A Study about Interior Design Characteristics of Korean Restaurants - Focusing on Seoul and New York Modernized Upscale Korean Restaurants -

한식레스토랑의 실내 공간 디자인 특성 분석 - 서울·뉴욕 소재 현대식 고급 한식레스토랑을 중심으로 -

The upscale Korean restaurants that appeared as a way for the globalization of Korean food by introducing Western modern elements into Korean traditional elements are presenting a new direction. For this study, the researcher visited a total of ten modernized upscale Korean restaurants including five ones in each of Seoul (Dadam, Bistro Seoul, Bicena, Today, and Poom Seoul) and New York (Gaonnuri, Danji, Ban, Jung Restaurant, Korea Spoon), where the globalization of Korean food is concentrated, and the results of comparing, investigating, and analyzing the characteristics of interior and spatial design through observation, photo taking, sketches and preparing a questionnaire were as follows. First, a modernized upscale Korean restaurant was first built in New York in 2011, and then also appeared in Seoul in 2012. The Korean restaurants in New York were mostly operated by individual person, while the Korean restaurants in Seoul were operated by large corporation. Second, the spatial configuration elements were classified into the reception, garden and rooms in Seoul and into the reception, bar hall and rooms in New York depending on the function of the interior space, showing differences in the spatial configuration elements of the garden and bar. There was a difference in spatial layout; the restaurants in Seoul were room-centered, while the ones in New York were hall-centered. Third, in terms of spatial design elements, the size of the space and furniture in the reception space of the Korean restaurants in New York were smaller as compare to those in Seoul, while the restaurants in New York represented Korean atmosphere by decorating many Korean traditional elements. The Korean restaurants in New York gave consistency to the design of the hall space as compared to the restaurants in Seoul by decorating interior decorative accessories associated with the restaurant name. The Korean restaurants in Seoul decorated room space by using more traditional elements as compared to the restaurants in New York. Fourth, in terms of food design elements, the restaurants in Seoul are characterized by the introduction of Western services and table setting, while the restaurants in New York sought originality that applied foreign ways as compared to the restaurants in Seoul. The results of this study can be used as useful basic data when setting the interior spatial design guidelines for the modernized upscale Korean restaurants that advance into the world beyond Seoul and New York, and it is expected that in-depth follow-up studies would be conducted in various cities beyond Seoul and New York where there are modernized upscale Korean restaurants based on the results of this study.