Given that it comes from a very small country, Americans’ taste for foreign cuisine has been greatly influenced by Korean food. Selecting Korean food for a special evening out is one thing, but the dish is also beginning to appear in quick-service restaurants; in fact, one specific fast-casual brand recently concluded its greatest year to date. Everyone put on your bibs; we’re off to Bonchon for some wings.
What kind of cuisine is served at Bonchon?
Korean fried chicken is the specialty of the fast-casual restaurant brand Bonchon. The preparation of this type of fried chicken is double-fried, which is one of its distinctive features. The bird gains an additional layer of crunch from double-frying, so it will continue to be crispy for a long time even after brushing each piece with Bonchon’s sauce (spicy or soy-garlic).
Mandu (Korean potstickers), takoyaki (octopus pancake balls), Korean tacos, japchae (glass noodle dish), kimchi, pickled radish (a classic side dish to fried chicken), and more are among the other menu items. It appears that Bonchon is a popular brand among Americans, since the firm stated in a press statement that 2023 was its highest-ever sales year.
Bonchon is entering new markets in the United States.
Although Bonchon has more than 430 locations worldwide, the majority of them are in the US, and in 2024, more sites will open. Plans call for expansions in Ann Arbor, Michigan; Little Rock, Arkansas; Tucson, Arizona; and southern Florida.
The chain is expanding into new formats as well, like food courts in malls. It plans to open its first airport location in 2025 in addition to two ghost kitchens and its first hotel location last year. Additionally, Bonchon has plans to open locations in Spain and Taiwan in addition to its first site in France, which debuted last year.
American consumers still enjoy Korean cuisine
In the United States, Korean cuisine has received a lot of attention lately. Although I rarely saw Korean food when I was younger outside of the Korean supermarket, most grocery stores I visit now carry popular Korean brands like ramyeon noodles, gochujang (fermented red pepper paste), and kimchi. For many Americans, including those who are not Korean, these are now merely instantly recognizable pantry staples.
Furthermore, the perception of Korean food among Americans has been influenced by Korean pop culture. In 2021, McDonald’s offered a celebrity lunch featuring the well-known K-pop group BTS. The meal included two unique dipping sauces with a Korean influence, indicating the growing popularity of Korean cuisine among Americans.
The popularity of the 2020 movie Minari (whose title alludes to a Korean ingredient called water dropwort) and the well-liked Netflix series Kim’s Convenience have brought attention to Korean culture in North America. Similar to this, a plethora of other recent releases have maintained Korean culture in American consciousness. And it’s obvious that all of that has stoked our appetites, which is the one important thing that matters to this discussion.
The popularity of bonchon is just one illustration of how Korean food has influenced American cuisine. Shake Shack is presently serving a Korean BBQ burger and a Korean fried chicken sandwich as part of a temporary Korean-inspired menu.
The popularity of Korean corn dog businesses is still rising, and Korean-flavored products are frequently seen in packaged foods like Southern Recipe Small Batch pork rinds, Kettle brand potato chips, and Blue Diamond almonds. It was just a matter of time until Korean fast-casual chains became popular; if there aren’t any already, it won’t be long before you start to see them appear.
