To enter GYUBAN, you must first go through the forest of modern buildings in Euljiro. What’s interesting is that GYUBAN is located in Duozone Eulji Tower, the headquarters of “Duozone ICT Group.” The meeting between a global ICT group that provides digital solutions to maximize a company’s potential, and a restaurant that maintains the inherent beauty of Korean cuisine, is like a mystical metaphor that connects analog with the digital age and the past to the future.

When chef-owner Jiyoung Kim first imagined how GYUBAN would look, she pictured the refined corridor of a palace, the beautiful garden of Changdeokgung Palace, and the Jeonggwanheon at Deoksugung Palace where Emperor Gojong greeted diplomatic delegations during the Korean Empire era. But crossbeams, ponds, and a pavilion can’t be built in the middle of a 21st century city. It took a lot of effort to create an elegant space without clutter, to correctly present the court cuisine.

Chef-owner Jiyoung Kim worked together with the spatial design studio Subtext, and decided that the spatial concept would be a “space of records.” She wanted the unique philosophy of GYUBAN to be absorbed into the restaurant, by presenting old recipes from court cuisine and the table settings of the nobility through multi-course meals, as well as introducing the alluring story of the country’s food culture based on knowledge gained by researching and analyzing historical literature and old cookbooks. She believes that a dining experience can be transformed into a time and space for countless stories, similarly to how a simple side dish can taste richer by using ancient records, and the restaurant has become a space that reminds people of the meaning of history.

When you approach GYUBAN, the layered hanji(traditional handmade Korean paper) behind the stone finish catches your attention. The hanji warmly welcomes guests to the space of records. The lounge you will encounter when you enter the restaurant is inspired by the Jeonggwanheon at Deoksugung Palace, where Emperor Gojong held banquets for diplomatic delegations during the Korean Empire era or enjoyed a perfect break alone with refreshments and coffee. GYUBAN’s quiet lounge lets you shake off your busy city life and find time to relax. The grace of the ceramics, quilt, and the small portable dining table all add elegance to GYUBAN.

GYUBAN’s corridors are made of stone floors, inspired by the elegant corridors of old palaces. The long corridor also has sturdy colonnades arranged neatly like the one in palaces. They are lined up in parallel rows, following the traditional construction method. There are imperial roof decorations in front of every dining room entrance. These decorations are usually seen on the roofs of royal palace, as beautiful features that ward off the misfortune and also represent the dignity of royalty.

The doors to the dining room are varnished with traditional lacquer and hanji. When guests walk past these “doors of time,” they can see the seasonal garden and the five dining rooms surrounded by water. The five dining rooms are the spaces where guests stay the longest, so they were built to feel warm and safe to let people concentrate on dining. The high ceilings in the dining rooms give them an open feeling. The rooms are soundproof and are equipped with acoustic treatment, perfect for important meetings. There are endangered native Korean plants is growing in the garden decorated with five themes: spring, summer, autumn, winter, Jeju and in a pond between the autumn and winter rooms. The reason why GYUBAN contains wild plants, including the seven-son flower, Japanese witch hazel, Korean early lilac, plum, Korean dendropanax, quince, sweet osmanthus, and more, is to give added meaning to the records that are considered important at GYUBAN. The overall garden landscape is managed by Gogiri Farm, which is known for its trendy planteriors. The sophisticated lighting system replaces natural light, while a sprinkler operates every 30 minutes, resulting in an emotional experience that makes it seem like you are enjoying a meal in the middle of a forest.