Ahead of Chuseok, department stores and hotels are rolling out gourmet gift sets made in collaboration with chefs and influencers or in ready-to-eat formats.
Hyundai Department Store(069960) said on the 30th it will unveil unusual gift sets in collaboration with popular YouTubers and chefs. Standouts include the "boneless easy grilled mackerel set" (150,000 won) and the "boneless easy grilled fish set" (130,000 won) created with YouTuber "Jinseokgi Era," who gained popularity with videos catching and cooking seasonal seafood. The bones are removed and the fish is pre-grilled and individually packaged so it can be eaten after simple microwave heating.
Jinseokgi Era said, "The key to this gift set is that it uses high-quality raw ingredients carefully selected by an angler who knows the sea," adding, "We removed almost all the bones, pre-grilled it once, and even individually packaged it."
The "premium abalone porridge with innards set" (100,000 won), made in collaboration with Japanese cuisine chef Jang Ho-jun, is prepared by stir-frying domestically sourced abalone innards, known as geu, in sesame oil. Premium baijiu "Mengjiram Shougongban" (760,000 won) recommended by Chinese cuisine chef Jeong Ji-seon and the Hyundai Department Store-exclusive "Mengjiram Shougongban Dasapan" (3.7 million won) also made the list. The lineup also includes hitsumabushi and kabayaki from "Inakaan," a 100-year-old eel specialty restaurant in Fukuoka, Japan, and a fish jerky set from Gangwon local company 31 Geon-eomul. Preorders run through the 3rd of next month, and general sales start on the 4th.
In the hotel sector, ready-to-eat items stand out. Grand Intercontinental Seoul Parnas has introduced new items that only need reheating with no additional cooking. A set combining braised short ribs and braised shank is 430,000 won, and "chef's recommended Buddha Jumps Over the Wall," simmered with the know-how of the Chinese restaurant Weiru, is 850,000 won. The Chuseok gift lineup totals 71 items and will be sold from the 1st to the 27th of next month. Fairmont Ambassador Seoul has introduced a representative "premium Buddha Jumps Over the Wall" simmered for seven days with wild pine mushrooms and dried sea cucumbers. Sales run from the 7th to the 23rd of next month.
Le Meridien Seoul Myeongdong has turned holiday tables into takeout items. "Holiday to go," which includes eight items such as assorted jeon, beef japchae, shrimp abalone jang, and grilled bose croaker, is 319,000 won, and "premium holiday to go," which includes nine items such as premium Korean beef, known as hanwoo, yukjeon and herbal abalone braised beef short ribs, is 399,000 won. One bottle of cheongju is included in every set.
Josun Hotels & Resorts has expanded its chef-made "premium kimchi set" lineup from two to five options, with prices ranging from the 100,000-won to 200,000-won tiers. It also released a high-end wine set selected by a sommelier. Among them, "Meo Camuzet Vosne-Romanée Premier Cru Cros Parantoux 2023" has only three bottles imported into the country, and just one bottle is currently available for purchase. Kensington Hotel & Resort reconfigured its premium Korean beef, known as hanwoo, set—which recorded a 95% repurchase rate last year—into a value option in the 90,000-won range, and Banyan Tree Club & Spa Seoul unveiled a hamper created in collaboration with premium dessert brand Mont St. Clair.