Financial Adviser: 5 Business Lessons Everyone Can Learn from Jay Hyun, Founder and CEO of Romantic Baboy

Success in the restaurant industry rarely comes quickly, especially for first-time entrepreneurs. Yet Jay Hyun defied the odds when he founded Romantic Baboy and turned a single Korean barbecue restaurant into one of the Philippines' most recognizable samgyupsal brands.

Hyun, a Korean entrepreneur, first came to the Philippines with his family in 1998. After completing his military service in South Korea, he returned to the country to pursue a degree in Export Management at De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde. He later worked as an employee before establishing a travel agency that catered to Korean tourists who visited the Philippines.

The idea for Romantic Baboy came while Hyun managed the travel agency. Although he originally wanted to open a bar, he later shifted to Korean barbecue after he saw the growing popularity of unlimited dining in the country.

After spending nearly two years developing the concept, he opened the first Romantic Baboy branch in Tomas Morato in 2018. The restaurant became an instant success. Hyun responded by opening additional company-owned stores.

Although he never intended to franchise the business, many entrepreneurs soon approached him with requests to open Romantic Baboy branches in their own areas. The business expanded rapidly and soon became one of the country's fastest-growing Korean barbecue franchise brands. Within only three years, Romantic Baboy reached around 90 branches.

Today, Romantic Baboy stands among the Philippines' best-known Korean barbecue restaurant chains. Despite intense competition in the samgyupsal market, Hyun continues to introduce new menu items and strengthen the brand while exploring opportunities to expand into other Asian markets, including South Korea.

How did Jay Hyun build one of the country's most successful Korean barbecue brands despite having no previous restaurant experience? What lessons can entrepreneurs learn from his journey from travel agency owner to founder of a nationwide restaurant chain?

Here are the business lessons entrepreneurs can learn from Jay Hyun, founder and CEO of Romantic Baboy.

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Successful businesses rarely emerge from a single idea. They are usually the result of careful planning and a clear understanding of customer needs before the first sale is ever made.

Time spent developing a business concept allows entrepreneurs to test ideas, improve products or services and refine their value proposition before committing significant resources.

Thorough preparation also helps reduce costly mistakes after launch. Instead of solving fundamental problems while already serving customers, entrepreneurs have the opportunity to address operational and product issues during the development stage.

Jay Hyun’s original plan was to open a bar, but he abandoned that idea after observing changes in the local market. Rather than becoming emotionally attached to his first concept, he adapted to consumer demand and pursued an opportunity that he believed offered greater potential.

He also approached product development through experimentation instead of assumptions. Rather than relying on theory alone, he tested different combinations of meat, charcoal, grilling equipment, and exhaust systems until he achieved the quality he wanted. Entrepreneurs frequently focus on business plans, financial projections, or marketing strategies, yet many overlook the need to perfect the product itself before launch.

Hyun also recognized that unlimited Korean barbecue already appealed to Filipino consumers, but he identified weaknesses in the restaurants that were available at the time. Instead of attempting to create an entirely new concept, he sought to improve an existing one. Many successful entrepreneurs compete not by inventing a new industry but by offering a better customer experience, higher product quality, or stronger execution than existing competitors.

Hyun’s experience also shows the importance of combining international exposure with local market understanding. Having lived in both South Korea and the Philippines, he was able to recognize an opportunity to adapt a dining concept that had already proven successful in one market for customers in another. Entrepreneurs who understand more than one market are often better positioned to identify ideas that can be successfully transferred and localized.

“When I was in high school, my family was already living in the Philippines,” Hyun says. “We came here in 1998, when I was in middle school. After I graduated from high school, I went back to Korea because military service is mandatory for everybody. After serving in the military, I worked there for a while before coming back to the Philippines alone for college.

“I studied Export Management at De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde on Taft Avenue. Back then, I didn't really know what I wanted to do. I didn't really have a direction or know what I should do. I chose Export Management because it was a familiar and popular course at that time. Honestly, I didn't study that well, and I didn't even dare to try applying anywhere else.

“The Philippines was already very familiar to me because my family had been living here since 1998. That's why it was easy for me to come back. I like the Philippines. I feel very comfortable here.

“Before, my parents had a cellphone shop in Alabang selling Korean accessories. I only have one brother. He studied accounting in Australia, and today he still works with me.

“After I graduated from college, I worked in the Philippines for a while. I was employed and was able to gather a little money. It wasn't much.

“After that, I started a travel agency with a friend. We mainly handled Korean clients, especially those booking golf trips and golf courses in the Philippines. I ran the travel agency for about two years.

“While I was running the travel agency, I was already preparing Romantic Baboy.  I started thinking about opening my own business. At first, I wanted to open a bar, but my mother stopped me.

“I thought a restaurant was one of the most common businesses people could start. At first, I thought it wouldn't be that hard because it was just barbecue and it was unlimited.

“But I didn't like the quality of many of the typical unlimited restaurants at that time. Their quality wasn't very good. These days it's different because there are already many competitors.

“I remember going to Korea and eating at an unlimited Korean barbecue restaurant. The quality was really good. That's when I realized an unlimited restaurant could still serve good quality food. I thought maybe I could bring that idea to the Philippines.

“At that time, Filipinos really loved unlimited restaurants, but there were still not many Korean barbecue restaurants. That's when I changed my mind and came up with the idea for Romantic Baboy in 2017.

“After we finished work, I cooked every day with different meat, different charcoal, and different exhaust systems because I was really eager to get the taste that I really wanted. But at first, I did not get the taste, so I tried many different methods. I tried this griller, another griller, and another griller.”

Every successful business involves risk. The question is not whether entrepreneurs should take risks, but whether they take the right ones for the right reasons. Calculated risks are based on careful preparation and sound judgment.

Once entrepreneurs commit to a well-considered course of action, they must have the discipline and confidence to execute it despite uncertainty and criticism because constantly second-guessing every decision can lead to hesitation and missed opportunities.

Entrepreneurs who stand behind their decisions accept responsibility for both success and failure. This mindset promotes better decision-making and resilience when outcomes do not go as planned.

Hyun's willingness to take risks did not come from optimism alone. It came from his own assessment of the opportunity. While many people saw a failed Korean barbecue restaurant and concluded that the location was unsuitable, Hyun reached a different conclusion.

He visited the restaurant while it was still operating and identified weaknesses in its execution. Rather than viewing the previous owner's failure as evidence that the concept would not work, he believed the business had failed because it had not been managed well. His confidence therefore rested on the belief that he could execute the concept better.

Hyun’s decision to invest his personal savings was not a reckless gamble but the culmination of careful planning and product development. His experience in stock trading taught him that financial markets often place outcomes beyond an individual's control.

By contrast, he viewed entrepreneurship as a field where effort and execution could directly influence results. This shift in mindset explains why he became more comfortable taking entrepreneurial risks than speculative ones.

Once Hyun believed in it, he committed fully to his decision. He acknowledged that he felt some fear, but he never allowed the possibility of failure to dominate his thinking.

“It took two years, including the research, and of course the construction also took time,” Hyun says. “Tomas Morato was my first branch.

“Actually, there was a restaurant before me, but it was not doing well. It was also a Korean barbecue restaurant. I was waiting because I knew that restaurant was going to close. The owner told me they would close soon because they could not pay the rent anymore. They closed maybe after three months, and then the place became vacant. We had two months of free construction, and then maybe another three months. It probably took almost one year.

“A lot of people were telling me, ‘How can you do that? You're a first-timer in the food business, and there was already another Korean restaurant there that closed down. How come you want to get that place?’ Maybe the rent was high and everything was different.

“But like I said, I wanted to make it better. I really had confidence that I could do better than them because I went there when they were operating, and they were doing things that were not good. I thought, ‘This should not be a Korean restaurant.’ That's why I waited, and then I started the construction.

“I used my own savings in the construction, but in the end, it was not enough. During the last month of construction, I ran out of money because the construction took so long and went over my budget, so I ran out of funding.

“So I chose to pay the contractor later. We had a really good relationship. She was also Filipino, and she said, ‘Okay.’ There was only the last remaining balance to pay.

“When I was doing this, I didn't really try to borrow money because I knew my savings would cover everything. I was going to run the business, and that money was supposed to come from the deposit. So if this didn't go well, that was like standing on the edge of a cliff. That was my last option, so I gave everything I had.

“But the budget went over. Still, I never changed my thinking. I don't know if you can call it confidence or just not being mayabang, but I always thought the business would do well. I always believed this business should be good.

“Even after I opened three or four restaurants, if people asked me, ‘Weren't you afraid?’ Maybe I was a little afraid inside, but I never thought it would fail. If I thought it would fail, I would never have started.

“I always told myself that I would just do my best. If it still didn't work, then it couldn't be helped, because at least I had given everything.

“Before this, I forgot to mention that before I started working, I also tried trading. I lost a lot of money trading Korean stocks. While I was doing that, I realized that even though I was losing money every minute, there was nothing I could do. I was betting my luck on somebody else.

“But with this business, I was betting on myself. That's why I was never really thinking about being afraid. I always thought I could do better than them.

“If I could do better than others, and if I could satisfy people, then maybe they would choose us. There was no Plan B. There was no Plan B because, like I said, that was my last money. If I failed, I would just go back and find another employer.”

In competitive markets, a good product alone is rarely enough to create long-term success. Customers are often presented with numerous alternatives, but a distinctive brand helps a business create stronger recall and gives customers a reason to choose one company over another.

Brand building does not end after a business becomes recognizable. Successful brands continue to evolve through innovation. Businesses that continually improve their products and services are more likely to maintain customer interest and strengthen customer loyalty.

Hyun created a brand that people could instantly recognize and remember. Instead of choosing a conventional Korean restaurant name, he deliberately selected one that would resonate with Filipino consumers.

His decision shows his understanding that a brand should communicate with its target market rather than simply reflect the founder's own culture or preferences. By adapting the name to local language and humor, he made the brand more approachable and easier for customers to recall.

Hyun also deliberately built an identity around the entire customer experience. The pig holding a rose, the decision to give customers roses during the opening and even the interior design all reinforced the same brand personality. Rather than treating these as separate marketing activities, he integrated them into a consistent identity that customers could easily recognize and remember.

Successful brands continue to evolve after launch. Hyun did not intentionally create cheese samgyupsal as a signature product. The idea emerged while he was solving a practical design problem with the grill. Yet instead of dismissing the simple idea, he incorporated it into the dining experience, and it eventually became one of Romantic Baboy's defining features.

“I get this question more than a thousand times,” Hyun says. “Whenever people meet me, the first thing they ask is, ‘Why Romantic Baboy?’ I wanted a catchy name. Actually, I first came up with the Korean version. There are Korean letters on our signage. It actually means ‘Romantic Pig.’

“But when I translated it into English, I changed it. ‘Romantic Pig’ doesn't sound good, but "Romantic Baboy" feels funny. At first, everybody stopped me because of the name. They thought it was funny and silly, but I wanted a memorable name.

“Whenever I asked Filipinos what their favorite Korean restaurant was, many of them didn't even know the meaning of the restaurant's name. It's the same when you go to Japanese restaurants. Most people don't really know what the names mean.

“That's why I came up with Romantic Baboy. Everybody laughed at the name at first.  Like I said, I had been living here for a long time. That's why I think I was able to come up with a name that Filipinos would find funny.

“If I were new here, I probably would not think Romantic Baboy was funny. But I know that when people tease someone who is fat, they say, ‘Baboy ka.’ So there is a pig, but it's still romantic. That's why our pig is holding one rose.

“Since I was young, I never wanted to be old-fashioned. I wanted something new, especially for young people. When we eat really delicious food with our family or with good people, it feels really nice. Sometimes it feels romantic. Sometimes it's really funny. It's a time when everybody can share memories. That's why I came up with ‘Romantic.’ I wanted something different.

“So I just opened it. But you know, luckily, even right after the soft opening, there was a really huge, huge number of customers waiting outside. During the opening, we even gave every customer one rose. I wanted to create a memorable restaurant that people would never forget.

“When we opened, it was chaos. We thought we were ready, but we weren't. On the first day, maybe only about 50 percent of the tables were occupied. But even then, I was already very thankful because there were people coming on the first day.

“Everybody was new. Since I was the one who planned everything, I was also running around inside the restaurant, teaching everyone what to do. On the second day, we were around 70 percent full. On the third day, we were 100 percent full.

“After one week, people were already waiting outside. After two weeks, the line went all around the building. Some people waited for six hours. At that time, we didn't even open for lunch. We only opened for dinner, so we prepared everything for dinner service.

“But we started listing customers' names at 3:00 p.m., and by 3:00 p.m. there were already around 150 people waiting. They waited until 5:00 p.m. I was really thankful to everybody who came to our restaurant.

“I was so grateful, so happy, so full of joy. I really cannot find a word to describe that feeling. If I had to describe it, it would simply be thankful. Really thankful, because they came.

“I cannot explain how happy and satisfied I was because I chose the name, I chose the menu, I designed everything. I chose the bricks, the interior, the design—everything. It was like my first son.

“Then people came, they paid, and while they were eating, they were so happy. The next day there was another line, and the next day another line. I was sleeping only about three hours a night at that time. Even now, they still come back many times.

“You know, Romantic Baboy became famous because of the cheese samgyupsal, but the cheese actually came out from a really simple idea. When I was choosing the griller, I put kimchi on one side and egg on the other, but there was still one small section left. Then I started thinking, ‘What should I put there? What should I add?’

“Then I just came up with cheese. Cheese was not really my original plan. There was just one empty spot, so I put cheese, but suddenly, that cheese made us so famous. That's why I learned that an idea does not always come even if you think every day. Not every idea can be perfect.”

Business growth often creates new operational and organizational challenges. Entrepreneurs who respond proactively can use these challenges to strengthen their business rather than allowing them to become obstacles to further growth.

Growth-related problems often expose weaknesses in existing systems and processes. Addressing these issues not only solve immediate problems but also prepare the business for its next stage of expansion.

When Hyun saw long queues began forming outside his first restaurant, his response was to rethink the structure of the business. He used them as the catalyst for opening additional branches and later developing a franchise network.

Although demand for franchises grew rapidly, Hyun deliberately limited the number of franchisees during the early stages. Rather than maximizing short-term franchise income, he wanted to verify that the initial group could succeed before allowing further expansion. This shows his understanding that sustainable growth depends on validating systems before replicating them on a larger scale.

Hyun's strategy was to allow the business to dictate what systems needed to be built next. Rather than investing in infrastructure long before it was needed, he addressed each operational challenge as it emerged.

When one restaurant could no longer support a growing network of branches, he responded by building a commissary. As the business continued to expand, he upgraded the commissary several times.

Hyun acknowledged his limitations and maintained open communication with his franchisees. By being transparent about what the business could and could not provide, he encouraged franchisees to become active participants in solving problems and improving the system. This collaborative mindset enabled Romantic Baboy to develop alongside its franchise partners.

“After two months, I already thought that I needed to open one more branch because I needed to split the people who were waiting outside. After about one month, I couldn't control the line anymore.

“Of course, when people had to wait four or five hours, there were a lot of angry people outside. That's why I told all my employees, ‘They are all our customers, but the customers who are already inside the restaurant are our priority.’

“We focused on satisfying the customers inside first, even if there were still many people waiting outside. We couldn't focus on the people waiting. We had to satisfy the customers inside first. If they wanted to stay longer, they could stay. We wanted to make sure they were happy. That's why I thought I needed to open another branch to split the customers.

“The second branch was in Maginhawa, near UP and Ateneo. The response was the same, actually, even stronger. Then I started thinking about opening another one. About two months later, we opened another branch, then another one at SM North. Again, the response was very strong.

“The interesting thing was that I never advertised that Romantic Baboy was available for franchising. I never posted anything or sent out emails. They came to me. So many people came to our restaurant asking for my name because they wanted to franchise.

“Many people tried to get my number, but they couldn't. So I just said, ‘Okay, I'll accept only 10 franchisees.’  I think I accepted about 10 franchisees at first, and that was it.

“But many more people kept coming. Another 20 were already waiting for the next opportunity. So while those first 10 were looking for good locations, I told them, ‘Right now we're still starting, so maybe you can get better locations than anybody else because you came to me first.’ Those first 10 franchisees opened first. They were 10 different people.

“The following year, we kept opening more branches. I remember that by the third year, we were opening three branches in one week. It happened almost every month for about six months. After that, we slowed down because we wanted to focus on building the commissary.

“At that time, maybe we had around 30 to 40 franchisees because many of them owned two, three, or four branches. Most of my franchisees are young, just like me. I don't know why, but they are all young.

“From the beginning, I was always honest with my franchisees. At first, we didn't even have a commissary. We made all the sauces in our Tomas Morato branch. It was very busy, but I always told my franchisees that I wasn't perfect yet.

“I always tried to help them, even if it meant earning less. Even until now, our commissary earns less profit because we try to help our franchisees first. I was always trying to be honest with them.

“I told them, ‘We will provide the meat and the sauce, but you need to help me find your own vegetables and the other ingredients because we still cannot control everything.’

“I also told them that we were building a commissary, and maybe in the future we could combine everything into one system. So I talked with my franchisees many times. We shared ideas and grew step by step together.

“If somebody asks me whether I planned the franchise business from the beginning, the answer is no. I put everything I had into opening the first branch. I wasn't even thinking about franchising, because, first, I just needed to survive. After we survived, people suddenly came to me asking for franchises.

“I didn't plan it. It just happened, so I kept finding ways to make it work. Even now, I'm still finding new ways for the future. I didn't have any data or experience. But who has data when they're doing something for the first time?

“We only live one life, so somebody else's data may not fit my situation because everybody thinks differently. Even when other franchisors from Korea gave me advice, I listened, but their advice didn't always fit.

“Some of them told me, ‘This trend won't last three years. You should quit while you can.’ But after 10 years, we're still here. That's why I never relied on data alone. I just solved each problem step by step as I faced it.

“Like I told you earlier, before we opened, we thought we were ready. But when we faced reality, we realized we weren't. You can study systems all you want, but reality is different. The best lesson comes from reality itself. That's why I always discussed things with my franchisees.

“They were eager to open faster and faster. Sometimes I told them, ‘No, that location is not good.’ But they would come back and say, ‘Jay, I found another location.’ They really wanted to open quickly.

“I never pushed any franchisee. If the first 10 did well, then we would open the next group. If the first 10 failed, then of course the next 20 would never open. The people who were waiting visited all of our franchise branches. They saw the long lines everywhere, so they kept pushing me to open more franchise slots.

“Eventually, we needed a commissary because one restaurant could no longer supply five or 10 restaurants. At first, we supplied our three company-owned branches from one location, but we found out it wasn't efficient and it wasn't controllable. That's when we came up with the idea of building a commissary. Like I said, we didn't have a perfect system. We faced reality, and we solved each problem one by one. We just kept adjusting to reality.

“Of course, we made many mistakes along the way. Our commissary handled the beef, the pork, and all the sauces. It became much more efficient. Over time, we upgraded it again and again.

“I think we've had three commissaries. The first one could handle about 20 stores. It was just one big house that we converted into a commissary.  Within three years, I think we had already opened around 90 branches. Most of those were franchise branches.”

Long-term business success depends on consistently delivering value that customers recognize and appreciate. While profits are essential for sustainability, they are ultimately the result of satisfying customers rather than the starting point of the business.

Prioritizing customer value encourages entrepreneurs to focus on the quality of their products or services, the overall customer experience, and the ability to solve real customer needs. Businesses that consistently deliver superior value are more likely to earn customer trust and benefit from positive word-of-mouth, all of which contribute to sustainable growth.

Hyun always put himself in the customer's shoes before making business decisions. Instead of relying on other people's opinions, he asked himself a simple question: Would I enjoy this as a customer? That became the standard he used to judge every menu item.

Hyun viewed customer trust as a long-term competitive advantage. He believed customers could recognize inferior ingredients or lower-quality food, even if those decisions temporarily increased profits. Instead of maximizing short-term margins, he chose to compete through honesty and product quality.

His philosophy suggests that businesses build stronger customer relationships when they consistently deliver what they promise rather than seeking immediate financial gains through cost-cutting.

Hyun believed that product quality should come before everything else. Many entrepreneurs spend a lot of time thinking about costs, pricing, and profits, but he believed those things mean very little if customers do not like the product. In his view, businesses should first create something that customers want to buy. Once customers keep coming back, the business can always improve its operations, pricing, and profits.

“When I was doing my restaurant, I did not ask for advice from other Korean people,” Hyun says. “I just relied on my tongue. Of course, I always thought of myself as the customer. Because it is just a restaurant. It is not like an IT business or another kind of business.

“A restaurant should be delicious. And of course, everybody's taste is different. If I ask this guy, this guy, and this guy, one person might say it is good, another might say it is bad, another might say it is good, and another might say it is bad. So the only thing I could rely on was my own taste.

“Even now, when I launch a new menu, I still rely on my own taste. If I ask 10 people, I found out that it is really hard to decide. If I choose one side, they might be disappointed and say it is not good. But the other side might say it is good.

“So how do we compete? I think we compete with honesty. If we try to fool the customer, they know. They know this is not good meat. They know it is not delicious.

“Maybe my pocket might become a little fatter for a while, but in the future it won't last. I don't know what the lesson is, but I'm always trying to solve the problem that I face today. I don't know what we will face tomorrow. We just keep trying to solve the problems as they come. Of course, we need to plan everything. But don't just keep planning everything. Do the original and natural thing first.

“If it's a food business, the taste is more important than the plan. People always plan things like, ‘How much is the rent? How much do I need to sell? How much is the meat?’ But the main thing is that there should be a customer who wants to buy your food.

“Your food should be delicious first. After that, satisfy your customers first. The income comes later. Income does not come from the paper. It comes from their hearts. Because if they want to come back, they will tell other people, ‘Oh, that's good.’

“Imagine if you calculate everything perfectly, but your food is not good. Then all that calculation means nothing. But if you already have a good menu, even if your calculations are wrong, like mine were many times, even with the commissary, I can always make another calculation because people still like our food.

“So don't always focus on the paper. Don't always ask, ‘How much is this? How much is that? What is my profit?’ Focus on your main thing.

“If it's food, make sure it's delicious. Make sure it's affordable so people will spend their money. Then you can calculate later. If it's too expensive, make it cheaper. If it's too cheap, then maybe you can increase the price later.

“I remember opening a buffet restaurant in High Street. There were so many people and so much food. But after three years of operation, I decided to close it. The main reason I closed it was because I wasn't satisfied with the food myself.

“I gave our employees and even our Korean manager many chances. Then one day I went there and tried the food myself. I realized, ‘If this doesn't satisfy me, how can it satisfy the customer?’”

Henry Ong, RFP, is an entrepreneur, financial planning advocate and business advisor. Email Henry for business advice [email protected] or follow him on X (Twitter) @henryong888.