Michelin Guide’s Busan selections unveiled, Mosu stays tops in Seoul

Forty-three restaurants in Busan have made the list for year’s Michelin Guide, the prestigious culinary guidebook that has been published in South Korea for the past eight years.

Of the 43, 15 restaurants in Busan have been distinguished as Bib Gourmand selections – nonstarred restaurants that offer excellent food at reasonable prices at around 45,000 won or less.

Seoul’s Bib Gourmand list now features 57 restaurants, offering a wide range of local and foreign dining options.

Three restaurants were awarded one Michelin star in the inaugural Busan guide: chef Kim Jae-hoon’s contemporary French restaurant Palate in Nam-gu, Italian restaurant Fiotto in Haeundae-gu, where they use Korean ingredients for the pasta, and Mori in Haeundae-gu, where chef Kim Wan-gyu focuses on original Japanese kaiseki.

One star in the Michelin Guide is considered “very good in its category” for having a quality menu, while two stars indicates that the restaurant has excellent cuisine delivered uniquely. Three stars is “worth a special journey” just to visit.

One notable thing from Michelin Guide’s Busan selection was that it recognized Busan’s popular pork gukbap -- a rice soup -- as a category of cuisine type.

“We are thrilled to welcome Busan to the Michelin Guide family,” said Gwendal Poullennec, international director of the Michelin Guide in a statement.

“Busan has a charm of its own, with a natural marine environment and smooth supply of food ingredients through its famous port. It is definitely a city with high expectations for growth as a gourmet city," Poullennec said.

Meanwhile, the Michelin Guide’s eighth Seoul edition saw contemporary restaurant Mosu winning three stars for a fourth consecutive year. The restaurant, currently closed, is due to reopen in June.

Along with two new two-starred restaurants -- Mitou and Restaurant Allen – and three new one-starred restaurants – Vinho, L’impression and Haobin – 33 restaurants in Seoul earned Michelin stars.