By Cathy Rose A. Garcia
Staff reporter

``Hanjeongsik,'' the full course Korean meal with its dizzying array of dishes laid out on a table, is always a memorable experience for foreign diners visiting the country. But as the government pursues efforts to globalize Korean cuisine, exporting hanjeongsik might not be the right way to go.

Serving Korean dishes a la carte might be a better way to boost the popularity of Korean cuisine overseas, according Ryan Shin, chief operating officer of food service company Sun At Food.

Sun At Food, which has been operating successful chains such as Tony Roma's, Mad for Garlic and Spaghettia for the last 15 years, has recently opened a new Korean restaurant called Bistro Seoul in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul.

Bistro Seoul is re-introducing the concept of fine dining Korean cuisine, as it attempts to expand in the overseas market.

``We introduced a different style of presenting the food (ala carte). The presentation is totally Western-style but the style of cooking is still traditional Korean,'' Shin told The Korea Times.

Korean dishes are served a la carte, instead of the usual hanjeongsik set meals with a dozen side dishes. The menu includes familiar dishes such as kimchi jeon or pancakes, arrow squid carpaccio, premium beef rib stew marinated in fruit sauce and boiled sablefish in spicy soy sauce with root vegetables and ``omija'' (schizandra berry) panna cotta.

There is definitely no hanjeongsik at Bistro Seoul. While the sheer volume of food served as hanjeongsik might impress some foreigners, it might also turn off others.

``Two years ago, we brought our business partner from France to have hanjeongsik, and he got angry because he said he couldn't eat it all and the food was too much. He said there are many starving people in Africa, and the food will be wasted. That's a good point because Korean hanjeongsik is really too much food,'' Shin said.

Bistro Seoul is meant as a platform for the company's plans to open branches overseas, including in Japan and the United States this year.

The government is exerting efforts and implementing programs to globalize hansik, but Shin believes there should be more assistance for Korean companies that are opening restaurants overseas.

``If a company wants to establish a business overseas like a Korean restaurant, the government should support them by providing them with one year's rent for free. Or maybe support them when they're opening in New York, where there are a lot of licenses needed. They have to support those things. It's much better way to support the globalization of hansik,'' Shin said.

Bistro Seoul does not look like a typical Korean restaurant, as its interior (black wood tables, white flowers and hanji lamps) are meant to just give a whiff of Korean style. The food is served on Korean ceramic plates, which are handmade by craftsmen.

``We wanted to spread the Korean culture through ceramics. We are letting the customers know about the ceramic dishes and hanji. Our presentation is a mix of traditional Korean and Western culture. There's a bar but the cocktails and drinks menu are Korean wines and liquor,'' Shin said.

But don't look for Bistro Seoul to actively promote itself as a traditional Korean restaurant.

``We don't have to say it is Korean food. Just with (the name) 'Bistro Seoul' and people will immediately know it is Korean food and they're going to experience Korea. It's going to be an exciting experience at a unique place and they'll want to revisit it,'' Shin said.