The Michelin Guide Seoul is set to be announced in just one week, and the dining industry in South Korea is eagerly anticipating which restaurants will receive stars.
This year’s announcement is particularly important, as many of last year’s Michelin-starred restaurants have either closed down, relocated overseas, undergone chef changes, or faced other significant challenges.
Michelin will reveal the Michelin Guide for Seoul and Busan on Feb. 22, according to the dining industry. This will mark the eighth edition of the Seoul guide since its first publication in 2017, and it will be the first time ever that a Busan edition will also be released.
Last year, in South Korea, a total of 33 restaurants received Michelin stars. Among these, 2 restaurants received three stars, 7 received two stars, and 24 received one star. Unfortunately, both of the three-starred restaurants, Gaon and Mosu Seoul, closed down earlier this year.
Gaon, a Korean restaurant that had held three stars since the inception of the Seoul guide in 2016, was operated by the KwangJuYo Group, known for their distilled soju ‘Hwayo’, and was located in Seoul’s Gangnam district since 2003.
However, Gaon has decided to stop its operations because it has been facing ongoing operational challenges. These include being in a state of complete capital impairment for six consecutive years since 2017. Complete capital impairment happens when losses continue to accumulate and deplete all the paid-in capital, resulting in negative equity.
Mosu was a distinguished fine dining restaurant located in Hannam-dong, Seoul. It was opened by CJ CheilJedang in 2017 and was awarded two Michelin stars.
Later on, the restaurant was upgraded to three stars in the previous year. However, it was recently announced that CJ CheilJedang decided not to renew the contract with the owner-chef Ahn Sung-jae, and as a result, the restaurant was shut down permanently in Jan. 2024.
There is speculation within the culinary industry that Ahn, a renowned chef, wanted to pursue personal endeavors such as operating Mosu Hong Kong independently of CJ, which led to differences with CJ CheilJedang.
Moreover, analyses suggest that CJ Group is distancing itself from the less profitable fine dining business due to its overall poor performance. Despite ambitious goals for globalizing high-end Korean cuisine, the project struggled as control of the venture changed hands several times within the group.
The Plaza Hotel’s Joo Ok, which received two stars last year, is planning to relocate to New York next year. Also, Kojima, the only sushi restaurant among the Michelin star winners, changed its head chefs from the legendary Park Kyung-jae to Kim Woo-tae last year.
The industry views these developments as reflective of the challenges facing Korea’s fine dining scene. High labor and ingredient costs and relatively low turnover rates are considered major obstacles to profitability, even for prestigious three-starred establishments.
The popularity of omakase and other fine dining experiences surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, but sustainability concerns have arisen due to high inflation and cost pressures.
Professor Moon Jung-hoon, from the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at Seoul National University, stated “The number of people who can afford expensive fine dining, which costs over 200,000 won($150) for lunch and 400,000 won for dinner, is quite limited. Due to the weak consumer base, coupled with economic downturns, people are hesitant to indulge in such costly meals.”
