Korean food dominates Incheon's new airport terminal

Exterior of Pyunghwaok at Terminal 2 of Incheon International Airport . Korea Times photo by Yun Suh-young

By Yun Suh-young

INCHEON ― The much-hyped Terminal 2 of Incheon International Airport held its grand opening Thursday, amid massive media and public attention.

The second terminal boasts smarter, more efficient facilities than the existing Terminal 1, allowing travelers to save time going through the departure procedures with automated services.

It also has better food options ― in response to criticism that Terminal 1 had a lot of restaurants but not many worth eating at.

At Terminal 2, the eateries are dominated by local conglomerates such as Ourhome, SPC and Lotte GRS. SPC holds the largest amount of stores ― 26 consisting of 18 brands, while Lotte GRS runs 12 stores. Ourhome takes up the largest space with 3,086 square meters consisting of two food courts and two concept stores.

On the departure floor, SPC settled in the central section with Paris Baguette and Coffee@Works while Lotte GRS has Lotteria's Burger Lab on the same floor. Ourhome conquered the arrivals floor on B1, with a huge chunk of space dubbed the "Korean Food Street" hosting brands it holds.

A big characteristic of the eateries in Terminal 2 is that there are more authentic Korean restaurants than in Terminal 1. Whether or not this is intended, the new terminal will likely please locals as well as curious foreign travelers in Korea for the first time.

The "Korean Food Street" made efforts to bring in unique local brands such as "Soonheene Bindaeddeok" (Soonhee's pancakes), which is a franchised version of the original one available only at Gwangjang Market in Seoul, or "Namdaemun Gamaegol Sonmandu" (dumplings) available at Namdaemun Market. There are also popular brands such as "Bukchangdong Soondooboo," "Kyodong Jjambbong" and "Hanokjib Kimchijjim." According to the explanation on the wall, the street "reinterprets the Korean market into an avenue of taste and stories," with a selection of "local eateries that have been loved by Koreans for a long time." Ironically on the opposite side of the Korean Food Street is the American burger chain Shake Shack, operated by SPC.

Michelin chef's casual take

Amid the culinary battle of the conglomerates, there's one restaurant that definitely stands out.

Pyunghwaok, a casual Korean restaurant run by Michelin-starred chef Yim Jung-sik, sits on the third floor above the departure area, literally sticking out overhead. It is the only restaurant in Terminal 2 that is run by a private owner.

Yim's contemporary Korean fine dining restaurant Jungsik in Seoul received two Michelin stars last year, bumped up from its previous one. He also runs Jungsik in New York.

Yim, who invited the press to try out his food Wednesday, ahead of the terminal's opening Thursday, said his purpose of opening this restaurant was to connect more international visitors to Korean food.

"I immediately accepted the offer when the airport suggested a space because it would be great place to start our casual Korean restaurant business. An airport is where people from all over the world gather in one place. Our initial plan of opening in Japan to target the Asian market changed direction to serve the larger global audience," said Yim.

The restaurant serves Korean food from both the South and North, with an aspiration to connect the two separated countries. Growing interest overseas about North Korea also helped in developing the concept.

"People overseas are more aware of North Korea than the South. I thought they'd naturally be interested in North Korean food as well. If I opened a North Korean restaurant in front of the United Nations headquarters in New York, it would cause a lot of hype," said Yim.

"So I thought bringing North Korean food into the menu would be interesting for foreign guests, while it's also a great opportunity to build bridges between two countries as both types of food are served here." The name Pyunghwaok came naturally; it translates to "peace house." The brand logo also has elements of North Korea, as well as international references from the curves that resemble Aladdin's pointed shoes or men's mustaches.

Pyunghwaok's main dish is "gukbap" which is rice dipped in soup.

"I concluded that gukbap will succeed as international food after numerous experiments in pop-up restaurants I opened prior to this. The commonality among popular international food such as Vietnam's pho, Thailand's tom yum goong and Japan's ramen is that they are a combination of carbohydrates and soup. Dipping rice into soup is uniquely Korean culture so I decided on gukbap and Pyongyang naengmyeon (cold noodles) as the two signature dishes on the menu," said Yim. The two represent dishes from South and North Korea.

As for the gukbap, otherwise called "gomtang," Yim said he decided on spicy red gomtang as the signature dish, instead of the mild white version.

"Spiciness is no longer a problem for foreigners. When I took foreign chefs to local eateries in Korea, they didn't like the mild gukbap saying it tasted like consomme. They preferred the red spicy ones," said Yim.

The restaurant is a result of keen observations and multiple trial and errors. The communal table in the middle of the restaurant is inspired by Japanese bars in New York, according to Yim.

"What made Japanese food popular in the U.S. is the culture of eating at the bar. So I thought of bringing that concept to Pyunghwaok and merging it with Korea's unique banchan (side dishes) culture. Foreigners find it fascinating to have free side dishes served on the table, but for restaurateurs, it's a huge expense to give it out for free. So I made side dishes such as kimchi available at the communal table for customers to serve themselves the amount they wish to eat. This reduces food waste," he said.

Yim seems to be leading a new trend, right at the outset. The next wave of food trends, he says, will no longer be fine dining.

"The demand for fine dining is decreasing. Chefs are no longer opening fine dining restaurants because of low demand. Instead, the up and coming trend is authentic local cuisine. If I indulged myself in spreading new Korean food for the past 10 years, I'll focus on spreading real Korean food in the next decade," said Yim.