"Boneless Is 100% Thigh Meat"... Norang Tongdak Makes Bold Move Amid Kyochon's 'Tactics'

Kyochon Cuts 200g from Boneless Chicken Portions
Norang Tongdak: "Despite Supply Instability, 100% Thigh Meat"

The signature menu of Norang Tongdak, the 'Extra Large Fried Chicken' (the photo shows the bone-in menu, not the boneless version). Norang Tongdak

Norang Food's chicken franchise brand, Norang Tongdak, announced on September 17 that it will offer all boneless chicken menu items made with 100% chicken thigh meat, despite rising production costs.

This decision has drawn attention both inside and outside the industry, especially as rival Kyochon Chicken recently sparked controversy by effectively raising prices through reducing the portion size of its boneless menu items and mixing in chicken tenderloin.

A Norang Tongdak representative stated, "We sincerely thank our customers who waited and the franchise owners who actively cooperated, despite the unexpected instability in raw material supply." The 100% chicken thigh boneless menu will be available at each location as soon as their chicken tenderloin stock is depleted.

Kyochon Chicken's new menu item 'Mara Red Boneless'. Screenshot from Kyochon Chicken

In contrast, on September 11, Kyochon Chicken launched 10 new menu items, reducing the weight of its boneless chicken from the previous 700g to 500g. The price remained unchanged, which led to consumer criticism over so-called "shrinkflation." It was also revealed that some products now contain a mix of chicken tenderloin.

Online users showed contrasting reactions to each franchise. Regarding Norang Tongdak, comments included, "Chicken thigh meat is still expensive, so their profit margin can't be high," and "Thank you for making such a difficult decision." In contrast, regarding Kyochon Chicken, reactions included, "The prices were already high, and now this is just deceiving consumers," and "We shouldn't support companies that take advantage of consumers."