Gu Hyeong-mo

He is the owner-chef of Sushi Shiryu (스시 시류) [restaurant], an upper-mid-range sushiya in Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

Drawing on the refined techniques he developed at prominent establishments in the Apgujeong area and his exacting approach to ingredients, he is building a distinctive and firmly established culinary style of his own.

Training
He honed his skills at prominent establishments in the Apgujeong and Cheongdam areas, including Sushi San (스시 산), Sushi Ito (스시이토), and Satoshi (사토시).

He has stated that his time at Satoshi was closer to part-time work than formal professional experience.

Sushi Shiryu (스시 시류)

Around 2024, he opened Sushi Shiryu, his first owner-operated restaurant bearing his name, in Sinsa-dong near Apgujeong Station. It currently focuses on refining the quality of its set menu by operating primarily with a single dinner seating.

Attention to detail

He displays a perfectionist streak, attending even to minor details, as reflected in the prevailing assessment that his food is “delicious, refined, and clean.”

Philosophy

Rather than responding sensitively to trends, he pursues a “quietly steadfast and uncompromising flavor” that expresses his own character within the tradition of orthodox Japanese sushi.

His style places particular importance on foundational elements of cooking, such as dashi and sauces. In dishes where the primary ingredient plays a large role, as with tuna, the ingredient itself has such a strong influence that differences between chefs may be limited, and mistakes can sometimes be corrected to a certain extent. By contrast, foundational elements such as dashi and sauces have such a broad impact that once their balance is disrupted, the entire subsequent progression of dishes must be readjusted. For this reason, the chef is known to place even greater emphasis on these basic preparations.

Chef Gu Hyeong-mo (구형모) is said not to have originally had a strong interest in the enjoyment of food itself.

When he first entered the industry, he worked in general Japanese cuisine rather than sushi for about three years. It was only after moving to the sushi section that he reportedly began to develop a serious appreciation for sushi.

He now has such affection and dedication toward ingredients that he regularly visits Japan to source them himself, and is said to devote considerable care to the quality of the food served to guests. These qualities are cited as part of the reason Sushi Shiryu (스시 시류) has received favorable responses from many people.