First Nepal: Cooking up Change

“My life now is amazing, very different. I couldn’t even imagine. It’s like a dream,” explained Rudra Sharma, who has found success as the owner of a number of restaurants serving food from his native country, including First Nepal in downtown Gwangju.

“I’m from a very, very remote part of Nepal,” Sharma explains. “When I was born, there was no electricity, no road to travel by.”

He has journeyed far from those humble roots, both geographically and in terms of his economic situation. Despite the fact that his path has taken some unexpected curves, the one constant has been his desire to improve not only his own situation, but also that of his fellow countrymen.

Simply pursuing an education presented many hardships. His schools sometimes lacked textbooks and later on Sharma had to “walk almost one day to catch a bus to come to the city to attend university.” However, he persevered and earned a diploma in English. Lacking resources to pursue an advanced degree, he went into teaching middle school English.

Sharma had once viewed Korea from afar and was “really impressed” by its fast economic development. So, in 2002, he decided to come to Korea to escape economic hardship as well as political problems.

“I didn’t have a specific plan,” explained Sharma. “I made some friends and started a small business in Seoul … a mini-mart where I could meet many fellow Nepalese. I used to sell Nepali ingredients, magazines and newspapers.”

Like many immigrants to a new country, Sharma admits to “facing a language problem.” However, he received the opportunity to attend a six-month, Korean language course offered by Seoul National University. After completion, he says, “I could communicate well, I could write well.”

Sharma thought to put his language teaching experience to use to aid other Nepalese migrant workers. He compiled a book of everyday words and situational phrases in Nepali, English and Korean titled “First Korean Language Tutor,” which he published in Nepal at the end of 2003. Sharma relates that 15,000 copies of his book were sold in Nepal and in Korea: “In my mind and heart I published it to help my fellow citizens, like friends. But it became a very, very good business for me, and an honestly unexpected earning.”

Sharma decided to turn this windfall into a further opportunity. “I thought if I open a restaurant [then] maybe I can introduce Nepali food and culture, and have a business as well to make money.”

So, in 2005, he opened his first restaurant in Incheon and invited his brother to help him run the business. Sharma’s venture into the restaurant business was a success and he explains, “After my first restaurant I opened seven [total] restaurants under the name First Nepal,” opening them one by one between 2005 and 2010.

Most of Sharma’s business is centered in Seoul, but First Nepal came to reside in Gwangju due to urging from a few sources. He related, “Some of my Nepalese friends [were] doing Ph.D. here in Gwangju, and sometimes they would say, ‘Gwangju is a very popular city, a historical city, but there is no [Nepali] restaurant here.’”

Subsequently, in 2008, Gwangju became a sister city to Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu. After further urging from friends – and even the mayor of Gwangju at the sister cities signing ceremony – to rectify the lack of a Nepali restaurant, Sharma opened the Gwangju First Nepal in 2009.

Though Sharma admits, “I don’t have any family members outside my brother [in Korea],” he still runs his restaurant business as a family affair. “Most of my kitchen staff is from Nepal, but I don’t treat them as my staff. … I think they are my family as well.”

The living situation reflects that reality, as Sharma explains. Both here and in Seoul, “We live in a house and have four or five rooms. I also live with them, together.”

Sharma’s care for his fellow countrymen extends beyond his employees to other migrant workers here in Korea, but especially to those back in his native land. “I always have in my mind and heart that I have to contribute something for my nation or for my society.”

Sharma adds that these values were instilled in him during the hardships of his upbringing: “My father used to say even a dog can’t find food. So we have to think for others, for people in need.”

This commitment to community involvement does not just coincide with his recent economic success, but Sharma was a member of organizations such as the Lions Club back in Nepal. “I have been contributing to my society with pride all the time.”

In Korea, he is actively involved in organizations such as the Nonresident Nepali Association and is an organizer for the Help Nepal Network. Through his efforts and leadership, these and other organizations have been able to send thousands of dollars to development projects and disaster relief in Nepal. Sharma said, “I’ve found the Nepali community in Korea very active, because we are always talking about practical philanthropy. Like, let’s do it. If we make money, let’s do it.”

Starting in 2014, Sharma plans to spend 70 to 80 percent of his time back home in Nepal pursuing his social programs. He has already turned over management of all but three of his restaurants to others in preparation. He is a man who moved far from home to improve his lot in life, and having done so with good fortune, he now seeks to focus on improving the fortunes of others. Sharma summarizes his philosophy in this way: “We need practical social work. When you make something, donate something. When you make $1000, donate $1. It will bring you happiness, happiness, happiness.”