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Ko Dong-hwan

Korea Times Business Reporter

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Business

Korea to release comprehensive chicken guidebook by July

Korea’s first government-backed “chicken guidebook” is set for release by the end of June, as the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs finished the task of looking over citizen contributions on local chicken hotspots. The guidebook, which is now in the design phase, will offer a collection of local chicken restaurants and hotspots in a bid to elevate locally-known eateries into the national sphere, the ministry said Tuesday. Last month, the ministry opened a nationwide online survey where it asked respondents to send in their favorite local spots. The ministry said it received around 2,700 responses. The government said public feedback included restaurants offering a variety of chicken dishes — from fried chicken to barbequed chicken, braised chicken, course menus, chicken gizzard and chicken stew. The responses also covered local chicken hotspots such as the Fried Chicken Street in Suwon, Chicken Gizzard Alley in Daegu Pyeonghwa Market and Braised Chicken Street in Andong. The responses also highlighted local chicken festivals including the Daegu Chimac Festival and Ge

Apr 28, 2026By Ko Dong-hwan
Korea to release comprehensive chicken guidebook by July
Companies

HD Hyundai partners with KAIST-affiliated science academy to foster future engineers

HD Hyundai signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Korean Science Academy of Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Tuesday, to nurture future scientists and engineers. Under the agreement, the KAIST-affiliated academy will receive support from HD Hyundai in employee development and research, along with special lectures on science, technology and entrepreneurship. Students will also be invited to visit and gain hands-on experience at HD Hyundai affiliates. The Korean Science Academy of KAIST is the country’s first science high school focused on research-based education. Over the past 11 years, all of its graduates have gone on to pursue degrees in science and engineering fields. “Amid rapidly changing technologies and intensifying global competition, the importance of science and technology talent is greater than ever,” said Chang Kwang-pil, director of Advanced Research Center at HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering. “We will take the lead in fostering future engineers through this partnership with the academy, which has long played a key

Apr 28, 2026By Ko Dong-hwan
HD Hyundai partners with KAIST-affiliated science academy to foster future engineers
Companies

Tuna extract raises cooking brand for Dongwon F&B

Dongwon Tuna Extract is helping lift Dongwon F&B across Korea’s cooking scene and retail market, as rising grocery and dine-in prices fuel a surge in home-cooking consumers. The product has garnered fame as an all-purpose sauce with mostly positive reviews from consumers from those cooking at home to experienced professionals. Use for the sauce, with ingredients including over 80 percent of smoked tuna extract and radish, shiitake mushrooms and kelp, extends to not just Korean dishes but to Western and Japanese cuisines as well. The market influencer by the subsidiary of Dongwon Industries that dominates the country’s tuna can market for more than 40 years hit retail shelves in 2022. In 2024, its sales spiked more than 50 percent from previous year. A total of 7.5 million bottles were sold by the end of last year. Market analyst NielsenIQ Korea said the product lineup, which offers three different varieties, dominated the tuna extract market here from April 2025 to last month. In January, it won the Grand Prize in the tuna broth category at Korea First Brand Awards hosted by the Kor

Apr 28, 2026By Ko Dong-hwan
Tuna extract raises cooking brand for Dongwon F&B
Business

Korea diversifies exports to Vietnam to meat, fruit, K-food ingredients

Korea will expand exports to Vietnam to include the country’s entire meat market, a step up from Cheong Wa Dae’s announcement last week that the two nations had reached a quarantine agreement for Korean poultry exports to the Southeast Asian economy. In addition to meat products, Korean Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Minister Song Mi-ryung said Monday that bilateral trade will accelerate further by trading more fruit and exporting Korean food items to companies in Vietnam that operate canteens. Song said the Korean government is currently negotiating with Vietnam over Korean exports of heat-treated pork, hanwoo (Korean beef), duck and lamb. All of them have reached their third stage of discussion, she added. The minister said 13 Korean firms including Lotte, Maniker and NongHyup Moguchon have shown interest in expanding their global markets to Vietnam, as discussions continue to work toward new memorandums of understanding (MOUs). “The Vietnamese meat market is incredibly huge. Some of the Korean firms said mixing poultry and pork together produces better flavors. If the ongoi

Apr 27, 2026By Ko Dong-hwan
Korea diversifies exports to Vietnam to meat, fruit, K-food ingredients
Companies

PHOTO Introducing soju drinking culture to foreigners

Soju artist Kim Wan-jun, right, also known as Funnyjun, pours soju for a participant during his soju drinking culture class at Inspire Entertainment Resort in Incheon, April 18. He said soju — now the world’s best-selling distilled spirit and a staple in K-content — has become more than just a drink, but a tool for sharing stories, prompting growing demand to teach foreigners proper etiquette for enjoying it together. The program was part of the resort’s campaign to introduce Korean culture to visitors, one that includes the Aurora Night Market, a Saturday K-food festival recreating a retro Korean alley of street vendors. Courtesy of Kim Wan-jun

Apr 27, 2026By Ko Dong-hwanphoto
[PHOTO] Introducing soju drinking culture to foreigners
Companies

GS E&C cements data center, smart city plots in Vietnam

Major engineering company GS E&C has secured footholds for expanding its data center and smart city projects in Vietnam on the back of President Lee Jae Myung’s state visit to the country last week. The construction arm of GS Group on Wednesday met representatives of FPT Corp., the largest private IT company in Vietnam and the country’s data center market leader by volume. The meeting in Hanoi brought together GS E&C President and CEO Huh Yoon-hong and FPT CEO Nguyen Van Khoa. The two signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on data center development and smart city construction in Vietnam. Drawing on the Korean firm’s more than 20 years of experience in the data center business, the companies agreed to cooperate to support Vietnam’s digital economy growth and nationwide digital transformation. GS E&C said the data centers will be built in key regions across Vietnam with an initial capacity of tens of megawatts each. The facilities’ efficiency will be secured through modular construction. The two companies will also cooperate on introducing smart city infrastructure features

Apr 27, 2026By Ko Dong-hwan
GS E&C cements data center, smart city plots in Vietnam
Companies

Paradise City, Lotte Duty Free team up to revive tourism, tap Chinese demand

Korea’s top duty-free operator and largest integrated resort have teamed up to revive inbound tourism, with a focus on attracting Chinese visitors. The companies signed a memorandum of understanding Friday at Paradise City on Yeongjong Island, Incheon. The ceremony was attended by Alex Kim, chief marketing officer of Paradise City, and Namgoong Pyo, head of marketing at Lotte Duty Free, along with other officials from both sides. Under the agreement, the partners will create a one-stop travel and retail experience linking accommodation, shopping and entertainment, while integrating customer data and marketing channels to strengthen engagement with overseas travelers. The partnership comes as Lotte Duty Free recently resumed operations at Incheon International Airport for the first time in three years, part of broader efforts to expand its global customer base. The two sides plan to roll out joint marketing campaigns to drive demand and encourage spending among inbound tourists. Leveraging Lotte Duty Free’s network of 2.5 million foreign members, the companies will step up their push

Apr 27, 2026By Ko Dong-hwan
Paradise City, Lotte Duty Free team up to revive tourism, tap Chinese demand
Companies

Not sold in Korea, these Bhc menu items have become favorites abroad

Fans of Bhc, a Korean fried chicken franchise, may think that its signature menu items are consistent everywhere to reflect the brand's identity. But beyond customer favorites such as Kwassak King, Bburinkle and Soy Garlic King, there are menu items that are now thriving in the company’s restaurants abroad despite being almost completely unknown in their home market. How did these menu options end up being more popular outside Korea than inside it? Lee Seok-dong, a menu development team leader at Bhc operator Dining Brands Group, pointed to cultural differences. Bhc first introduced Mala Khan, a spicy fried chicken marinated in the "mala" spices used in Chinese hot pot, in 2019. Its time in the Korean market was short-lived, but consumers in Malaysia and other Southeast Asian markets, where strongly spiced dishes are common, couldn't get enough. Mala Khan remains one of the brand’s signature offerings in the region. “Mala Khan failed to become a regular menu item here,” Lee told The Korea Times in an interview at the company’s menu development center in Seoul’s Songpa Distric

Apr 25, 2026By Ko Dong-hwan
Not sold in Korea, these Bhc menu items have become favorites abroad
Companies

Maxim Mocha Gold marks 37 years of sweetening coffee culture

Dongsuh Foods would not have been the same if it were not for Maxim Mocha Gold. First introduced in Korea in 1989, the brand has consistently dominated the country’s instant coffee market while expanding its domain globally. Last year alone, the brand sold 5.3 billion coffee mix sticks — the equivalent of 170 sticks every second. The brand’s popularity here dates back to 1976. Using its existing expertise in instant coffee processing, Dongsuh introduced Maxwell House Coffee Mix. Enhanced with creamer and sugar to mitigate any bitter taste, the pouch-type packets hit the jackpot, drawing new customers who had never before tasted coffee. Thirteen years later, the domestic market for instant coffee had become incredibly competitive, prompting Dongsuh to roll out Maxim Mocha Gold. The company invested in research to determine the correct level of intensity in coffee bean roasting and improving the coffee extraction process. It also changed from the earlier pouch-type packaging to the current stick-type, allowing consumers more control over the amount of sugar in their coffee. Fast forwa

Apr 24, 2026By Ko Dong-hwan
Maxim Mocha Gold marks 37 years of sweetening coffee culture
Companies

Infographic expert dissects hidden layers behind K-culture

The office of Infographics Lab 203 in western Seoul is cozy, dimly lit and filled with design-inspiring books, neatly arranged paraphernalia and framed posters of infographic projects it has produced. The place resembles a small art gallery. Creative Director Jang Sung-hwan occupies one room for himself. He has a lot to say, probably as much as the hundreds of books on the shelves. One argument, however, touched on K-culture. He said the country's cultural products, ranging from music to food and beauty products, are now being consumed extensively worldwide, but many global audiences are missing a point. He asks, are we reading K-culture right? It is easy for global audiences to join millions of fans surfing the Korean wave, but far less easy for them to grasp the hidden layers that form the wave — the history, statistics and fun facts behind those cultural products. These layers underpin the deeper reasons global audiences are drawn to K-culture, but remain as an underutilized selling point for Korea in promoting its culture abroad. This is where infographics step up, a single-page i

Apr 24, 2026By Ko Dong-hwan
Infographic expert dissects hidden layers behind K-culture
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