Diary
The Radar:
Jung-Yoon Choi
A personal tour of Seoul with Jung-Yoon Choi, Korea chair for the World’s 50 Best Restaurants
Photo: Jaeyoung Heo
In this edition of The Radar—Ursula magazine’s uncommon cultural recommendations from our friends and colleagues around the world—Jung-Yoon Choi, chef and Korea chair for the World’s 50 Best Restaurants, takes us through the culinary delights of her city ahead of Frieze Seoul.
Seoul is more than a city to me—it’s home, muse and a playground of flavors. I’ve spent decades exploring the food here and abroad, and I find every corner of Seoul tells a story through taste. Whether I’m introducing friends from around the world to our dynamic dining scene or returning from my own journey, Seoul always greets me with something delicious and inspiring.
Gyeongdong Market
Seasons in Full Color
One of my favorite places to recharge my creativity is Gyeongdong Market. This sprawling market is where Korean farmers have brought their harvest straight from the fields for almost seventy years. I like to chat with the vendors, who have a deep, generational connection to the land. The sensory inspiration is endless—wild spring greens; summer chili peppers and peaches; autumn ginseng; winter bundles of dried herbs. Walking the aisles is like flipping through a calendar. Gyeongdong reminds me that cooking begins with listening to nature’s rhythms. I always leave with my bags full and my head brimming with ideas.
Euljiro, Seoul, July 2025. Photo: Hyunwoo Park
Euljiro
Where Heritage Meets Hip
Another place that captures the spirit of Seoul is Euljiro, a downtown neighborhood where past and future not only coexist but also inspire each other. By day, its narrow alleys are lined with printing presses and tool shops that have operated for decades. Tucked among them are nopo (노포), long-standing, family-run eateries serving bubbling ox-bone soup or crispy mungbean pancakes. By night, young creatives run their studios, bars and restaurants out of repurposed workshops. You might find yourself in Nogari (노가리) Alley with a coldbeer and dried pollock (북어) under neon signs, elbow-to-elbow with an eclectic crowd. Euljiro reminds me that innovation in Seoul is deeply rooted.
The People of Seoul
A Living Creative Community
Ultimately, the true magic of Seoul is in its people. I’m constantly inspired by the community I’ve found through the Nanro Foundation, a project I started in 2022 to bring creative minds together over Korean food. At a Nanro meetup, you might see a top chef brainstorming with a K-pop producer or a researcher swapping ideas with a ceramic artist. The mix of perspectives is electric. Today, about half of our 1,000 members come from outside the kitchen. All the members are united by a love of Korean cuisine and a curiosity about its future. Whenever we host an event, I feel the same creative buzz I get from walking Seoul’s streets—that invigorating collision of tradition and innovation. To me, Nanro is is Seoul: diverse yet close-knit, respect of heritage yet always pushing forward.
Courtesy Nanro Foundation
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Jung-Yoon Choi is the Korea chair for the World’s 50 Best Restaurants, bridging global culinary dialogue with Korea’s vibrant food culture. She is the founder of the Nanro Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to cross-cultural exchange through cuisine. She co-authored The Korean Cookbook, published by Phaidon Press in 2023.
Hauser & Wirth will be presenting works at Frieze Seoul, Stand A25, from 3 – 6 September 2025.