South Korean fried chicken franchise Genesis BBQ Co. saw its signature menu item, “Golden Olive Chicken,” sell over 500 million units over the past 20 years. This is equivalent to every one of Korea’s 50 million people eating 10 chickens each.

According to Genesis BBQ Group on Wednesday, the Golden Olive Chicken will mark its 20th anniversary on Friday. “Golden Olive Chicken, which was launched on May 16th, 2005, after years of research at our in-house R&D center, became the nation’s favorite fried chicken for its crispy texture and juicy flavor,” a BBQ official said.

If the packaging boxes of all the Golden Olive Chicken sold to date were lined up end to end, they would circle the Earth (about 40,000 kilometers) three times, the official said. If stacked vertically, the boxes would hit a height of 81,081 Lotte World Towers (123 floors, 555 meters) in Jamsil, southeastern Seoul, which is the fifth tallest building in the world. In terms of surface area, the boxes could cover 3,025 soccer fields – or around 7.4 times the size of Yeouido district in Seoul.

Golden Olive Chicken drew attention for being fried in extra virgin olive oil imported from Spain. Genesis BBQ Chairman Yoon Hong-geun gave instructions for the development of a menu using olive oil - known as “a gift from the gods.”

Yoon even traveled to Spain personally to source the oil, and Spain’s king at the time, Juan Carlos I, awarded him the Order of Civil Merit for his efforts in 2007. Olive oil was about seven times more expensive than regular cooking oil at the time, but the strategy succeeded in establishing the company’s image as a provider of healthy and delicious chicken. But the company has been using a blended oil that includes sunflower oil since 2023 due to a decline in olive oil production in Spain.

Genesis BBQ introduced new spicy variants such as “Hot Golden Olive” in 2020 to target customers in their 20s and 30s, reflecting the popularity of spicy food and challenges involving spicy flavors.

“People enjoyed spicy food to relieve stress at the time, and spicy food challenges were a trend,” the official said.

The company plans to release commemorative advertisements on YouTube and Instagram to celebrate Golden Olive Chicken’s 20th anniversary.

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