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Lee welcomes France's Macron with Michelin-star chef dinner, exchange gifts

Published: 02 Apr. 2026, 23:45 Updated: 03 Apr. 2026, 18:08

SARAH KIM
[email protected]

President Lee Jae Myung, right, shakes hands with French President Emmanuel Macron ahead of their dinner at the Sangchunjae in the Blue House compound in central Seoul on April 2. The French leader began a two-day state visit to Korea. [BLUE HOUSE]

President Lee Jae Myung welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron's state visit to Seoul with a dinner Thursday featuring dishes presented by a Michelin-starred chef featured on "Culinary Class Wars" (2024-) and a taste of traditional Korean hospitality.

The cozy dinner event, prepared to promote friendly ties between the two countries, was attended by the leaders and their spouses, first lady Kim Hea Kyung and her French counterpart, Brigitte Macron, at the Sangchunjae in the Blue House compound in central Seoul, presidential chief spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said in a statement.

The traditional hanok-style Sangchunjae is often used by the president to host unofficial smaller-scale events for foreign dignitaries.

Earlier Thursday, Macron kicked off his first trip to Korea since taking office and is the first French president in 11 years to visit. His his two-day state visit marks the 140th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The menu for the dinner event featured dishes by Korean chef Son Jong-won, a star contestant in the second season of Netflix's hit culinary survival series "Culinary Class Wars." Son is also a regular chef cast on "Please Take Care of My Refrigerator" (2014-), broadcaster JTBC's long-running cooking show.

Son runs L'Amant Secret, featuring fusion contemporary dining cuisine, and Eatanic Garden, showcasing Korean fine dining, both Michelin one-star restaurants in Seoul. Eatanic Garden, located at southern Seoul's Josun Palace hotel, was named one of Asia's 50 Best Restaurants last year.

President Lee Jae Myung, front left, and French President Emmanuel Macron, front right, listen to chef Son Jong-won explain the menu during their dinner at the Sangchunjae in the Blue House compound in central Seoul on April 2. [BLUE HOUSE]

Son's six-course menu for the night started off with a rainbow-colored japchae (stir-fried glass noodles) tartlet, a cold salad with asparagus and seafood and fried dureup (aralia sprout) stuffed with prawns. It was followed by a clam dish depicting Korean ink paintings using French caviar and squid ink, a French-style reinterpretation of the samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup) called samgye roulade and a hanwoo (Korean beef) mille-feuille with a roasted sweet potato crepe.

Vintage champagne produced in Champagne, France, by Korean chef Park Jae-hwa was served for the toast, and a traditional liquor brewed with Gyeonggi's Yongin Baekok rice and a French red wine infused with the flavors of Asian spices accompanied the dinner feast.

From left: A welcome kit prepared for French President Emmanuel Macron at his accommodations featuring an Eiffel Tower-inspired centerpiece and bread made by the Korean team who won “La Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie 2026” on April 2; a reinterpretation of banwha, a royal ornament presented by King Gojong to the French president in 1886; and a white porcelain tableware set. [BLUE HOUSE]

Later, the presidents and first ladies watched a geomungo (Korean six-string zither) performance by player Park Da-ul.

Lee and Kim presented Macron with a model peach blossom banhwa, a traditional royal ornament with various gemstones.

Kang said the piece is a reinterpretation of the banhwa that Emperor Gojong (1852-1919) presented to then French President Marie Francois Sadi Carnot in 1886 to commemorate the establishment of diplomatic relations with France during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). This exchange has been cited as one of the first instances of Korea's diplomatic gift exchange with a Western country.

"The peach blossoms symbolize wishes for good fortune, prosperity and abundance, reflecting the hope for a new beginning in diplomatic relations between Korea and France and the eternal prosperity of both nations," Kang said.

The presidential couple presented the French first lady, known as a fan of Korean pop culture, with signed albums from K-pop stars BTS, Stray Kids and G-Dragon, as well as a set of white porcelain tableware crafted using Korean ceramic techniques.

The Blue House also prepared at Macron's accommodation a welcome kit featuring an Eiffel Tower-inspired craft piece, bokjumeoni (lucky pouch) bread made by the Korean team of bakers who won "La Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie 2026," also known as the Bakery World Cup, in Paris earlier this year, and macaron d'Amiens, inspired by President Macron's hometown of Amiens in northern France.

This is the third meeting between Lee and Macron, following their first talks at the Group of 7 summit in Canada in June last year and the Group of 20 gathering in South Africa last November.

French President Emmanuel Macron, center, and his wife Brigitte Macron, left, inspect an honor guard with Korean Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs Kwon Oh-eul, right, at the Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, on April 2. [AP/YONHAP]

French President Emmanuel Macron lays a wreath at the War Memorial of Korea in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on April 2, as he kicks off a state visit to Korea for a summit with President Lee Jae Myung. [YONHAP]

Macron, who flew in Thursday from Japan after a summit with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, was greeted at the Seoul Air Base by Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs Kwon Oh-eul and later laid a wreath for fallen soldiers at the French Korean War Memorial at the War Memorial of Korea in Yongsan District, central Seoul.

On Friday, Lee and Macron will hold summit talks amid heightened tensions over the Middle East crisis. Lee and Macron will attend a welcome ceremony, followed by summit talks and a formal state luncheon.

Lee said 140 years of relations between Korea and France was built on "shared values," strengthened through strategic cooperation and people-to-people exchanges in a contribution in the French daily Le Figaro published earlier Thursday.

He added that bilateral relations should evolve beyond a simple partnership toward "deeper strategic coordination" calling for cooperation in key areas such as AI, nuclear energy, hydrogen technology and the space industry.

Lee highlighted the two countries' comprehensive partnership that encompasses diplomacy, industry, technology and cultural exchange as Korea and France mark the 140th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation in 1886.

Lee noted that in an era marked by "fragile supply chains and intense technological competition," Korea and France's cooperation is geopolitically significant and contributes directly to economic security and to long-term stability.

President Lee Jae Myung, center right, and first lady Kim Hea Kyung, right, pose for a commemorative photo with France’s President Emmanuel Macron, center left, and first lady Brigitte Macron in front of the Sangchunjae in the Blue House compound in central Seoul on April 2. [BLUE HOUSE]

BY SARAH KIM [[email protected]]