As Hallyu leads Korea’s image enhancement in the world

By Feature Editor Kim Hyung-dae with Reporter Lee Sam-sun

Hallyu, or Korean Wave, continues to expand its presence in Korea and far beyond, the United States and many other countries of the world. And so does BBQ Chicken in the opinion of many people in Korea and around the world, especially among the gourmets.

Genesis BBQ Chicken Group in Korea has a total of 50,000 stores, the world's largest franchise group, surpassing McDonald's. This is the ambitious vision of BBQ in 2030 from Chairman Ho-geun Yoon.

BBQ is a challenging business leader in the field.

A view of the world's first chicken university established by Genesis BBQ Group
A view of the world's first chicken university established by Genesis BBQ Group

BBQ has already demonstrated these traits to become the No. 1 franchise in Korea.

To attract talented people, Chairman Yoon raised the salary of new employees to the level of those at the Chaebol Business Group companies, which is all but unprecedented in Korea for non-jaebeol business organization in Korea. This may be considered to be a declaration of "new talent management."

Visitors look around the Chicken Museum.
Visitors look around the Chicken Museum.

It stems from the management philosophy that excellent human resources and the highest quality raw materials are required to make excellent products.

Yoon's actions are reminiscent of the late Chairman Lee Byung-chul, who built Samsung into what it is today.

A chicken stone statue at the entrance to the Chicken University
A chicken stone statue at the entrance to the Chicken University

The late Chairman Lee Byung-chul of the Samsung Business Group, who founded Cheil Wool Company in the 1950s, conducted the first public recruitment test in Korea with the slogan, "Talented people are Number One, we must serve the country with successful business!”

This employee recruitment policy has formed the foundation of today's Samsung Business Group, and as Samsung's talented manpower was recruited by other companies, Samsung was recognized as a training center for talents, or a ‘military’ academy for training business managers. Excellent manpower and the highest-quality raw materials resulted in products that dominated the market in Korea and around the world, and ultimately made Samsung the number one company in Korea and one of the few leading business organizations in the world with the passage of time.

Chairman Yoon Hong-geun of BBQ Chicken
Chairman Yoon Hong-geun of BBQ Chicken

Yoon's unconventional approach is evident everywhere.

When he was president of the Korean Ice Hockey Federation in 2022, to encourage an athlete, he asked him what he wanted, and when he said he wanted to eat BBQ every day, he immediately agreed, which led to the athlete’s winning a Gold Medal. Other athletes were given chicken pensions.

According to a survey by the American restaurant magazine Nation's Restaurant News, the brand value of Genesis BBQ in Korea was reportedly ranked 332 out of 110,000. This means that BBQ chicken is more popular overseas than in Korea.

Chairman Yoon, who graduated from Chosun University and started his professional life at Miwon (now Daewoo), uses "motherly sincerity" as his management strategy.

His dream is to practice transparent management and make everyone in the world eat well and live well.

It will be interesting to see how far Genesis BBQ will go as a representative of Hallyu food culture in the global market.

Chairman Yoon of Genesis BBQ Chicken (right) poses for a photo with Rep. Ellen Park of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Jersey.
Chairman Yoon of Genesis BBQ Chicken (right) poses for a photo with Rep. Ellen Park of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Jersey.

Further details from around Seoul and the outside world:
“Flavor from the Heart of Seoul” is an expression often into sight in Seoul and many parts of the country, which clearly shows the footsteps of extremely fast growth and development of BBQ.

BBQ promoters say: “We fry all our Korean fried chicken in the traditional method. Hand-brushed, hand-battered, and fried at lower temperatures for longer periods of time. This creates our unforgettably crispy texture. Once tossed in any of our signature sauces, you’re free to enjoy fried chicken like you’ve never tried before.”

“The BBQ in our name stands for ‘Best of the Best Quality’ in Korea and hopefully around the world in due course of time,” says a public relations member of the company. He said: “And that’s exactly what you can expect from every one of our restaurants in Korea and around the world.”

Officials of BBQ state: “Our Korean fried chicken is crispier, juicier, and more tender than anything you’ve tasted before, and our sauces provide an eclectic mix of flavor. Every dish is the result of both long-standing Korean tradition and modern research and development from our very own Chicken University. It’s a tremendous amount of work, but it’s all worth it when you take that first bite.”

Here is a brief account of the development of BBQ:

In 1995 Chairman Yoon Hong-guen founded BBQ chicken in Seoul, the Republic Korea (south) with one simple mission: Serve great-tasting, high-quality Korean fried chicken to the world.

It’s safe to say that the mission succeeded, as BBQ now operates in thousands of stores across the globe.

Our secret is simple: We’re passionate about chicken, and we’re passionate about Korea. We established Chicken University in Seoul to keep us on the cutting edge of quality and flavor, and all our stores--whether it’s in Korea or Kansas--champion Korean culture with authentic recipes, exciting flavors, and superior customer service.

BBQ Chicken, Korea’s Finest Fried Chicken, held the Grand Opening for its second U.S. flagship location at 383 3rd Ave. in Manhattan—a major milestone for the Korean fried chicken restaurant franchise.

Established in 1995 as part of parent company Genesis BBQ, BBQ Chicken’s mission is to always provide the most delicious premium chicken in the world, based on the belief that food is the gateway to all culture.

BBQ (pronounced bee-bee-que) stands for Best of the Best Quality and serves as a promise to always make Korea’s Finest Fried Chicken.

The second U.S. flagship location features a ‘BBQ Chicken grab & go’ concept on the first floor, offering rapid takeout and delivery, plus the dine-in Chicken & Beer concept on the mezzanine level.

The opening occurred as the brand continues to expand its footprint across the U.S. BBQ Chicken is on track to continue to grow into six new states: Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Ohio and Oklahoma. BBQ Chicken currently has 3,500 locations across 57 countries, with plans to expand to 150 U.S. locations by the end of 2022.

Authenticity is at the core of everything BBQ Chicken makes. Each location prepares and shares only the best flavors and uses the best ingredients for its signature item, Korean Fried Chicken, as well as K-Food items, such as Tteokbokki (small rice cake cuts in stew and kimchi with fried rice).

The method BBQ Chicken uses to fry its chicken makes a difference, too, resulting in a lighter, crispier and less greasy product compared to American-style fried chicken.

The finishing touch comes in the form of BBQ Chicken’s unique signature sauces, coated and hand-brushed onto each piece of chicken, creating the perfect combination of crispy texture and distinctive flavor in every bite.

Korean Fried Chicken has gained popularity in America, and while many international food brands try to “Americanize” their food selections when they franchise in the United States, that is not the case for BBQ Chicken. BBQ Chicken’s authentic marinades arrive directly from the Republic of Korea (south) and transport their customers’ taste buds back to Seoul with every bite.

Top fan-favorite flavors across the U.S. include Golden Original, Secret Sauce and Honey Garlic. BBQ Chicken serves a wide variety of unique Korean flavors on wings, boneless bites and Korean Style whole chickens.

BBQ Chicken’s success stems from thoroughly educating its franchisees to develop consistent dining experiences for customers across all locations. BBQ Chicken thinks of its franchisees as one big family, and therefore commonly references them as a “BBQ Family.”

“We value our partnership with the BBQ Family, and our top priority is to provide each of them with the education and training needed to thrive as operators of a BBQ Chicken restaurant,” says BBQ Chicken USA CEO Joseph Kim. “The franchisor thrives when the franchisee thrives. That’s a core value for BBQ Chicken.”

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