McDonald's offers authentic Korean flavors in fast food

Farmers in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, eat McDonald's Jinju Hot Pepper Cream Cheese Burgers in a commercial for the company's "Taste of Korea" campaign last year. Courtesy of McDonald's Korea

McDonald’s Korea’s annual campaign of selecting locally grown produce and using it as a key ingredient for its seasonal menu is evolving beyond simply supporting local farmers. It is now emerging as one of the most anticipated offerings each year, drawing attention from both consumers and the fast food industry.

With its unique marketing appeal, the “Taste of Korea” campaign is breaking through as a model case for the global fast food industry, drawing not only favorable consumer responses but also appreciation from the country’s local governments.

McDonald's Korea began sourcing key ingredients from local farms in 2020 with the introduction of the Naju Pear Chiller. It used pears from Naju, South Jeolla Province, where 20 percent of the country’s pears in distribution are grown each year. Hallabong Chiller, another crushed ice beverage which used Jeju Island’s signature local citrus fruit, was also launched the same year.

The company’s collaboration with local farmers took on a more serious strategy with the launch of its mission to introduce a new burger and side menu each year featuring different local ingredients. As the campaign continued from 2021 until this year, “Taste of Korea” grew into one of the company’s largest fast food marketing projects.

The identity of the campaign's next featured region and local signature ingredient has become major industry news each year. To maximize market anticipation, the company has been keen on keeping it secret — even to journalists — until the official announcement.

McDonald's Korea's Iksan Sweet Potato Mozzarella Burger / Courtesy of McDonald's Korea

Selection of the campaign ingredient requires long-term market analysis. In addition to each campaign’s signature flavor, the chosen ingredient must be produced in enough quantities to fulfill the four or five weeks of the campaign. Farms that clinch a supply deal with the company thus must pass in terms of production scale and consistency in quality.

In past four years, “Taste of Korea” has sold 24 million menu items using a total of 800 tons of locally supplied natural produce.

“We always witness the blockbuster-scale popularity over our 'Taste of Korea' each year and we must thank our consumers. It is our intention to keep building up our partnership with local farmers and contribute to vitalizing the country’s local economies,” a McDonald’s Korea official said.

The latest “Taste of Korea” special, launched last week, uses sweet potatoes from Iksan in North Jeolla Province, where 60 percent of the country’s sweet potatoes in distribution are grown each year. For the Iksan Sweet Potato Mozzarella Burger and Iksan Sweet Potato Mozzarella Muffin, the local municipality has supplied 200 tons of the ingredient, a record amount for the annual campaign in a single year.

This year’s campaign, same as last year when the company chose hot peppers from Jinju in South Gyeongsang Province, hired local farmers in Iksan to shoot a commercial, a feature that has earned recognition from ad awards both domestically and at APAC Effie Awards 2024, ADFEST 2025 and Spikes Asia 2025.

“We have selected Iksan sweet potatoes because they are not just a familiar taste for all but also we can invent new flavors out of it. It has a great potential for creativity,” the company said.