Tables stretch 400 meters across Seoul’s Jamsu Bridge for Jamsu Bridge Chicken Day event on Sunday. (Yonhap)
Tables stretch 400 meters across Seoul’s Jamsu Bridge for Jamsu Bridge Chicken Day event on Sunday. (Yonhap)

Korean fried chicken is always a treat, but sharing the beloved staple at a single 400-meter-long table takes the culinary experience to a whole new level.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government hosted a massive fried chicken festival Sunday on Jamsu Bridge, a day before the bridge began its transition into a pedestrian-only thoroughfare.

Part of the Car-Free Jamsu Bridge Ttubeok-Ttubeok Festival, the inaugural Ttuchi-Ttuchi Chicken Day featured two dining sessions, at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. Each session was to accommodate around 1,000 participants at a 400-meter-long table, where they could enjoy Korean fried chicken over 90 minutes.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon (left) samples fried chicken during Jamsu Bridge Chicken Day on the bridge in Seocho-gu, Seoul, Sunday. (Joint Press Corps via Yonhap)
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon (left) samples fried chicken during Jamsu Bridge Chicken Day on the bridge in Seocho-gu, Seoul, Sunday. (Joint Press Corps via Yonhap)

Participants registered in advance and selected from the menus of 10 participating franchises, including BBQ, Puradak, Mom’s Touch, Mexicana Chicken and Jadam Chicken. Local favorites also joined the lineup, including Manseok Dakgangjeong from Sokcho, as well as Chicken Today and Banpo Chicken from Seoul.

To distinguish the two sessions, participants wore wristbands in different colors representing either classic fried chicken or yangnyeom chicken, the popular Korean variety coated in a sweet and spicy sauce.

Starting Monday, Jamsu Bridge will be closed to traffic as it is transformed into a pedestrian-only space, with its opening planned for next year.


mjcha@heraldcorp.com