Palate

A late start, a long way round

Kim Jae-hoon came to cooking late. He studied Chinese at university and began cooking at 25, by his own account simply to make a living, then trained for eight years in Australia and worked in Seoul before returning to his home city of Busan to open Palate.

Michelin describes the result as contemporary French cooking that is “free-spirited and adventurous in style”, built on the range of kitchens the chef has worked in, and notes that it stands out in a city whose dining scene prizes the old and the traditional.

Busan produce, French technique

The menu reworks local ingredients with French technique. Korean food writers point to Gijang kelp, mackerel and Daejeo tomatoes; in 2025 the menu opened with four snacks and a Daejeo tomato tartare, and Gijang kelp reappeared as a sweet ice cream. Spring brought pasta with chamnamul and wild chives, summer a sorrel dessert.

The signature is a Gimhae duck steak, dry-aged for two to three weeks. Kim has described what he is after as the “ultimate bite”: dishes that are intuitive and harmonious rather than loud.

A move up the hill

Palate won a Michelin star in 2024, in the first Busan edition of the guide, when it was still in Yongho-dong, with views over the Yongho pier towards the Gwangan Bridge. In September 2024 it moved to the third floor of a white building on Dalmaji-gil in Haeundae, where the sea shows through the windows.

It keeps its star in the 2026 Michelin Guide South Korea. The course menu can be paired with wine.

Sources: Michelin Guide; Vogue Korea; GQ Korea; Heypop