Ji Hye Kim

Chef & Managing Partner

Miss Kim

Ann Arbor, MI USA

“Life doesn’t stop with one failure, one mistake, or one change of mind.”

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By Roadtrip Nation

Ji Hye Kim

Milestones

My road in life took a while to figure out.

I was born in Seoul, South Korea, and emigrated with my family to New Jersey when I was 13 years old.

I moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, for college and earned my bachelor’s degree in political science and economics from the University of Michigan.

I graduated after the September 11 attacks into a bad job market—my options were to go to grad school and continue my student visa, which I couldn’t afford, or find a job to sponsor my green card.

I ended up getting an administrative job for a small hospital.

I eventually decided that the healthcare industry wasn’t for me, so I quit and really started to think about what I actually wanted to do.

I took a job at Zingerman's Delicatessen in the speciality foods department—I took a 90 percent pay cut but I truly enjoyed the work.

I found a passion for the food industry and set myself on that route—I sold homemade dumplings to local restaurants, took part in Zingerman’s Path to Partnership program, and ran my own food cart.

In 2016, I opened Miss Kim, a Korean restaurant rooted in ancient Korean tradition that also showcases Michigan’s local produce.

Keep following my journey