Korea has an enormous range of places to eat, at every price point imaginable. And then there’s dinner as an event. Three main ways people do that here.
Korean BBQ, the Expensive Version
Korean BBQ covers a huge range. Pork belly is the everyday version — not exactly cheap, but affordable enough that people eat it regularly. Hanwoo, Korean beef, is the version people don’t eat often, mainly because the price makes sure of that.
There’s a whole style of restaurant built around it — butcher-shop-style places where you pick your own cut off the counter and grill it yourself. It’s a bit cheaper than the full sit-down version, but it’s still hanwoo, so “cheaper” is relative. Places where someone grills it for you tend to cost more, but you’re paying for the convenience as much as the meat.
Prices depend entirely on the cut and grade. Some of the prized cuts run well over ₩50,000 per 100 grams — and that’s before you’ve ordered enough to actually feed the table. Top-grade 1++ hanwoo gets expensive fast, especially once you start working through the premium cuts.
Omakase
Omakase means “I’ll leave it up to you” in Japanese — you don’t order each dish, the chef just decides what comes next.
Sushi is the classic version in Korea, usually running ₩100,000 to ₩200,000+ a person, sometimes more depending on the ingredients and the chef’s reputation.
The full experience usually runs a couple of hours — a long procession of small courses, one seafood item at a time, with the chef explaining each one as it comes out. It’s less a meal you eat quickly and more one you sit through, usually with sake or soju going the whole time alongside it.
Walk-ins are basically not a thing at the good places — reservations are the norm, and the popular spots book out weeks in advance.
Hotel Buffets
This is the one that’s actually gotten more expensive, not less — and the big hotels are almost competing over it.
As of September 2026, Lotte Hotel Seoul’s La Seyne runs ₩203,000 a person for dinner. The Shilla Seoul’s The Park View is ₩208,000 on weekends. Vista Walkerhill’s buffet, recently renovated, sits at ₩198,000. Josun Palace’s Constans and Westin Josun’s Aria round out the rest of the usual suspects — different hotel groups, same basic math. These prices only move in one direction, so don’t be surprised if they’re higher by the time you read this.
The appeal is pretty straightforward: you don’t have to choose. Lobster, steak, sushi, seafood, hot dishes, a huge dessert table — it’s all there, and you can go back for whatever you want.
Some people have started making the same argument about hotel buffets that they make about omakase: once dinner costs ₩200,000, you’re getting close to fine-dining prices anyway.
But there’s something uniquely appealing about being able to look at a table full of expensive food and simply decide what you’re in the mood for.
Three different ways to spend serious money on dinner in Korea.
You can buy the best beef you can find, let a chef decide what you eat, or take the whole buffet and help yourself.
None of them are necessary.
That’s kind of the point.
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