Han Ly Hwang grew up in northern Virginia and started as a dishwasher and cook in a chain restaurant. Drawing, illustration, and painting have been his lifelong passions, and he attended a trade school for 3-D animation and computer sciences in Philadelphia. In 2005, he moved to Portland and started his career as a freelance animator and line cook. After many years working in other people’s restaurants, he followed the advice of his brilliant partner, Dana, and opened his Kim Jong Grillin’ food truck in 2010, quickly becoming the ambassador for Korean food in Portland. In 2011, Kim Jong Grillin’ won the coveted Judge’s Choice Award for best food truck at Portland’s Eat Mobile Food Festival. Mere hours later, his food truck burned to the ground. Fate soon blessed him with a beautiful daughter, Harlow, and one last shot at following his dream. He appeared on the Food Network show “Chopped” in 2014, reigniting his passion for cooking. He reopened Kim Jong Grillin’ in August 2014 and has never looked back. About opening and running Kim Jong Grillin’, Han says, “I have made every mistake in the book, but each one has moved me forward to be a better business owner and to better represent being Korean American.” Han, Dana, and Harlow live in Portland in a home filled with three cats, three dogs, and an African hedgehog.