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Korea launches K-Chicken Belt to boost gastronomy tourism
Agriculture Minister Song Mi-ryung speaks during a press conference for the K-Chicken Belt at Government Complex Sejong, Monday. Courtesy of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs
By Ko Dong-hwan
Gov't unveils list of 30 local chicken destinations recommended by citizens
Detailed information on some of Korea's most beloved chicken restaurants, particularly independent chicken specialty shops and chicken-themed local attractions is now available online as part of efforts to boost the country's gastronomy tourism for international visitors.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on Monday unveiled the K-Chicken Belt, an online platform featuring 30 destinations across 30 cities and counties nationwide. The featured locations were selected from about 2,700 recommendations submitted by local residents and municipal governments through a public survey conducted in March and April.
The poultry highlighted include Suwon galbi chicken, Sokcho sweet and crispy fried chicken, Andong braised chicken and Chuncheon spicy stir-fried chicken. The chicken gizzard alley at Daegu's Pyeonghwa Market, spicy chicken stew in the city of Taebaek, Gangwon Province and Haenam’s chicken course sets also made the list.
“There are plenty of gastronomic resources in Korea. We should no longer have to get to a destination before searching for what to eat nearby. We should start searching for what to eat first, go there and explore diverse localities,” Agriculture Minister Song Mi-ryung said during a press conference in Sejong.
“The K-Chicken Belt connects Korea’s abundant but lesser-known local chicken specialties with gastronomic tourism, showing that delicious chicken can be found far beyond the country's major franchise brands. Those local flavors can later be further promoted by local governments in their own versions of the K-Chicken Belt. An English version will be launched soon and made available through the country's tourism promotion platforms, including Visit Korea.”
The Korea Food Promotion Institute under the ministry launched the K-Chicken Belt’s official map on its website. It introduces the address, name and a brief description of each destination, as well as a QR code that allows users to save the location to their smartphone's navigation app. The list’s cartoon-style map shows cities and counties with listed venues and icons linked to different preparation styles.
An illustrated map of the K-Chicken Belt / Courtesy of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs
One of the K-Chicken Belt's key features is that it goes beyond introducing chicken restaurants to also include nearby rural tourist attractions, allowing visitors to incorporate local culinary experiences into their travel itinerary. Each featured city or county includes not only chicken restaurants and specialty shops but also local breweries, tourist attractions and festivals, encouraging travelers to explore the region.
In Chuncheon, for example, tourists can pick their own sweet potatoes, visit the nearby town of Sinbuk for spicy stir-fried chicken, visit theMount Samak skywalk, experience Korean traditional liquor making at a local brewery and tour the Chuncheon Romantic Market.
The launch of the K-Chicken Belt follows the government's 2025 survey showing that chicken is the food most closely associated with Korea among foreign respondents, at 14 percent. Kimchi ranked second at 9.5 percent.
“International tourists to Korea nowadays search for food hotspots here prior to hopping on their flights. Many of them don’t come here to shop or visit local tourism sites. They go to local alleys in search of delicacies. Our goal is to complete Korea’s map of regions further away via their flavors and revitalize the areas,” said Jung Kyung-seok, director general of the ministry’s food industry policy bureau.
The K-Chicken Belt is the first initiative under the government’s new K-Gastronomy Journey project, which aims to influence tourists to explore further afield and try new foods.
In August, the project will run brewery tour programs and take visitors to meet masters of Korean cuisine in September. Programs like the K-Food Festa, Hansik Festa, Food Week Korea, Korean Liquor Festival and Kimchi Festival will be featured in October and November, and a healing stay program in the country's agricultural regions will operate from July to December.
“What’s more important than the taste of chicken is tourism content. I believe the K-Chicken Belt and the K-Gastronomy Journey can represent Korea’s tourism industry and they should start building their own YouTube channel for foreigners interested in Korea,” said Kim Hyun-kyung, president of the Korea Influencer Association.