MICHELIN Keys and special awards

The MICHELIN Key is the guide's distinction for hotels, recognizing outstanding stays in the way Stars recognize outstanding cooking. It was introduced in 2024 and comes in three levels, from one to three Keys. It is assessed separately from restaurant Stars, so a hotel's Key rating says nothing about its restaurants' Stars.

According to the guide, One Key means a very special stay, Two Keys an exceptional stay and Three Keys an extraordinary stay. The higher the number, the rarer the experience. The guide also lists hotels without a Key, so it is worth browsing the full hotel selection as well.

In the Korean MICHELIN Key selection announced in September 2026, nine hotels received Keys: three with Two Keys and six with One Key. No Korean hotel holds Three Keys. The selection included one newly awarded hotel and one promoted from One to Two Keys.

The 2026 Korean MICHELIN Key hotels are in Seoul, Incheon, Busan, Jeju and Chungju, with Chungju appearing for the first time. While the restaurant selection covers only Seoul and Busan, the hotel selection reaches further across the country, which can be handy when choosing where to stay outside the big cities.

The guide applies common criteria to hotels as well. The five reported criteria are architecture and interior design, quality and consistency of service, the hotel's personality and character, value for the price, and a meaningful contribution to its neighborhood or setting. The Korean selection article also emphasized design, service and character.

Not necessarily. Keys judge the overall stay, while restaurant Stars judge the cooking separately. A Key hotel may or may not have a Starred restaurant inside, so check the restaurant listings in the guide on their own. Note that hotel restaurants often need to be booked separately from your room.

You can browse Key hotels and their descriptions in the hotel section of the official MICHELIN Guide website and app. Room rates and booking terms vary by date and channel, so compare the conditions on the hotel's official channels or the booking service you use before reserving.

Special awards honor individuals rather than rating restaurants. The 2026 edition presented a Sommelier Award, Service Award, Young Chef Award and Opening of the Year Award, and the 2025 edition also included a Mentor Chef Award. The line-up of awards can change slightly from year to year.

The Young Chef Award goes to a young chef showing great promise. In the 2026 edition, it went to the chef of a contemporary Korean restaurant in Busan, newly promoted to One Star, for a restrained and seasonal style. Details about the restaurant are on the official site.

The Service Award honors a staff member whose hospitality stands out. In the 2026 edition, it went to a restaurant manager in Seoul for warm, professional and well-paced service. Because Stars are about the food, service is spotlighted separately through awards like this one.

The Sommelier Award recognizes a sommelier with outstanding skill in drink selection and pairing. In the 2026 edition, it went to a sommelier at a Korean restaurant in Seoul for thoughtful, flexible wine pairings, and in 2025 it also went to a sommelier at a Seoul Korean restaurant.

The Opening of the Year Award was introduced in the 2026 Korean edition to recognize a standout newly opened restaurant. The first winner was the chef of a restaurant in Busan that joined the guide as MICHELIN Selected that year. It shows new restaurants can enter the guide quickly.

The Mentor Chef Award honors a chef who has nurtured younger cooks and contributed to the industry. In the 2025 edition, it went to a chef recognized for carrying on a hotel's Korean fine-dining legacy. The award did not appear among the 2026 special awards.

The 2026 edition marked ten years of the guide in Korea and had ten newly awarded or promoted Starred restaurants, a record for the Korean edition. Many of the new Stars combined Korean traditions with French or Japanese techniques or emphasized fermentation and sauces, and 24 restaurants were newly added as MICHELIN Selected.

The 2024 edition listed 177 restaurants in Seoul and 43 in Busan, and the 2025 edition listed 186 in Seoul and 48 in Busan. The 2026 edition has 178 in Seoul and 55 in Busan, for 233 in total. Seoul sees restaurants come and go each year, while Busan has grown steadily since its first edition.

In the 2025 edition, Mingles in Seoul was promoted to Three Stars, described as the first Three-Star promotion in Korea in two years. The restaurant has been in the guide since the first Seoul edition in 2017, and it kept Three Stars in 2026 as Korea's only Three-Star restaurant.

Yes. In the 2025 edition, a Mexican restaurant in Seoul received One Star and was described as the first Mexican restaurant in Korea to earn a MICHELIN Star. That year's selection also featured Mediterranean, Cantonese and vegan restaurants, reflecting how diverse Seoul's dining scene has become.

Yes. In the 2025 announcement, a Korean restaurant in Seoul was noted for keeping its Green Star for five consecutive years. Green Stars are reviewed every year, so keeping one requires sustained commitment to sustainable practices. The 2026 edition also added new Green Star restaurants.

Yes. In the 2026 edition, a restaurant that had recently reopened went straight to Two Stars, and a new restaurant joined as MICHELIN Selected while winning the Opening of the Year Award. Inspectors look at new openings every year, so check the latest edition for new names.

New edition announcements, special awards and hotel Key news are published in the articles section of the official MICHELIN Guide website and app. The Korea pages are available in Korean and English, so they are easy for visitors to follow. Before you travel, recheck restaurant and hotel details against the latest edition.