Korean Fried Chicken Just Beat Kimchi as the World's Favorite K-Food

Kimchi has functioned as Korea's unofficial culinary ambassador for so long that it's genuinely surprising to see it get outranked in an actual consumer survey. But according to a large-scale international study, Korean fried chicken — not kimchi, not bibimbap — is now the K-food that international consumers say they like best.

🎬 Quick Facts

Survey scope	11,000 people across 22 cities worldwide, conducted by South Korea's Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation
Result	Korean fried chicken ranked as the top preferred K-food, with roughly 14% of respondents naming it their favorite
Store count	An estimated 4,644 Korean fried chicken restaurants now operate across 56 countries, up about 24.8% from 2020
U.S. footprint	Chains like BBQ Chicken operate roughly 250 or more locations across 33 U.S. states

Bustling Korean food market street with food stalls — Photo via Unsplash

The Survey Behind the Headline

The finding comes from a large-scale consumer preference survey commissioned by South Korea's Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, in partnership with the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT), which polled roughly 11,000 people across 22 cities globally on their preferences around Korean food. Korean fried chicken came out on top with about 14% of respondents naming it their favorite Korean food overall — a notable result given kimchi's decades-long status as the most internationally recognized Korean dish, reinforced by everything from UNESCO's recognition of kimchi-making traditions to its near-universal presence on Korean restaurant menus worldwide. That doesn't mean kimchi has become unpopular; it means Korean fried chicken has specifically overtaken it in a head-to-head consumer preference comparison, which is a meaningfully different and more specific claim.

Why Korean Fried Chicken Travels So Well Internationally

Part of what makes this result less surprising on closer look is how well Korean fried chicken's format fits existing international dining habits compared to some other Korean dishes. Unlike kimchi, which requires an acquired taste for fermented, pungent flavors that not every international palate takes to immediately, Korean fried chicken builds on a format — fried chicken — that already has deep cultural roots and broad appeal in dozens of countries. Korean fried chicken's specific innovations, particularly its famously shatteringly crisp double-fried technique and its range of sweet-spicy glazes like yangnyeom sauce, function as a genuinely novel variation on an already-beloved food category rather than asking international consumers to embrace something entirely unfamiliar. That combination — familiar format, distinctive flavor innovation — is a pattern that tends to travel unusually well across different food cultures.

The Store Count Numbers Back Up the Survey

Consumer preference surveys are one thing; actual business expansion is a more concrete signal of real demand, and Korean fried chicken's numbers there are substantial. An estimated 4,644 Korean fried chicken restaurants now operate across 56 countries, marking about a 24.8% increase in store count since 2020 — a growth rate that reflects real franchise and independent business expansion rather than just social media buzz. In the United States specifically, chains like BBQ Chicken have built out a footprint of roughly 250 or more locations spread across 33 states, putting Korean fried chicken within reach of a large share of the U.S. population well beyond the coastal cities that typically get Korean food first.

How This Compares to Korea's Other Food Export Wins

Korean fried chicken's rise is worth reading alongside Hallyu101's coverage of Korea's frozen kimbap, tteokbokki, and ramyeon export boom, since the two stories represent genuinely different categories of K-food success. The frozen and packaged food export boom is largely about retail products — items international consumers buy at grocery stores to cook or prepare at home. Korean fried chicken's growth, by contrast, is overwhelmingly a restaurant and franchise story, driven by dine-in and delivery demand rather than retail packaging. Together, the two trends paint a fuller picture of how comprehensively Korean food has expanded its global footprint across both the retail and restaurant sides of the industry — a broader pattern also covered in Hallyu101's look at viral Korean street food trends on TikTok, which has helped introduce international audiences to Korean food culture even before they've had a chance to try it in person.

What This Means for Korea's Food Export Strategy

For Korean food companies and the government agencies backing international expansion efforts, a survey result like this one functions as validated market research — evidence that resources aimed at expanding Korean fried chicken franchises internationally are backed by genuine, measurable consumer preference rather than speculative demand. Given how much slower and more capital-intensive restaurant franchise expansion is compared to shipping packaged snacks to grocery stores, this kind of preference data likely reinforces continued investment specifically in fried chicken as one of Korea's most reliable food-export categories going forward.

FAQ

Is Korean fried chicken more popular than kimchi internationally?
According to a large 2026 survey of 11,000 people across 22 cities, yes — Korean fried chicken ranked as the top preferred K-food, ahead of kimchi.

How many Korean fried chicken restaurants exist internationally?
An estimated 4,644 across 56 countries, up about 24.8% since 2020.

Is Korean fried chicken big in the U.S. specifically?
Yes — chains like BBQ Chicken operate roughly 250 or more locations across 33 U.S. states.

What makes Korean fried chicken different from regular fried chicken?
Its double-fried technique for extra crispiness and its distinctive sweet-spicy glazes, like yangnyeom sauce, set it apart from Western-style fried chicken.

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