From a family kitchen in Astana.
We're two sisters — Korean by blood, Kazakh by birth. Our grandparents are Koryo-saram, the Korean diaspora who were resettled to Central Asia in 1937 and built a new life on the steppe.
Growing up in Astana, our kitchen never picked sides. Sunday meant kimchi being pressed into jars on one counter and плов simmering on another. Onigiri came in later — through Japanese drama nights, anime weekends, and a trip to Seoul where we discovered the magic of the convenience-store triangle.
We started Kumuri in 2024 because we couldn't find onigiri in our city the way we wanted it: fresh, generous, made by hand, and seasoned with the love our грандма put into every meal.
— Mariya & Katya, founders
"Onigiri found its way to our family table — and that's where we started shaping our own."
