Top Korean restaurants awarded three Michelin stars
‘The richness of this first selection is the sign that today Seoul has emerged as a mecca of world gastronomy,’ says international director of Michelin Guide
By Baek Byung-yeul
The Michelin food guide unveiled its first Seoul edition, Monday, awarding two upscale Korean restaurants with its coveted three stars.
At a press conference at Hotel Shilla in Seoul, South Korea, the prestigious French food guides announced that some 140 restaurants and 30 hotels in its Seoul edition and 24 eateries have been named as Michelin-starred restaurants.
“The richness of this first selection is the sign that today Seoul has emerged as a mecca of world gastronomy,” said Michael Ellis, international director of Michelin Guide. “The quality, the potential of the culinary offerings as well as the eclectic cuisine that can be found there delighted our inspectors, who discovered some exceptional restaurants in Seoul.”
Michelin has been awarding stars ranging from one to three after inspecting restaurants from the entire spectrum of the local food scene. According to the company, visitors can experience “exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey” at three-starred eateries. The company gives two stars to eateries “worth a detour for excellent cooking” and one star for restaurants with “high quality cooking, worth a stop.”
Among the 24 Michelin starred restaurants, La Yeon and Gaon have been awarded three stars.
La Yeon is located on the 23rd floor of the Hotel Shilla. The Michelin food guide said it gave La Yeon three stars for providing opportunities to experience a contemporary approach to traditional Korean dishes.