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Leading Change in Luxury: How is Conrad Seoul Redefining Certified Seafood Dining?
At the restaurant table of Conrad Seoul in Yeouido, the five-star Hilton Hotels luxury brand, a guest enjoys a delicately prepared dish of ASC-certified olive flounder steak- beautifully presented and part of a much bigger story.
Sourced from a local Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) certified flatfish farm, the hotel’s choice reflects a growing commitment to certified aquaculture.
For diners, choosing certified seafood is often a quiet decision. Behind that moment of culinary joy lies a chain of people and commitments working together to drive improvements for aquaculture.
What this looks like in practice was brought to life during a curated dining experience at Conrad Seoul, where guests were served a four-course menu featuring ASC-certified olive flounder and ASC-certified abalone.
This special menu reflected the refinement expected of a luxury hotel, yet each ingredient had been carefully selected to express a deeper philosophy: that exceptional dining can also support sourcing from certified supply chains.
A Chef Driven by Better Standards
Executive Chef Seungchan Lee has spent more than a decade shaping the culinary experience at Conrad Seoul. Responsible for the hotel’s entire food and beverage kitchen, including more than 120 staff, he ensures every dish meets the highest standards of quality, hygiene and taste.
But for Chef Lee and his dedicated team, excellence is not only about flavour.
His introduction to sustainable seafood came during a hospitality sustainability workshop in Japan in 2018. The experience reshaped how he thought about seafood sourcing and inspired him to bring those principles back to South Korea.
In 2021, Conrad Seoul became the first hotel in South Korea to obtain ASC Chain of Custody certification, allowing the hotel to serve and promote ASC-certified seafood with full traceability from farm to plate. It is now also the first hotel in the country to introduce ASC-certified olive flounder to its menu.
For Chef Lee, the certification provided something invaluable: clear, verified criteria for selecting seafood that aligns with Conrad Seoul’s aspirations,
“ASC standards help us choose seafood not only for its taste and quality, but also for its story. This allows us to present guests with food that reflects our values.”
Raising the Standard for Luxury Hospitality
As one of South Korea’s leading five-star hotels, Conrad Seoul recognises the influence it can have on the broader hospitality sector to help shape the future of more sustainable dining.
Introducing ASC-certified seafood into a luxury hotel environment was not without challenges. Convincing departments across the organisation to invest in certified supply chains required time and collaboration.
Yet the results so far have been transformative.
The team now offers something increasingly valuable in luxury dining: full traceability from farm to plate. This further strengthens the message to thousands of guests each year, helping to build awareness and trust.
Today, Conrad Seoul continues to from ASC and MSC certified sources, with the long-term goal of serving.
Just as importantly, the hotel’s leadership has begun to influence others. Chef Lee actively promotes certified seafood through professional chef networks in South Korea, encouraging other hotels and restaurants to begin their own journeys.
The belief at Conrad Seoul is clear: luxury hospitality has a role not just in meeting dining expectations, but in shaping them.
Connecting Chefs to Certified Producers
Behind every dish with ASC-certified seafood on it lies a network of partners working to bring certified farmed seafood to the world.
This means collaborating closely with suppliers who can provide traceable products that meet strict standards. These supply chains connect hospitality kitchens directly to aquaculture producers who are committed to improving environmental performance and their farming practices.
One of those pioneers lies several hours south of Seoul, on the coast of Geoje Island…
A Farm Determined to Change Aquaculture in South Korea
Raon Bada operates an innovative farm using recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) technology. Guided by its ambition “Anyone, Anywhere, Anything possible” the company is working to demonstrate how aquaculture can evolve beyond traditional limitations.
The farm was founded with a clear ambition: to prove that aquaculture in South Korea could evolve toward better practices and technologically advanced production.
CEO Yoon Ji-hyun believed that olive flounder, South Korea’s most widely consumed farmed fish, had the potential to become a model for change in the industry.
Using RAS technology allows the farm to carefully manage water use, fish health and its environmental impact through advanced monitoring systems. This approach reduces resource use while improving survival rates and overall efficiency.
From the beginning, the team designed the facility with certification in mind,
“We wanted to demonstrate that aquaculture could operate with minimal environmental impact and without relying on chemicals. It’s rewarding to expand eco-friendly aquaculture methods and share the benefits with market participants and consumers.”
Becoming the First
Pursuing certification was not easy. Because olive flounder had never previously been certified, the team had little precedent to follow. Meeting the social and environmental requirements in the ASC Standard required significant effort, investment and learnings throughout the process; from ensuring positive labour practices to sourcing compliant feed.
Despite the challenges, the farm succeeded in achieving a historic milestone: becoming the world’s first ASC-certified olive flounder farm – a milestone not just for the company, but for the industry.
At a time when South Korea’s aquaculture sector stands at a critical juncture, this achievement signals what is possible. With the right innovations and standards in place, the industry has the potential to transform toward a more efficient and globally competitive future.
A Shared Journey Toward More Certified Seafood
Today, the connection between farms like Raon Bada and restaurants like Conrad Seoul demonstrates how change happens across the entire seafood value chain – and collaboration is what drives that change forward.
Producers innovate to raise fish to better standards. Suppliers connect those producers to markets. Chefs bring the ingredients to their menus. And diners, often unknowingly, become part of that movement when they choose a dish with ASC-certified seafood.
From a pioneering farm on South Korea’s southern coast to a luxury hotel kitchen in Seoul, the journey of ASC-certified olive flounder shows how collaboration across the industry can transform the future of seafood, especially at a moment when the country’s aquaculture sector is poised for change.
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