November 25, 2025
SEOUL – Global awareness and demand for Korean cuisine continue to rise, with Korean fried chicken topping the list of the most preferred Korean dishes worldwide, according to a survey released Monday.
According to the 2025 Overseas Korean Food Consumer Survey, among those who had eaten Korean food within the past year, Korean-style chicken ranked No. 1 in both preference and eating frequency. The survey, released by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Korea Food Promotion Institute, polled 11,000 consumers across 22 major global cities, with 500 respondents in each location.
Kimchi and bibimbap followed as the next most popular dishes, while bulgogi, ramyeon, and kimchi fried rice also performed strongly. In terms of frequency of consumption, Korean-style chicken and kimchi were nearly tied at 28.3 percent and 28 percent, respectively, over the past year.
Of all respondents of the survey, 68.6 percent said they were familiar with Korean food, an increase of 2.9 percentage points from last year and the highest figure since the annual survey began.
Satisfaction levels were similarly high. Of those who had tried Korean food, 94.2 percent said they were pleased and 80.6 percent said they intended to eat Korean food again — the first time the figure has surpassed 80 percent since the survey began tracking consumer loyalty. Interest translated into behavior as well, with 71.7 percent of respondents reporting a visit to a Korean restaurant within the past year.
However, regional sentiment varied.
Satisfaction and revisit intention were well above average in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, the Philippines’ capital Manila, Shanghai, Indonesia’s capital Jakarta, Beijing, London, Dubai of the United Arab Emirates, Sao Paulo, Sydney and Hong Kong. By contrast, Tokyo, Rome, Paris, Taiwan’s capital Taipei, Singapore and Toronto recorded lower evaluations, with Tokyo reporting the lowest satisfaction and revisit intention for the second consecutive year.
Over 65 percent of respondents said they had tried Korean food or became interested after viewing Korean cultural content, highlighting the increasingly intertwined nature of Korea’s cultural and culinary exports.