Chimaek

While chimaek as we know it today did not exist in the Joseon era, historical records suggest that similar individual components did. The 1459 cookbook Sangayorok ({{Korean|hangul=산가요록|labels=no}}) recorded Pogye, a stir-fried chicken dish—not deep-fried{{Cite web |script-title=ko:국가유산청 |url=https://www.cha.go.kr/cop/bbs/selectBoardArticle.do?nttId=72430&bbsId=BBSMSTR_1008 |access-date=2025-03-29 |website=Cultural Heritage Administration|language=ko}}—and also mentioned maekju, a barley-based makgeolli{{Cite web |date=2019-10-19 |script-title=ko:조선시대에 맛과 향 강한 '맥주' 있었다…도수는 얼마나? |url=https://news.sbs.co.kr/news/endPage.do?news_id=N1005485274 |access-date=2025-03-29 |website=Seoul Broadcasting System |language=ko}} somewhat analogous to beer, which shares the same name (maekju) in modern Korean. These elements were not combined as chimaek and were eventually forgotten until rediscovered in the late 2010s.{{cite news |date=2020-11-22 |script-title=ko:조선시대 치맥 |trans-title=Chiamaek in Joseon Dynasty, but news indicates "old era" Chiamaek appears in Korean web start from 2017-03-16, not before. |url=https://www.google.com/search?q=%EC%A1%B0%EC%84%A0%EC%8B%9C%EB%8C%80+%EC%B9%98%EB%A7%A5 |access-date=2020-11-22}} Modern chimaek is believed to have been invented in late 20th century, but it is hard to pinpoint the exact time and place. From the roasted chicken that appeared in the early 1960s to the spicy chicken that was adapted to meet Korean tastes, South Korea has imported and developed a growing variety of chicken dishes. While chicken was gaining popularity, a new draft beer which appeared in the 1970s was also becoming very popular, and it became common for the two to be combined as a single menu item. Moreover, the 2002 Korea–Japan World Cup shed more light on the chimaek phenomenon, and the dish has also had a significant impact on Korean drinking culture.{{cite news|trans-title=Chi-Mc|script-title=ko:[도청도설] 치맥 |url=http://www.kookje.co.kr/news2011/asp/newsbody.asp?code=1700&key=20140310.22026203153|access-date=24 November 2014|publisher=The Kookje Daily News|date=9 March 2014}} Today, fried chicken is one of the most popular dishes in Korea. It's so popular that Koreans created the word Chi-neunim, which is a compound word of chicken and God Haneunim in Korean.{{Cite web|url=http://www.hankookilbo.com/News/Read/201512171039627700|script-title=ko:치느님|date=17 December 2015}}

Chicken production increased 13 times as the nation's economy grew. With the introduction of cooking oil in Korea in 1971, chicken and oil were plentiful, which created an environment where people could eat more chicken. At this time, chicken and beer were sold together, which eventually led to the creation of chimaek. In the 1970s, manufacturing workers paid {{currency|3,400|KRW|first=yes}} per chicken, but the price of a boiled chicken was {{currency|2,500|KRW}}, and {{convert|500|cc|floz|abbr=on}} of beer was {{currency|450|KRW}}.{{Cite web|url=https://www.sedaily.com/NewsView/1S3CWPB0LX|script-title=ko:치느님과 맥주가 사랑에 빠져 치맥|date=14 August 2018}}

In 1977, the chicken brand [http://www.limschicken.co.kr/sub/com/com_1.php Rims] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180915115211/http://www.limschicken.co.kr/sub/com/com_1.php |date=15 September 2018 }} Chicken was founded. It was quite strange for Koreans to chop and fry chicken, but its popularity was enormous, especially around the holiday seasons.{{citation needed|date=May 2019}}

The word chicken and beer were not used in conjunction until 2002 with the Korea–Japan World Cup. Public parks would often have large screens to watch the games, and people would dress in red (the colour and nickname of the home team) and gather together to cheer for the World Cup, while eating chicken and drinking beer. The number of chicken restaurants increased from around 10,000 to 25,000 after the World Cup.

Chimaek Street is planned to be built in Gimpo, South Korea. There is a prospect that various chicken restaurants will be gathered in one place and that world beer and various kinds of chicken will be a specialty of Gimpo.{{Cite web|url=http://leaders.asiae.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=73358|script-title=ko:김포 운양동에 치맥특화거리가 조성된다.|date=29 August 2018|access-date=27 December 2018|archive-date=27 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181227133133/http://leaders.asiae.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=73358|url-status=dead}}

There are many chimaek festivals in Korea, including the Seoul Chimaek Festival which is held in mid-October in downtown Seoul. It is an event to promote Korean food culture abroad by combining chicken and beer.{{cn|date=June 2025}} In Daegu, a chimaek festival was held in 2013. In 2013, a chimaek festival in Ningbo, China, drew some 400,000 visitors in its first three days.

Chimaek is popular choice for people watching sports events such as World Cup and Asian Cup Especially, Convenience stores and fried chicken franchises enjoying a busy season during the World Cup.[https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2022/11/29/business/industry/Korea-worldcup-chicken/20221129164711387.html Chimaek wins during World Cup as Koreans chow down and chug] - Korea JoongAng Daily

Chimaek is also popular in China because of the popular drama My Love From the Star, in which Cheon Song-i, the heroine, said "A snowy day is just perfect for our Chimaek time ..."; which triggered the phenomenon. Specialty chicken shops have been more numerous in China. Uploading pictures of oneself holding a chicken in one hand and a beer in the other on social networks became a trend.{{cite news|last1=Seo Jung (서정)|first1=Kang (강)|trans-title=China is in the storm of Chimaek|script-title=ko:중국 치맥 열풍..'별그대' 전지현 대사 한마디 때문에|url=http://m.chosun.com/svc/article.html?contid=2014030200188|access-date=2 March 2014|publisher=ChosunMedia|archive-date=1 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181201051239/http://m.chosun.com/svc/article.html?contid=2014030200188|url-status=dead}}

Since December 2014, Chinese people have been willing to wait an average of three hours in front of a Korean-brand chimaek shop to enjoy the food.{{citation needed|date=May 2019}} At the time of the drama's airing, thousands of "Chicken Mac sets" were sold in Hangzhou,{{citation needed|date=May 2019}} and Lotte Mart in China offered a 25 percent discount for a chicken and six cans of Tsingtao beer.{{relevance inline|date=May 2019}}

The 2023 Oakland's Annual Chimaek Festival was held for the first time in Oakland, California.[https://www.enjoydkb.com/oakland-chimaek-festival Oakland's Annual Chimaek Festival] - DOKKAEBIER

Demand for specialty chicken shops increased with the growing demands for chicken and beer. As of March 2014, Korea had 192 chicken franchise companies. About 10% of companies are known for unique recipes.{{cite news|last1=Lee|first1=U-seok|title=[SS먼데이 이슈추적]치킨은 어떻게 치느님이 되었나. 치맥 문화와 산업|trans-title=Culture and Industry of Chi-Mc|url=http://www.sportsseoul.com/?c=v&m=n&i=97032|access-date=24 November 2014|publisher=Sports Seoul|date=7 August 2014}}

• List of chicken dishes
• Anju (food)

{{reflist}}

{{Chicken dishes|state=collapsed}}

Category:Beer in South Korea

Category:Korean fried chicken