Korean fried chicken, usually called chikin (??, from the English “chicken”) in Korea, refers to a variety of fried chicken dishes created in South Korea. In South Korea, fried chicken is consumed as a meal, an appetizer, anju (food that is served and eaten with drinks), or as an after-meal snack. Korean fried chicken was described as having a “thin, crackly and almost transparent crust”. The chicken is usually seasoned with spices, sugar, and salt, prior to and after being fried. Korean fried chicken restaurants commonly use small- or medium-sized chickens; these younger chickens result in more tender meat. After frying, the chicken is usually hand-painted with sauce using a brush in order to evenly coat the chicken with a thin layer. Pickled radishes and beer (or carbonated drink) are often served with Korean fried chicken.

Like many other dishes such as spam musubi and ramen, war played a role in the creation of Korean fried chicken. The concept of fried chicken was introduced when the American military was stationed in Korea during the Korean War in the late 1940s and the early 50s. US troops stationed in Korea only had chicken instead of turkey to celebrate with on Thanksgiving Day. They decided to fry it and share this dish with their fellow Korean comrades who never had fried chicken before. The Koreans who tried the dish took a liking to it immediately. Koreans traditionally ate chicken steamed or boiled and usually in soups or broths, so fried chicken was a new concept to them.

While fried chicken was introduced then, it did not become popular until decades later. The popularity of fried chicken was imminent when two factors came into play in the early 1970s: cheap, readily accessible cooking oil and cheaper chicken. he first Korean fried chicken franchise, Lim’s Chicken, was created in South Korea in 1977 and was influenced by fried chicken from the US.  Yu Seok-Ho, the founder of Lim’s Chicken, went to the US in 1975 and saw how Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) sold its chicken in pieces; inspired, Seok-Ho returned to Korea and experimented with chicken to create a six-piece set. Lim’s Chicken made fried chicken mainstream and it became the first fried chicken franchise in Korea.

Fried chicken in Korea became extremely popular by the 90s when every household living in apartment complexes in Korea could get it delivered, compared to the 60s & 70s where it was mostly for special occasions. Today, Korean fried chicken has become a popular dish in many countries and has been further popularized by Korean dramas. Unlike its American counterpart, Korean fried chicken is fried twice to get it to be crunchier. Frying the chicken twice also makes it less greasy. As of February 2019, there were approximately 87,000 fried chicken restaurants in South Korea; to put this into perspective, McDonald’s has about 38,000 restaurants worldwide.