[K-FOOD GOES GLOBAL] K-food gets fine dining makeover for discerning overseas diners

Kimchi jjigae (kimchi stew), bibimbap and bulgogi served in humble diners mostly clustered in Korea Town were what used to define Korean dining overseas in the 90s and early 2000s.

Interior of Atomix which was designed to emphasize the shared meal culture of Korea [NAEUN HOSPITALITY]

Kimchi jjigae (stew), bibimbap and bulgogi served in humble diners mostly clustered in Korea Town were what used to define Korean dining overseas in the 90s and early 2000s.

The main customers were Korean immigrants, students and tourist groups.

Despite good food served at a good price, these diners were far from global or trendy.

That, however, is not the case anymore.

Korean cuisine is marching into the global culinary scene now, especially in an area it never conquered before — fine dining.

A sophisticated take on some of Korea’s most traditional and niche dishes, ranging from gimbap (seaweed-wrapped rice rolls) to mulhwe (sliced raw fish served in a spicy broth), are capturing the palate of global food aficionados.

And there are the figures to prove it.

The number of Korean restaurants overseas which received much-coveted Michelin stars went from none in 2010 to 28 in 2023.

The Michelin Guide, published by the eponymous French tire company, assesses restaurants around the world and rates them from one star to three stars depending on their overall dining experience.

In New York alone, 19 restaurants were newly acknowledged by the Michelin Guide last year, three of which were Korean, adding to a total of nine in the world's gastronomic capital.

Their conquest does not stop there either.

Real estate agencies want talented Korean chefs to open restaurants and attract new diners to their buildings, a trend that stands in stark contrast compared to the past when they were pushed aside to less-than-trendy neighborhoods.

“Back in the early 2000s, Korean food was nowhere near receiving any attention in the [United States] because it was located mostly in Korea Town filled with pubs, karaoke bars and soondubu [soft tofu]jjigae restaurants. In that sense, it wasn't easy to plan and open some kind of upscale Korean restaurant,” said Chef Yim Jung-sik of the two Michelin star restaurant Jungsik based in New York.

“Now, things are completely different. The restaurant industry has not been easy due to the pandemic in recent years, but regardless Korean restaurants are going well and even expanding."

Yim is considered a pioneer in spreading modern Korean cuisine through fine dining in the overseas market. His New York restaurant Jungsik became the first Korean restaurant anywhere in the world to receive two Michelin stars in 2014.

Seasonal dishes served at Atomix for Spring 2023 [NAEUN HOSPITALITY]

Taking it to an upscale level

At the center of the latest whirl of hype around Korean food stands Atomix, a Korean fine dining restaurant in New York, headed up by chef Park Jung-hyun and his wife Ellia Kim.

The 14-seat restaurant located in the bustling and historic neighborhood of Nomad was the talk of the town last year, winning a series of accolades.

In addition to winning two Michelin stars, it was ranked eighth in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, taking the top spot among restaurants based in the United States.

It was the first time a Korean restaurant has been included in the list.

The restaurant offers a $375 menu per person for its 10-course dinner. This is certainly pricier than soondubu jjigae sold at less than $20 in an old hearty Korean restaurant, but New Yorkers cannot get enough of Chef Park’s creations.

It opens the reservation process on the first day of each month and is fully booked within a few minutes. The booking manager has to warn customers to already be in front of their computers prior to the reservation opening time.

“I am amazed and grateful for the increased interest and knowledge of Korean culture and Korean cuisine here in the States over the past 10 years since I started residing here,” said Chef Park of Atomix.

Atomix was the Park couple's second location, following the more casual Atoboy just a block away.

On the back of Atoboy's success and the overall boost in Korean food's popularity, the Parks could confidently open the upscale Atomix.

"Each restaurant has its own unique identity and role, but Atomix's role is distinct from others in its fine dining nature and its attention to the craft of the experience," Chef Park said.

Chef Park Jung-hyun, left, and his wife and a business partner Ellia Park [JOONGANG ILBO]

End-to-end experience

"Atomix was created with the end-to-end experience in mind, from how the space is designed to guest touchpoints and storytelling elements. A fine dining restaurant is more than the technical knowledge and skills."

The layout of Atomix was carefully designed. Visitors can enjoy light drinks at the bar on the first floor, before descending downstairs to a U-shaped bar where they can watch Atomix's kitchen team prepare their meals.

"The sense of a shared meal, a community, was purposefully designed," said Chef Park, which partially explains why the restaurant does not have separate sets of tables.

One of the dishes served at Atomix [NAEUN HOSPITALITY]

Dishes served at Atomix do not distinctively appear Korean in nature. However, when you dig deeper, the 10-course menu intricately takes its motivation from some of Korea's most traditional food and ingredients.

White kimchi-inspired sauce, tomato-based ssamjang (spicy dipping sauce) and monkfish liver fermented with nuruk, a fermentation starter in Korea often used to make makgeolli (Korean rice wine), are some of the Korean elements running through Atomix's current menu.

It also takes inspiration from Korea's banchan (side dish) culture by serving a bowl of rice as a side to a sea cucumber dish.

Park says there is no better time than now to elevate Korean food to an upscale level.

"We believe that right now, what makes it an amazing time for Korean cuisine, or Hansik, to be translated to a fine dining level is that there is a high level of interest on a global scale due to the popularity of other K-wave industries, such as entertainment, music, film and of course the popularization of the more accessible food and beverages which have charmed the world."

The Park couple last year opened their third New York location, Naro, in the basement of the landmark Rockefeller Center, after receiving a call from a real estate agency keen to have them move in.

Naro, named after Korea's first rocket into space, takes a much more genuine approach to Korean cuisine, serving dishes like bibimbap and tangpyeongchae (mung bean jelly salad).

A culture that nourishes food

The spicy and savory flavors of Korean food are not the only reason why Korean diners are on the rise.

A dining culture tied to the whole eating experience is what has fascinated many global foodies.

“Korea is one of few countries that have its own dining culture,” said Yim Kyeong-sook, president of the Korean Food Promotion Institute.

“Korean-style barbecue, where people grill meat on their dining table directly on the brazier and wrap them in fresh vegetables with ssamjang has established itself as a signature culture that only Korean food offers which comes as extremely intriguing for foreigners.”

Cote, a Korean barbecue restaurant located in the trendy neighborhood of Flatiron district in New York, merges Korea’s barbecue culture with the American steakhouse, letting its customer sizzle high-quality U.S. beef on a grill installed on each table.

The concept became an instant success and Simon Kim, who runs the place, opened its second branch in Florida. It also earned a Michelin star only six months after opening and maintained the star for three consecutive years.

On the back of Cote's success, Kim is gearing up to open a brand new "multi-faceted" restaurant at the landmark Madison Avenue which is currently under remodeling. Kim, just like the Parks, was offered to join the remodeling project earning him a 15,000-square-foot space that takes up three floors which local media outlet the New York Post expects to be a "game changer" in the city’s Midtown.

“It’s unique, it’s fun and it’s tasty,” says Chef Yim from Jungsik who pinpoints Korean barbecue restaurants as one of the most representative cultures of Korean food.

"I myself enjoy going to a barbecue house, so how intriguing it must be to foreigners? As Japan has sushi and China has Beijing duck, I think Korean barbecue provides value over other Asian cuisine."

Banchan is another element that is enticing foreign epicures. Banchan is a set of small side dishes that usually gets served and refilled for free matched with a bowl of rice.

Atoboy, Chef Park's first restaurant before opening Atomix, was well-received for offering three banchan out of 15 options at a price tag of $40.

“The concept of banchan didn’t exist in the U.S. and when Atoboy offered the choice of banchan, it got foreigners interested,” said Yim of Korea Food Promotion Institute.

Taking a jolly approach

Chef Shim Seong-chul, chef and owner of New York-based Kochi and Mari [SHIM SEONG-CHUL]

Many Korean chefs who have seen success with either traditional or contemporary Korean dishes in the U.S. are gearing up to take a step further with an ambition to introduce the still-unknown parts of Korean food and culture to the world.

Shim Seong-chul, chef and owner of Kochi and Mari, both of which are Michelin-starred restaurants in New York, is preparing to open an aged-pork barbecue house called DonDon near Times Square by the fall.

"It takes the concept of pocha [a street tent that usually sells comfort foods]," says Shim. "I perceived the idea by bringing the flavor of Gwangju in South Jeolla, where I was born and raised, into the center of New York."

One of the dishes served at Mari [BEN HON PHOTO]

Shim has plans for two other restaurants: Mari:Ne, a casual Korean diner serving hand-rolled gimbap along with handmade dumplings scheduled to open this year and GUI Steakhouse, a Korean aged-beef restaurant, slated to open sometime next year.

"Korean food is no longer a foreigner's food in the U.S.," he said. "It has been established as a major cuisine and through experiences and techniques. Korean cuisine is now served in various creative ways, including in fine restaurants."

The Park couple behind Atomix also recently opened Seoul Salon, which is conceptualized as "sool jib," a drinking spot aimed at delivering Korea's unique culture of having drinks, especially soju, with a vibe encouraging people to have candid conversations with friends, family and the community, accompanied with good food.

Companies and institutions are moving to ride the latest wave in the dining scene by fostering talented chefs and establishing the required infrastructure, although much of this is in the early stages.

CJ CheilJedang, a leader in the so-called K-food industry, has recently started a project aimed at fostering Korean chefs under the name Cuisine K. The selected chefs are supported with a chance to study abroad at a renowned culinary institute and an opportunity to intern at fine-dining restaurants worldwide.

"If processed foods like Bibigo paved the wave for the K-food 1.0, CJ CheilJedang will initiate the 2.0 era by fostering talented and competitive Korean chefs so that Korean food is pushed deeper into the lives of people around the world," the company said.

The Korean Food Promotion Institute has also recently launched a project where it recognizes Korean restaurants overseas and helps them with sourcing ingredients from Korea as well as administrative tasks.

"Korean food has reached a level where more focus is needed around making it more premium, going beyond just making it popular," Yim from the institute says.

"Qualitative growth is needed rather than quantitative growth."

BY JIN EUN-SOO [jin.eunsoo@joongang.co.kr]