By Park Hye Ri and Yoon Hee Young

Korean-style fried chicken is the most popular Korean food among non-Koreans worldwide.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and Korean Food Promotion Institute on Nov. 28 said this finding was based on a survey conducted this year from August to September on 8,500 residents in 17 major world cities including Beijing, New York and Paris.

Among respondents who had eaten Korean food before, Korean-style fried chicken was the most consumed with 30%, followed by kimchi with 27.7%, bibimbap (mixed rice with meat and vegetables) 27.2%, tteokbokki (spicy rice cake) 18% and gimbap (seaweed rice roll) 15.5%.

Such chicken was also their favorite Korean food with 16.1%, followed by kimchi (11.3%), bibimbap (10.7%), bulgogi, or marinated grilled beef (6%), and tteokbokki (5.6%).

The survey cited a satisfaction rate of 94.5% for Korean food, up 3 1/2 percentage points from last year. An overwhelming 90.1% of respondents who visited Korean restaurants also said they would recommend such places.

Interest in Korean food in each country rose to 70.2% (up 2.7 percentage points) and popularity to 61.7% (up 2.1 percentage points). The rates of awareness of Korean food (55.9%) and those with experience in dining at Korean restaurants (67%) were similar to those from last year.

By city, those in Southeast Asia had the highest awareness of Korean food, especially Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, with 83%; Jakarta, Indonesia, 80.8%; Beijing 74.4%; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 73.2%; and Bangkok, Thailand, 68.2%.

The ministry attributed the surging popularity of Korean food abroad to steady overseas promotion and the rise of Korea's national brand due to the spread of Hallyu (Korean Wave), including K-pop and K-dramas.

hrhr@korea.kr