[Biz & Trends] Hansik takes over global fine dining — with a 300-trillion-won target

Korean food is driving the global fine-dining conversation. Beyond signature Korean menus like samgyeopsal and galbi, its potential to extend into fusion with Western cuisines is drawing particular attention.

Last year’s New York edition of the Michelin Guide listed 71 restaurants, 11 of which were Korean. The North American No. 1 in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants — often called the Oscars of fine dining — was also a Korean restaurant in New York. Hansik prepared with Korean ingredients, traditional fermentation techniques such as jang, and served on Korean tableware has captured the palates of gourmets around the world.

As more consumers encounter Korean dramas through global OTT services, the culture of Korean tabletop grilling is gaining traction abroad. Superstar David Beckham’s first stop when he visited Seoul in late January was a pork restaurant in Yaksu-dong. He ate samgyeopsal and pork jowl with pork rinds, washing them down with the Korean beer-soju cocktail somaek. Diners are increasingly drawn to the theater of grilling right at the table rather than being served pre-cooked steak.

Growth is especially strong in Asia, where the influence of K-content runs deepest. In Vietnam, restaurants serving marinated galbi at 800,000 VND (over 40,000 KRW) per portion still see full houses. One key draw is that they offer exactly the same menu as in Korea — raw galbi, marinated ganjang gejang — and hold a Michelin listing. In Thailand, a restaurant serving Korean samgyeopsal alongside pork shoulder rack cut like steak is a favorite haunt of celebrities and YouTubers. In Shanghai, a hansik restaurant serving “nak-gop-sae” — octopus, tripe, pork and shrimp — became an instant open-run hit last year.

Interest from celebrated foreign chefs is also rising. Peru’s Virgilio Martínez, ranked No. 1 on the World’s 50 Best list, will visit Korea in late April to share his own perspective on hansik.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced in February a strategy to double the global hansik market — currently estimated at around 150 trillion won — to 300 trillion won by 2027. Alongside marketing programs such as the Korean Food Promotion Institute’s overseas hansik restaurant designation, the government also plans to build a “K-Gourmet Belt” that ties hansik culture together with tourism.