Located just over 50 minutes by car from Seoul, the Kyochon 1991 School is drawing international visitors eager to experience Korean chicken culture. Once the headquarters of Kyochon F&B, this site has transformed into a space dedicated to K-Chicken, attracting approximately 9,600 tourists from 77 countries within less than a year of its official opening.
On July 15, I visited the Osan Education Center to participate in the Kyochon 1991 School program. This educational experience allows participants to make and taste Kyochon Chicken while learning about Korean chicken culture.
The program began in the second-floor exhibition hall, showcasing Kyochon’s journey from a small chicken shop in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, established in 1991. It also introduced other brands under the Kyochon Group, including the traditional liquor brand 'Fermentation Workshop 1991,' craft beer brand 'Moon Bear,' and chicken radish manufacturer K&P Food.
After touring the exhibition, we moved to the classroom for the main session. Dong Min-soo, the team leader of Kyochon 1991 School, posed the question, "Why did a chicken company create this experience center?" He explained the program's purpose.
According to Dong, as of late last year, there were approximately 39,500 chicken specialty stores in South Korea, comparable to the number of McDonald's locations worldwide. He noted that chicken has been recognized as a representative Korean dish by foreigners for three consecutive years. With growing interest in Korean chicken, Kyochon aimed to create a space where people could experience Korean chicken culture firsthand.
In April 2023, Kyochon opened the Kyochon 1991 School at the Osan Education Center. After a trial run, the center began attracting foreign tourists in earnest from December of last year, with visitors from the United States, Japan, China, and 74 other countries. In just six months of official operation, the center has drawn nearly 10,000 global tourists to Osan.
Following the lecture, we proceeded to the cooking practice. Dong demonstrated the entire process of making Kyochon Chicken. He explained that the chicken, which weighed 1,036 grams before cooking, was soaked in a thin batter made of water, flour, and starch, then fried at 180 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes. After a shaping process to refine the batter, it was fried again for two minutes. He emphasized that no additional seasoning is added to the chicken or batter to preserve Kyochon’s unique sauce flavor.
After the first frying, the chicken's weight dropped to around 730 grams, and after the shaping and second frying, it weighed approximately 650 grams. This method effectively removes excess oil and moisture, resulting in a light and crispy texture unique to Kyochon.
The highlight of the experience was applying the sauce with a brush. Dong introduced the '3-3-3 rule,' which involves dipping the brush into the sauce to collect domestic garlic particles, then applying the sauce to each side of the chicken at least three times. While it may seem simple, evenly coating the chicken with garlic particles and a consistent amount of sauce proved to be more challenging than expected. The chicken, seasoned by participants, was then tasted alongside Moon Bear craft beer, allowing us to fully experience Korea's 'chimaek' culture.
In a corner of the classroom, we also observed a smart kitchen utilizing cooking robots. Behind a glass wall, the robots smoothly executed the first and second frying and shaping processes. Currently, Kyochon operates 33 of these robots across 25 franchise locations, with plans to commercialize a sauce application robot as the final step in chicken preparation.
Kyochon aims to develop the Osan Education Center into a K-Food tourism hub. While the current focus is on programs for foreign tourists, there are plans to expand to domestic tourists and introduce additional experiences, such as making chicken radish and traditional liquor. The center has set a goal to attract 1,000 visitors monthly and over 10,000 annually. It has also been selected as a target site for the K-Chicken Belt project this year.
Dong stated, "We plan to grow the Kyochon Osan Education Center into a representative experience space for K-Chicken, collaborating with the government and tourism organizations to develop gourmet tourism content that appeals to both foreign and domestic visitors."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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