New McDonald's in Gangneung like never seen before
The new McDonald's restaurant at Gangneung Olympic Park. / Korea Times photo by Ko Dong-hwan
By Ko Dong-hwan
Less than half an hour after its grand opening, the new McDonald’s restaurant inside Gangneung Olympic Park had none of its 160 seats available.
But this did not deter the constant stream of people entering.
If it were not for the restaurant’s unique architecture, its popularity probably would not have been so explosive ― the eatery boasts the world’s first McDonald’s that resembles a combo meal.
The temporary restaurant, operating during the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games, was revealed on Feb. 7. Cho Ju-yeon, chief executive of McDonald’s Korea, and 30 staffers, including executives and restaurant clerks, joined a ribbon-cutting opening ceremony in front of the store’s facade that looks like French fries, a burger and a soda cup.
“This year marks not only the year of the PyeongChang Olympics, but also the 30th anniversary since McDonald’s opened its first restaurant in Seoul,” Cho said. “We will support as much as we can to achieve a successful Olympics.”
McDonald’s Korea opened the 480-square-meter store inside Olympic Park, where all the skating events take place. Its menu includes the brand’s signature choices, like the Big Mac.
The company also opened a temporary restaurant inside the athletes’ village in the city on Feb. 1, where food for international athletes is free.
The two new restaurants are served by 260 staff members who were selected on merit from among employees working across the nation.
On Jan. 30, McDonald’s Korea released for one day a PyeongChang Olympics tribute burger featuring Korean beef sourced from local cattle ― “the hanwoo burger.”
The burger was sold at 400 selected restaurants and 10,000 burgers were purchased. The burgers sold out in a minute in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, and in an average of 20 minutes nationwide.