Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong and Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun held a "chimaek (chicken + beer) meeting" on the 30th at a Kkanbu Chicken location in Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Kkanbu Chicken climbed into the top ranks of real-time search terms on portal sites that day. It also took the No. 1 spot in popular searches on the Coupang Eats delivery app (application). It amounted to a big promotional boost, albeit unintended.
In the dining industry, the view is that a meeting between a global CEO and business heavyweights taking place not at a hotel but at a chicken joint—specifically at an open, airy Kkanbu Chicken location—reflects a reimagining of protocol through the language of the "meme" (a cultural code that spreads through repeated sharing online).
According to related industries on the 31st, Huang, Lee and Chung met for dinner on the previous evening. The meeting lasted about 1 hour and 30 minutes. Citizens cheered, saying "buy us chicken," and Huang responded with a gesture as if ringing the "golden bell." He said, "I wanted to experience Korea's chimaek culture firsthand. Today is the best day of my life." The first-round expense of about 1.8 million won was reportedly paid by Lee.
On the table were one order of boneless chicken, one order of regular chicken, cheese balls and cheese sticks. With that, people in the dining industry quipped that an "AI tycoons set" or a "Kkanbu CEO set" might be on the way. A Kkanbu Chicken official said, "There are no headquarters-level plans yet, but if franchisees want it, we can consider launching a set menu that reflects their wishes. We will discuss it with the franchisees."
The "kkanbu" in Kkanbu Chicken is slang meaning a close friend, colleague, partner or companion. It became known overseas through the line "We are kkanbu, aren't we" in the Netflix original "Squid Game." As a word symbolizing cooperation and partnership, the industry is focusing on the fact that the meeting of three figures leading global industries—Nvidia, Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor—took place at Kkanbu Chicken.
Kkanbu Chicken is a mid-sized chicken franchise brand with about 170 locations nationwide. By number of locations, it is fewer than BBQ's roughly 2,200, bhc's roughly 2,200 and Kyochon Chicken's roughly 1,300. But brand recognition surged after the meeting of the three heavyweights. A dining industry official said, "What BBQ, bhc and Kyochon Chicken—the three major domestic chicken franchises—don't have, Kkanbu Chicken does. It's the story in the brand name."
A Kkanbu Chicken official said, "Kkanbu is a word the CEO has always liked. The brand name embodies 'the heart that cherishes memories with friends,'" adding, "Regardless of headquarters' intent, the word kkanbu became memefied thanks to Squid Game Season and has drawn renewed attention as a symbolic element of the meeting."
The meeting venue was reportedly proposed by Huang. He is often cited as someone adept at the "language of memes." Huang wears a black leather jacket at every public appearance and is also called a "rock star of the IT world." This has helped shape Nvidia's progressive and bold image. When thousands of fans swarmed the COMPUTEX event in Taipei, Taiwan, in May, local media described the fervor as "Jensanity," a blend of the "Jens-" in his name and "insanity."
In the dining industry, the choice of a chimaek venue by Huang—visiting Korea for the first time in 15 years—is seen as Kkanbu Chicken beating the three major chicken franchises, BBQ, bhc and Kyochon Chicken, in a "meme war." An industry official said, "The global meme formed by Squid Game Season linked up with Kkanbu Chicken and gained the added symbolism of a meeting among three global heavyweights."
Lee Jong-woo, a professor of business administration at Ajou University, said, "The term 'kkanbu' itself is already memefied, so Kkanbu Chicken has significant potential for expansion in the global market," adding, "It is an era when memes and stories build brand competitiveness."