Fried chicken becomes most sought-after dish for travellers in South Korea in 2023

Image from The Korea Herald/ANN

BANGKOK (The Korea Herald/ANN): Creatrip, a South Korean inbound tourism service platform, has announced the Korean food trends among foreign holidaymakers in 2023.

Based on the online transaction data collected throughout 2023, Korean-style fried chicken was selected as the most popular Korean food for overseas tourists.

The platform explained that many foreigners enjoyed fried chicken via online delivery services and reservations.

In addition, an increasing number of tourists were looking for more unique ways to taste chicken dishes, like Kyochon Pilbang, an Itaewon-based offline chicken restaurant presenting omakase-style fried chicken in a private room.

“Ganjang gejang,” or raw crab marinated in soy sauce, took the second spot following the Korean fried chicken.

The marinated crab made up more than 85% of Chinese, Taiwanese and Hong Kong tourists’ Korean menus, according to the platform.

While grilled meat and “buns,” or a collection of Korean street food from gimbap, tteokbokki, ramyeon and more were other popular choices for Chinese tourists, Japanese travellers chose to experience “hanjeongsik,” a traditional Korean course meal that features a wide variety of dishes.

Korean-style fried chicken and buns took first and second place for the most sought-after Korean food among Western holidaymakers as well.

However, the dessert menus, including toast, doughnuts and “bingsu,” a Korean shaved ice dessert popular in the summer, were the popular choices, especially for Western and Singaporean travellers. - The Korea Herald/ANN