The Colonel leads an invasion (May 2000).
(Please read this before you copy our photos or text.)

If you really want to eat every day as if you're still at home (why???), or if you're just feeling homesick and crave some comfort food, Korea has a growing list of western (mostly US-based) grab-and-go franchises. They're not very cheap, certainly not by comparison with Korean chain restaurants and family-run eateries, but most of the items on the menu will be pretty close to what you're used to, if not identical.

We spotted this KFC in Seoul in 2000, with the Colonel inviting those benighted health-conscious Koreans to come in and chow down his high-fat, high-calorie, high-sodium goodies. They did, and do.

By 2010, the franchises had established beachheads in the smaller cities, too. Surprisingly, McDonalds didn't roll into Kangnung (Gangneung) until our 2004 visit, but now every time we go, they have more junk food emporia.

There are also some home-grown options - PFC, for example, whose logo looks suspiciously like KFCs. They serve respectable greasebucket fried chicken. On the side: not coleslaw, but little disposable plastic tubs of kimchi.

Home | Album | Journal | Institute | Teaching | Culture | Links