SEOUL — In fried-chicken-obsessed South Korea, restaurants serving the nation's favourite fast-food dish dot every street corner. But Ms Kang Ji-young's establishment brings something a little different to the table: a robot is cooking the chicken.
In fried-chicken-obsessed South Korea, restaurants serving the nation's favourite fast-food dish dot every street corner. But Ms Kang Ji-young's establishment brings something a little different to the table: a robot is cooking the chicken.
The domestic market — the world's third largest, after the United States and China — is worth about seven trillion won , but labour shortages are starting to bite as South Korea faces a looming demographic disaster due to having the world's lowest birth rate. Enter Ms Kang, a 38-year-old entrepreneur who saw an opportunity to improve the South Korean fried chicken business model — and the dish itself.In this photo taken on June 13, 2023, an employee dishes up fried chicken that was cooked by a robot at a Robert Chicken restaurant in Seoul.
Seoul says such innovations could become a"new growth engine", arguing there is huge potential if the country's prowess in advanced robotics and artificial intelligence technology could be combined with the competitiveness of Korean food classics like kimchi. ProfLee predicted South Korea's other major conglomerates are likely to follow Samsung into foodtech.
During AFP's visit to a Seoul branch, a robot meticulously handled the frying process — from immersing chicken in oil, flipping it for even cooking, to retrieving it at the perfect level of crispiness, as the irresistible scent of crunchy chicken wafted through the shop.Ms Kim Moon-jung, a 54-year-old insurance worker, said she was not sure how a robot would make the chicken differently from a human"but one thing is certain — it tastes delicious".