"We will make it a space where, beyond the experience of eating Kyochon Chicken, consumers can brush on the sauce themselves and experience Korea's chicken culture."
Do Min-su, Head of Team of Kyochon F&B's 1991 School Team, said at a media event on the 15th at the Kyochon F&B(339770) Osan Training Institute in Osan, Gyeonggi Province, "We plan to operate it as a space that promotes K-chicken by expanding beyond making chicken to include experiences with chicken radish and fermented foods." Kyochon Chicken is known for its cooking method of brushing on sauce.
Kyochon F&B unveiled the Osan Training Institute that day and introduced plans to operate the brand experience program "Kyochon 1991 School." The Osan Training Institute is a place that, after the headquarters were transferred to Pangyo in Gyeonggi Province, remodeled the former Osan office building and has been operated as an education and experience space starting this year. Kyochon F&B began in 1991 under the business name "Kyochon Tongdak" (now Kyochon Chicken Songjeong branch) in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, and had its headquarters in Chilgok County, North Gyeongsang Province. It then moved its headquarters to Osan, Gyeonggi Province, in 2004 and, in 2024, moved its headquarters again to Pangyo, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, after 20 years.
The Training Institute consists of a brand exhibition hall, a cooking experience zone, and a smart kitchen. The event also unveiled chicken-cooking automation technology. In the smart kitchen, a robot demonstrated the process of frying chicken, and the company introduced the status of developing automation technologies such as battering and sauce application, along with the frying robots currently in operation at some franchise locations.
A Kyochon F&B official said, "We are currently testing various automation facilities in collaboration with several robot companies," and noted, "We are reviewing ways to automate the entire cooking process, including not only frying but also battering and sauce application."
The exhibition space featured not only Kyochon Chicken but also Kyochon F&B's traditional liquor brand "Bahr-yo Gongbang 1991," craft beer brand "Moonbear," and chicken radish brand "KNP Food," among other food and beverage brands of the group.
◇ Plan to use it as foreign tourist content
Kyochon also plans to use the Osan Training Institute as experiential tourism content for foreign tourists. Currently, it runs programs mainly for group tourists through travel agencies and the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), and it is also selling tourism products linked with southern Gyeonggi attractions such as Everland and the Korean Folk Village.
Do, Head of Team, said, "Most customers come in groups through travel agencies rather than as individual tourists," and explained, "We run experience programs in English, Japanese, and Chinese, and we plan to expand programs for domestic customers such as student groups."
The company also plans to increase the experience content going forward. Currently, the focus is on chicken-making experiences, but starting next year it is reviewing adding chicken radish making and fermented food experiences.
The plan is to expand the scale of operation step by step. For now, the goal is to attract about 10,000 experience participants annually, and it is reviewing ways to increase that to about 20,000 a year by expanding staff and programs.
Do, Head of Team, said, "In terms of space alone, we can accommodate 4,000 to 5,000 people a month, but for now we are focusing on operating so that even if one person comes, they can have a proper experience," adding, "We plan to gradually expand content and infrastructure."
Kyochon is also taking part in the "K-chicken belt" project that the government is currently pursuing. Through this, it plans to use the Osan Training Institute as an experiential base to introduce Korea's chicken culture.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs held a meeting on the 29th of last month with about 60 people from the media and the travel industry at the Government Complex Sejong and announced "K-gastronomy Journey," a roadmap for culinary tourism and experiences to be pursued in the second half of this year. For the first program, it selected the "K-chicken belt" project, which introduces chicken specialty restaurants that reflect local characteristics and links them with nearby tourist attractions.
Do, Head of Team, said, "We plan to expand programs that allow foreign tourists and domestic consumers to experience Korea's chicken culture in cooperation with relevant agencies."