The exterior of the udon restaurant 'Udong' located in Inui-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul. /Courtesy of Kim Eun-young.

The robot udon restaurant ‘Udong’ operated by Hanwha Food Tech, a food tech subsidiary led by Vice President Kim Dong-seon of Hanwha Hotels and Resorts, is closing. This comes about a month after it opened in Jongno District, Seoul, last month.

According to related industries on the 26th, Udong will only operate until the 27th. A representative from Hanwha Food Tech noted, “We plan to suspend operations temporarily for interior changes and equipment performance improvements,” adding, “The reopening date will be announced later.”

Udong was a restaurant that incorporated automated robot cooking technology and had been operating 24 hours. In exchange for saving labor costs, it offered lower prices such as 2,000 won for traditional udon, 4,000 won for yuba udon, and 6,000 won for beef udon.

At around 12:30 p.m. on that day, ChosunBiz found Udong with about half of its 20 seats occupied. Thanks to its simple menu of three types of udon cooked by robots and refrigerated cup rice that can be heated in a microwave, the turnover rate was high.

The automatic robot cooking line at Udong. When you order, the robot automatically cooks the noodles and serves the udon in a bowl. /Courtesy of Kim Eun-young.

Hanwha Food Tech is a food tech company that develops automated cooking and unmanned store solutions by combining the food service and robot technology. It was established through the partitioning of Hanwha Hotels and Resorts' food and beverage (F&B) division in July 2021. The company acquired the American robot pizza brand ‘Stella Food’ last year and opened the pasta specialty brand ‘Pasta X.’

However, it could not expand its business further. Pasta X, which opened in April last year at Nine One Hannam in Seoul, also featured a concept of robots cooking pasta, but it closed in April, about a year after opening. Udong, which opened afterward, has also reached the stage of early closure.

Vice President Kim, who leads Hanwha Hotels and Resorts and Hanwha Galleria, is strengthening the food and beverage business, including food tech. Through Hanwha Galleria, Kim is focusing on the dining business by launching the renowned American gourmet burger brand ‘Five Guys’ and the premium ice cream brand ‘Benson.’ Last month, it acquired the food service company OURHOME.

The pasta from 'Pasta X,' which closed for business last April. It was a restaurant with a robot cooking concept but shut down after about a year. /Courtesy of Pasta X Instagram.

However, as businesses incorporating food tech have consecutively encountered issues, various speculations have emerged in the industry. While they sought to reduce labor costs with food tech technology, it is argued that they confirmed limitations in terms of actual profitability and sustainability. Hanwha Food Tech’s revenue last year was 114.9 billion won, a decrease of 5.5% compared to the previous year, and it recorded an operating loss of 11 billion won, turning into a deficit.

An industry insider remarked, “It seems that operating a 24-hour store with a single low-priced udon menu is not financially viable, as the store is not located in a high-traffic area like a terminal with customers all day.”

Some suggest that food tech itself is a new business requiring trial operations. A representative from Hanwha Food Tech stated, “We are continuously opening small-scale stores of an experimental nature for the development and use of food tech,” adding, “Pasta X is also being restructured, and it has not been determined whether we will reopen a store under the same brand.”