| Korean fried chicken | |
 Ganjang-chicken (coated with soy sauce),huraideu-chicken (regular fried chicken), andyangnyeom chicken (coated with spicy sauce) with a glass of beer | |
| Korean name | |
|---|---|
| Hangul | 치킨 |
| RR | chikin |
| MR | ch'ik'in |
| IPA | [tɕʰi.kʰin] |
Korean fried chicken, in Koreanchikin (Korean: 치킨, from the English word "chicken"), refers to a variety offried chicken dishes created in South Korea. These include the basichuraideu-chicken (후라이드 치킨, from the English words 'fried chicken') and the spicyyangnyeom chicken (양념 치킨, 'seasoned chicken').[1] 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.[2]
Korean fried chicken was described by Julia Moskin ofThe New York Times as having a "thin, crackly and almost transparent crust".[2] The chicken is usually seasoned with spices, sugar, and salt, before 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 to evenly coat the chicken with a thin layer.Pickled radishes andbeer (orcarbonated drinks) are often served with Korean fried chicken.
TheKorean word pronouncedchikin (치킨) refers to fried chicken, while the name for the domesticated fowl isdak (닭). The word is shortened frompeuraideu chikin (프라이드 치킨), which is a transliteration of the English phrase "fried chicken".[3] According to theNational Institute of Korean Language, the wordchikin (치킨) refers to "a dish made by coating chopped chicken with flour, and frying or baking it".[4][5] Fried chicken that is not chopped before frying is calledtongdak (통닭, 'whole chicken'). Bothchikin andtongdak are occasionally referred to asdak-twigim (닭튀김, 'chicken fritter').[6]
The unshortened formpeuraideu chikin, despite being the "correct" transliteration,[7] is not as popular in Korea. The more commonly used form,huraideu-chikin (후라이드 치킨), may have been adopted in Korean owing to residual influence from theJapanese convention that persisted in Korea in the 1970s (theJapanese forced occupation only ended in 1945).[citation needed] The phrasehuraideu-chikin is often shortened tohuraideu (후라이드) and refers to a fried chicken dish without the seasonings added post-frying. This is often used to differentiate it fromyangnyeom-chikin (양념 치킨, 'seasoned chicken'). TheNational Institute of Korean Language does not recognizehuraideu-chikin as the conventional name, but insists on the transliteration (and transvocalization)peuraideu-chikin, which it also suggests should be "refined" todakgogi-twigim (닭고기 튀김, 'chicken meat fritter').[7]
The recipe for frying chicken was already a form of cooking in the 15th century,[8] so it is presumed that it has been cooked since theGoryeo period.[9][10] The fried chicken under the name of "Pogye" (포계) in the earlyJoseon dynasty was sautéed in oil while sequentially pouring soy sauce, sesame oil, flour mixed with water, and vinegar onto the chicken.[11][12]
The trend of eating chicken began in Korea during the late 1960s, when Myeongdong Yeongyang Center in Seoul began selling whole chicken roasted over an electric oven.[13] U.S. military presence after theKorean War introduced deep-fried chicken as a popular Korean cuisine.[14][15] It was not until the 1970s when cooking oil was widely available that the modern fried chicken started appearing in Korea. The first modern Korean fried chicken franchise, Lims Chicken, was established in 1977 in the basement ofShinsegae Department Store, Chungmu-ro,Seoul,[16][13] by Yu Seok-ho. It was "embraced as an excellent food pairing for draft beer"; the word for the pairing, "chimaek", is a portmanteau of "chicken" and "maekju", the Korean word for beer.[17]
The well-known variety with spicy coatings, also known asyangnyeom-chikin, had its history begin in 1982 by Yun Jonggye, who was running a fried chicken restaurant (later Mexican Chicken[18]) atDaegu. He noticed that customers in his restaurant were struggling to chew on the hard, crisp layers of the fried chicken, which led to inconveniences such as scrapedpalates. Yun decided to pull a twist on the traditional fried chicken to soften the hard shells of the chicken and appease more Korean customers by marinating it sweet and spicy.[13]
Fried chicken was further popularized whenKentucky Fried Chicken opened stores in South Korea in 1984.[19][20]
TheAsian financial crisis in the late 1990s contributed to the number of restaurants selling fried chicken as laid-off workers opened chicken restaurants.[21] In recent years, owing tomarket saturation in Korea, many of Korea's major fried chicken chains, such as Mexicana Chicken, Genesis BBQ, Kyochon Chicken and Pelicana Chicken, have expanded to set up new presences in theUnited States,China,Canada, andSoutheast Asia.[22]
By 2013, there were more than 20,000 fried chicken restaurants in South Korea serving fried chicken and by 2017, 36,000.[19][23] Almost a third of the chicken consumed in South Korea is fried; Smithsonian calls it a "ubiquitous staple".[24][21]
During theCOVID-19 pandemic, international chainBonchon was one of few restaurant chains to continue to add stores.[25]
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