In the 2025 Michelin Guide , there are 40 restaurants in South Korea with a Michelin star rating. [1] The Michelin Guides have been published by the French tire company Michelin since 1900. They were designed as a guide to tell drivers about eateries they recommended to visit and to subtly sponsor their tires, by encouraging drivers to use their cars more and therefore need to replace the tires as they wore out. Over time, the stars that were given out became more valuable. [2]
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Multiple anonymous Michelin inspectors visit the restaurants several times. They rate the restaurants on five criteria: "quality of products", "mastery of flavor and cooking techniques", "the personality of the chef represented in the dining experience", "value for money", and "consistency between inspectors' visits". [2] [3] Inspectors have at least ten years of expertise and create a list of popular restaurants supported by media reports, reviews, and diner popularity. If they reach a consensus, Michelin awards restaurants from one to three stars based on its evaluation methodology: one star means "high-quality cooking, worth a stop", two stars signify "excellent cooking, worth a detour", and three stars denote "exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey". [4] The stars are not permanent and restaurants are constantly re-evaluated. If the criteria are not met, the restaurant will lose its stars. [2]
The inaugural Seoul Michelin Guide was made for 2017 and released in November 2016. [5] It was the fifth Guide in Asia, and was launched at the Shilla Hotel. [6] After the creation of the Seoul Guide, local politician Song Ki-seok alleged that the Korean Tourism Organization paid Michelin roughly 2 billion won to bring the Guide to South Korea. Song alleged that the money included an initial payment of 100 million won in 2015, and 400 million won a year for four years, starting in 2016. [7] He also criticized the Guide for what he alleged to be 34 errors, including typos, the inclusion of closed restaurants, mistranslations, and issues with whether or not the restaurants had terraces. [8] Journalist Joe McPherson for Vogue Korea wrote in an opinion piece that the Guide was only for people who "are obsessed with Seoul's international status" and "aren't confident that Seoul can stand on its own as a restaurant capital". [9] The Busan Guide was released for the first time in 2024 for that same year. [10]
