SOME STRANGE FACTS ABOUT SOUTH KOREA

Traditionally, Koreans cook chicken by steaming or in soups and broths. The idea of frying it dates back to the Korean War when Americans placed fried chicken stalls in Seoul, Busan, Pyeongtaek, and Songtan in the 40s and 50s. In 1975, when a man named Yu Seok-ho went to study in the US, he started a fried chicken business and is credited for creating “ginseng chicken.” In 1977, he started the first franchise called Lims Chicken. In 1982, another man named Yang Hee-Kwon, the owner of Pelicana Chicken, began coating the fried chicken in sweet and spicy sauces to soften the outer crust to appeal to Korean customers. According to Jeong Eun-jeong, the author of The Tale of Chicken in the Republic of Korea, many people began opening fried chicken restaurants following Asian financial crisis and still continue to do so because of the low investment required. Since then, fried chicken has become one of the widely consumed appetizers and snacks there with over 50,000 restaurants as of 2017, at least half of them part of franchises. It is common to find several of them on one street. In comparison, McDonald’s has 37,855 restaurants worldwide as of 2018.

August 7, 2022 | 9:39 pm