About Odi Guide
Odi Guide shows the places that trustworthy media have introduced. Sponsored reviews are excluded entirely.
An age when stars and reviews cannot be trusted
Korea’s restaurant market is among the most competitive anywhere. Producing star ratings and reviews through paid “experience group” marketing has become a common practice.
So what should you look at to find a good restaurant?
Odi Guide has decided not to trust any review by the general public.
The road to media we can trust
Media without sponsorship
Among national institutions, guides, TV programs and columns, any medium known for sponsored appearances was excluded.
A different weight for each medium
The Michelin Guide and the Good-Price Shop designation are both sources Odi Guide trusts, but they cannot carry the same weight. Each source is therefore given its own weight.
Recommended on the internet
You may have seen “Recommended on the internet” on an Odi Guide restaurant page. That figure counts blog posts by the general public after sponsored posts are filtered out. Restaurants introduced by trusted media come first, then the rest in order of that count.
The media Odi Guide trusts
The table lists the media Odi Guide currently trusts. It can change at any time if a medium’s credibility is seriously called into question. Weights are not published.
| Medium | Type | Weight | Restaurants listed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michelin Guide | Guide | ? | 199 |
| Hundred-Year Shop | Institution | ? | 803 |
| Baekban Gihaeng (TV) | TV program | ? | 580 |
| Wednesday Food Talk (TV) | TV program | ? | 232 |
| Meogeultende (YouTube) | YouTube | ? | 149 |
| Korean Dining Table (TV) | TV program | ? | 95 |
| The Chosun Ilbo column ‘Pungryu Siggaek’s Gourmet Walks’ | Newspaper column | ? | 4 |
| VisitKorea | Guide | ? | 4,476 |
| Blue Ribbon (blog mentions) | Blog mentions | ? | 662 |
| Esquire Korea | Magazine | ? | 16 |
| The Chosun Ilbo column ‘Beopka Gaeka Matjip’ | Newspaper column | ? | 7 |
| Model Restaurant | Institution | ? | 2,423 |
| Local Tourism Guide | Guide | ? | 95 |
| Safe Restaurant | Institution | ? | 3,972 |
| Good-Price Shop | Institution | ? | 762 |
The Odi ribbon 
The Odi ribbon is awarded by multiplying trusted media’s assessments by their weights. Reviews by the general public are not part of the calculation.
