Our Story
Started in Villa Park, Illinois, Jungsco Inc. was founded in 1982 by Simon Jung. Simon immigrated to the U.S. from South Korea in the early 70’s seeking a better life for himself and his family. From humble beginnings, he started his journey riding his bicycle to work every day, where he was employed as a carpenter at a reputable German-American company. As his skills accelerated fairly quickly, he began receiving job requests outside of his place of work. With his quick-witted thought process and creative approach to problem solving he was able to go from doing small remodels to large freestanding buildings in a short span of time.
Soon enough, Jungsco became well recognized within the Chicago Metroland area, especially in the Asian communities where we built structures for the founding members of Koreatown (Arirang Market, Lawrence Eye Vision, M&W Plaza, etc.) Jungsco then began working with the Chinese community on projects ranging from several shopping centers to a retail/office complex and industrial facilities on Wentworth Ave. As Simon’s small company grew rapidly, he expanded his service to remodels, school additions, small hospitals and churches.
During this time, Simon’s son Paul was in his teens and began to learn the business. At his father’s side, Paul started out in the field by learning the construction process, and eventually contributed in office work to learn the administrative side of the business. He went on to study Civil Engineering at Purdue University, but as his interest for general construction evolved, he switched majors and pursued a degree in Construction Management instead. However, during his sophomore year at Purdue, he was notified that the family business was in distress and had to take a break from his education to help out. Despite the efforts to keep Jungsco afloat, due to the political climate at the time the company was forced to suspend operations and close down.
Upon graduation, Paul began work immediately as a project manager for a German-owned subcontractor firm in Glenview, Illinois. He oversaw the construction of hospital laboratories, schools, and universities for several years. Seeking more challenging work, Paul left the firm to be hired on by a large residential developer where he led the construction of multiple communities. His skills began to stand out as he was recognized as the lead construction manager, then even elevated to overseeing the most expensive project in the company’s history at the time -- a $68 million high-end residential development.
After he spent a few more years honing his skills working as lead construction manager, Paul finally felt ready to head his own business and restarted Jungsco to work towards his father’s legacy. While business was slow at first, under Paul’s leadership and direction Jungsco was able to execute several high profile projects in the Illinois State Center, Prudential Building, Michigan Avenue, and Willis Tower.
After receiving news about multiple project opportunities in Los Angeles, Jungsco permanently relocated their headquarters to Orange County, California in 2007. Jungsco was able to sign on with several chain restaurant groups building multiple locations throughout the states, and as of today Jungsco has successfully completed over 300 projects. Recently, the company has taken a step forward into focusing on larger scale, high-end projects, inducing the highest concentration towards detail and quality the company has ever been able to provide.