Each menu at Hwaro traces a life told through flavor — beginning in the waters of Gwangju, where Chef Sungchul Shim first discovered the sea’s abundance and his mother’s instinctive way of cooking with love and seasonality. Those memories carried him across the world to New York, where he mastered French technique and found inspiration in the city’s rhythm and contrast.

At Hwaro, these influences meet in a journey from sea to mountain to land, guided by the charcoal brazier at its center — a symbol of transformation and gathering. Here, fire becomes language: where memory turns to craft, and flavor tells a story of return and connection.