A week ahead of the G20 summit, Lotte Hotel in central Seoul reopened its Korean restaurant Mugunghwa, after renovation aimed at transforming it into a modern fine-dining restaurant offering the country’s top Korean cuisine.

Mugunghwa is one of only four Korean restaurants run by Seoul’s top-notch hotels.

The company injected 5 billion won ($4 million) into the year-long project, for interior renewal, new menu development and employee retraining.

The hotel relocated the restaurant from the basement to the top 38th floor to provide a view of the metropolis’ heart, it said. It built an exclusive glass elevator to take guests directly to the sky lounge. 

“The reason why we decided to invest more in Korean food is because vice chairman Shin loves it, and his interest in Korean cuisine grew since appointed as chairman of the 2010-12 Visit Korea Year Committee,” a company official said.

The new Mugunghwa was redesigned in a 712-square-meter space. It can accommodate up to 96 people in a main hall and seven separate rooms.

A group of sommeliers will help guests select suitable wine from a collection of 40 different labels, or traditional tea to pair with the Korean dishes, Lotte said.

“Unlike Western cuisine which has one or two ingredients in its main dishes, Korean cuisine features dishes made of different ingredients with various seasonings,” Mugunghwa’s executive chef Lee Byung-woo said. “That’s why it is important to find wines that have a harmony of tannin, acidity, sweetness and body.”

The hotel also organized a special service team to provide education on the Korean kitchen for the G20 leaders.

The team conducted customized research and training for each leader, so visitors will be able to learn a range of skills from cooking methods to table settings, hotel officials said.

“We won’t compete with general Korean restaurants,” Lotte Hotel president and chief executive Jwa Sang-bong said. “We will show what kind of quality Korean food a luxury international hotel can provide.”

“I hope leaders from all over the world will be impressed by Korean traditional food and visit Korea again,” he said.

By Shin Hyon-hee (heeshin@heraldcorp.com)