap

Sunmi's Sushi has clocked up almost three decades in the kitchen.

Sunmi Kim of Sunmi's Sushi. Source: Supplied

The fragrant aroma of garlic is what transformed former South Korean Olympic volleyballer Sunmi Kim into an unlikely, yet wildly popular cook. 

Born in Seoul, the now 66-year-old moved to Australia in 1982 after South Korea boycotted the 1980 Moscow Olympics for political reasons, ending months of training and her dreams of fulfilling her role on her national team.

Lured to Adelaide by the chance to coach volleyball, her sporting prowess continued when she gained Australian citizenship, enabling her to play for Australia at the volleyball championships in Melbourne. But the unmistakable scent of garlic, used heavily in Korean cooking, stalked her everywhere she went.

"When I was coaching, the players didn't like the smell of garlic so I had this idea that before games or practice everyone would come to my house and have a meal, so together we'd all smell like garlic," Kim says.

"I learned to cook beside my mum in South Korea but didn't know I could cook before I invited everyone to have a meal at my place. Everyone loved my cooking so much that they said I should open a restaurant. That was 28 years ago."

I came to the Adelaide Central Market and got stall number one. It's a good spot, isn't it. Lucky? Yeah.

She came to the Adelaide Central Market and got stall number one. "It's a good spot, isn't it lucky? Yeah."

Kim decided to name her humble establishment Sunmi's Sushi because three decades ago no one recognised the Korean kimbap (also spelt gimbap), which is similar to sushi. While the Japanese use vinegar in their sushi, Koreans use sesame oil. 

While "everyone knows" her famous chicken wings cooked with soy and copious garlic, and customers love her pancakes with green vegetables or mung bean, it is her bibimbap (a concoction of rice, vegetables and beef or chicken, topped with an egg) that is her best seller.

Bibimbap at Sunmi's Sushi. Source: Supplied

"If you've never had Korean food before, try bibimbap. It's the most popular around the world. A lot of office workers from around here come to have it as it's a very balanced meal," she says. 

"When I started here, no one came and asked for bibimbap, so we named the dish the 'taxi driver' as it's where busy people come to eat and go." 

Now she has three generations of local customers. "I even had a man whose wife had gone into labour coming to me because she wanted my fried rice."

Kim also remembers a regular from Port Lincoln. He stopped coming after he was involved in a car accident and suffered a brain injury that caused memory problems. "A few years later he came back and he remembered us due to the smell of our food."

I love feeding other people. If there are 10 people coming over I prepare as if there are hundreds of people coming.

Despite clocking up almost three decades at the market, and with no plans to move on, Kim says little has changed, not even in her pricing.

"I try to deliver food which is fresh but cheap. Everything is a bargain - a green pancake is $2 and mung beans are $3 each. The chicken fillet is $2.80. For under $10 a lot of people have a good meal," she says. 

"We would sell between 70 and 80 pancakes a day. I love what I do. I really enjoy cooking and meeting a lot of people here, particularly the regulars. 

"I love feeding other people. If there are 10 people coming over I prepare as if there are hundreds of people coming."

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Sunmi's Sushi

Stall 1 | Adelaide Central Market

Tues: 7am-5:30pm | Wed-Thurs: 9am to 5:30pm | Fri: 7am-9pm | Sat: 7am-3pm

Sunday-Monday: Closed

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