Jensen Huang's K-food tour sends chicken, soju and snack stocks soaring

BBQ sales jump, HBM chip sales surge 766%

Liquor, chicken and convenience store sectors buzz with anticipation

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won hand out fried chicken and snacks to passersby in front of a Kkanboo Chicken store in Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on Sunday afternoon. [Joint press corps]

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's love of Korean food has become a daily talking point during his visit to South Korea. From samgyeopsal paired with soju to chimaek — fried chicken and beer — every restaurant he steps into is drawing a surge of public attention.

Huang has been working through a full K-food tour since arriving in the country. On the evening of June 5, he dined on samgyeopsal at Hyeongnim Jeoyo, a Korean barbecue restaurant near Hongik University in Mapo-gu, Seoul, with SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo and Naver Chairman Lee Hae-jin. The group then moved on to a BBQ franchise outlet near Hongik University Station for chimaek. On June 6, Huang visited Tosokchon, a restaurant known for samgyetang, with his family. On June 7, he had lunch with Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung at Woo Lae Oak, a naengmyeon restaurant, before meeting again with Chey that evening at Kkanboo Chicken.

The brands he has visited are reaping the rewards. Chicken has been the standout. At a ceremonial first pitch at a Doosan Bears game on Sunday, Huang told the crowd, "There is nothing better than chimaek." He then watched the game while eating BBQ's Crunchy Boneless Cracker chicken. Nvidia's team ordered 113 boxes of the product delivered to the stadium that day.

Huang had also stopped by BBQ on June 5, the first day of his visit. After the samgyeopsal dinner at Hyeongnim Jeoyo near Hongik University Station in Mapo-gu — where the group washed down the meal with soju and beer — the party chose BBQ's Hongik University Station branch as their next stop. Sales at that branch on Friday and Saturday rose more than 20 percent compared with the same days the previous week.

Kkanboo Chicken, which drew national attention last year after a high-profile meeting between Huang and Chey at one of its outlets, saw orders spike so sharply this time that it temporarily suspended operations at 14 company-owned stores due to a chicken supply shortage.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang drinks beer while watching the 2026 KBO League game between the Kiwoom Heroes and the Doosan Bears at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on Sunday. [Joint press corps/Yonhap]

The liquor industry is also riding the wave. Huang paired drinks with his samgyeopsal and chicken meals throughout his visit, and Hite Jinro proactively supplied its products to the samgyeopsal restaurant his group visited — a move widely seen as a bid to capitalize on the attention.

Convenience stores got a boost as well. Seven-Eleven, which sells a private-label snack called the Seven Select Honey Banana HBM Chip, saw sales of that product surge 766 percent on June 6 compared with the previous week — a dramatic spike just six months after the product launched. Sales of Birak Sikhye rice punch and banana milk, which Huang also distributed to bystanders alongside the snack, rose 13 percent and 12 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, retail stocks are also drawing investor interest. When Huang visited South Korea last year and the Kkanboo meeting made headlines, Kyochon F&B — the only publicly listed company in the chicken industry — was singled out as a major beneficiary and saw its shares surge.

siuu@heraldcorp.com