Kong Pocha is an “if you know, you know” kind of place.

The dimly lit Station North restaurant doesn’t have a flashy exterior or a fancy website to entice customers. But for six years, Kong Pocha has steadily earned a cult following among Baltimore diners for its brand of home-cooked Korean fare, most notably its fried chicken.

Now the spot is no longer just a hidden gem in Baltimore. On Friday, the restaurant added a branch at a strip mall in Columbia, expanding its reach into Howard County. On opening night at the 9350 Snowden River Parkway location, founder Sobin Kang greeted guests and shuttled through the dining room taking orders.

The Columbia spot was previously home to K-Manna Fusion, which shut down permanently several months ago. Kang’s husband, Dae Han Wi, told Howard County’s liquor board at a hearing in March that while Ellicott City is home to numerous Korean restaurants — and Howard County happens to be home to one of the largest Asian populations in Maryland — there aren’t as many Korean restaurants specifically in Columbia, particularly sit-down eateries that also sell drinks.

Wi, who lives in Marriottsville, told the liquor board he was head chef of Kong Pocha in Baltimore for six years before moving to the new branch in Howard County. He said he doesn’t hew strictly to Korean tradition when designing the menu, instead fusing ingredients and trends from around the globe. He did not respond to requests for comment. Kang declined to be interviewed, citing language barriers.

Many of Korea’s culinary staples reflect its own multicultural history. The country’s famed fried chicken has roots in the Korean War. Army soup, on the menu at both Kong Pocha locations, dates to that conflict’s aftermath. Also translated as “army base stew,” it harks back to a time when Koreans, their nation and food supply destroyed by war, flocked to U.S. Army installations in hopes of finding sustenance. Many versions of the soup today incorporate Spam, a tinned meat that would have been widely available on U.S. military bases.

While Kong Pocha’s fried chicken is justifiably popular — Nomtastic influencer Kimberly Kong called it one of her favorite dishes in Maryland — customers shouldn’t sleep on the rest of the menu, said Ekiben co-owner and longtime fan Steve Chu. “That place is a lot more than fried chicken,“ he said, pointing to lesser-known but delicious items like their spicy pork and tofu and clam soup with jalapeño.

A homey curry omelet with rice and fried chicken is comfort food that transcends time and geography. “THIS IS THE DISH I DREAM OF,” wrote a commenter on Reddit this year. Their kimchi pancakes may be the perfect appetizer: both soft and crunchy, sweet and salty. My 1-year-old couldn’t get enough of them. Better yet, friendly staff members at both locations kindly walked me through the menu to avoid allergens.

In Baltimore, students from nearby Johns Hopkins University make up about 20% of the restaurant’s customer base, Wi said at the hearing. The eatery’s 12 W. 20th St. location is just about a 10-minute ride from campus via the school’s shuttle. “If you ask anyone about Kong, you’ll always hear good reviews and recommendations,” Emi Gonzalez wrote in the school’s student newsletter in 2023. She credited Kong Pocha’s well-seasoned bulgogi with ending her break with beef.

Both locations offer something beyond just food, too: open until the late-night hours, they serve as a third place, where customers can have fun, sing karaoke and hang out well into the night. Chu said the laid-back, unfussy vibe makes it a “a perfect hangout spot” where friends can gather to drink beer and sip shots of soju, a Korean spirit typically made from rice. “There’s a communal aspect of drinking soju with friends,” he said.

Kong, of Nomtastic, compared the infectious energy of the restaurant to a pojangmacha, sometimes called just “pocha,” a Korean street food tent that comes alive after dark. There are thousands in Seoul, the capital city of South Korea, but they can be hard to replicate in the U.S. With their restaurants in Baltimore and now in Columbia, Kong said, Kong Pocha is “creating spaces where people can connect, celebrate culture, and share some damn good food.”