Lee Tae-ro, co-founder of Korean restaurant chain BCD Tofu House, dies at 88

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Published: 03 Apr. 2026, 13:47

SHIN MIN-HEE
[email protected]

BCD Tofu House's Los Angeles store [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Lee Tae-ro, the co-founder of the U.S.-based Korean restaurant chain BCD Tofu House, has died, according to a recent family statement. He was 88.

BCD Tofu House is famous for popularizing sundubu jjigae, a spicy stew made from soft tofu, across the United States.

Lee Tae-ro, co-founder of BCD Tofu House [BCD TOFU HOUSE]

Lee was born in Hamgyong Province in North Korea in 1937. During the 1950-53 Korean War, he fled to the south and opened restaurants in Bukchang-dong in Jung District, central Seoul, with his family.

The BCD stands for Bukchang-dong.

The restaurant founded its first branch in Los Angeles in 1996 after Lee and his family immigrated to the United States in the early 1990s. BCD Tofu House has since expanded to 11 stores nationwide, including Texas, New York and New Jersey.

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [[email protected]]