"Rich People Don't Eat Chicken" Hwang Kyo-ik's 'Chicken Class Theory' Sparks Debate: "Even Lee Jae-yong Eats It?"

"Chicken is the Food of Korea's Working Class, Laborers, Youth, Part-timers, and Riders"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim So-young] Taste columnist Hwang Kyo-ik, who has been continuously criticizing chicken, sparked controversy by asserting the so-called ‘chicken class theory’ that "the rich do not eat chicken." In response, netizens engaged in a heated debate, rebutting with comments such as "Even Lee Jae-yong ordered chicken delivery right after his release."

On the 19th, Hwang posted on his Facebook, claiming, "The rich do not eat chicken. They might eat it occasionally, but they do not seek it out because it tastes good."

He said, "Is there a class in what people eat? Yes, in capitalist South Korea. What you eat differs depending on whether you have money or not. This is something I have witnessed for half my life due to my profession."

He continued, "Chicken is a food for the common people of South Korea. It is food for workers, youth, part-timers, and delivery riders. Just as there were people who ate potatoes in Van Gogh’s era, there are people who eat chicken in South Korea. After a hard day’s work, families or friends enjoy a beer and chicken together," he explained.

He added, "As a taste columnist, what I hope for is cheap and delicious chicken. The reason foreigners find Korean chicken special is solely due to the highly developed seasoning methods born from intense competition."

In response to his claims, some netizens cited the example of Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong to counter. They pointed out, "Lee Jae-yong also ordered chicken on the day he was released," and "The rich eat it too, don’t they?"

Photos shared by netizens showed Lee enjoying chicken and beer at a baseball stadium or ordering chicken delivery to his home in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, after finishing his detention in February 2018.

In reply, Hwang stated, "I do not criticize the rich for eating expensive food. It’s a capitalist society," but warned, "Just don’t use the occasional consumption of common people’s food to create a populist image."

He emphasized, "The rich can eat common food. Common people cannot eat rich food. Just because the rich sometimes eat chicken doesn’t mean chicken ceases to be common food, and just because common people eat white truffles doesn’t mean white truffles cease to be rich food."

Meanwhile, Hwang recently criticized the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Korean Food Promotion Institute’s consumer survey conducted from August to September among 8,500 citizens in 17 major overseas cities including Beijing and New York, where chicken ranked first as the ‘most preferred Korean food by foreigners.’ He said, "Their intention is to pour cold water on citizens’ claims demanding 3kg of broiler chickens by injecting ethnic pride into chicken."

He further remarked, "Are you proud that chicken has become the representative of Korean food? Korean food should contain quite a bit of Korean ingredients, but chicken does not at all," he said sharply.

Earlier on the 22nd, when the Korea Poultry Association said, "(Hwang) sarcastically said small chickens don’t taste good, but that size is what consumers want," Hwang retorted, "Shoes taste good when fried too, so even if the chicken is small, it should taste good since it’s fried," mocking the association.