She once dreamed of becoming a doctor. That ambition remained unchanged even after moving to the United States in her second year of high school following her physician father, but the financial burden of medical school tuition was heavy. With the mindset to ‘save up for tuition first,’ she got a job at a foreign bank and was assigned to marketing. Utilizing the programming skills she learned in college, she built a database (DB). Customer information accumulated in the DB was utilized as big data for various corporate strategies. The experience of turning ideas into actual performance was a great joy. This is why Ki-won Kim (52, pictured), CEO of McDonald’s Korea, became a marketer instead of a doctor. Afterward, CEO Kim built his marketing career through P&G, known as a marketing academy, SBS Media Holdings, and Coca-Cola.
When CEO Kim joined McDonald’s Korea in 2020, the operating loss was 48.4 billion KRW, 10% larger than the previous year. CEO Kim found a breakthrough in ‘Loconomy’ (Local + Economy). Thus was born the ‘Taste of Korea’ project, creating independent menus utilizing representative agricultural products from various regions in South Korea. Starting with Changnyeong garlic in 2021, new menus utilizing Boseong green pork, Jindo green onions, Jinju peppers, Iksan sweet potatoes, and Chungju corn have been introduced every year. The 5-year cumulative sales of the 6 menus reached 30 million units, and the local agricultural products purchased for this purpose alone amount to 700 tons. According to Triple Light, an impact measurement specialized institution, the socio-economic value generated through the Taste of Korea project amounts to 82 billion KRW.
McDonald’s Korea deliberately collaborated with regions where quality is excellent but supply is not yet stable, rather than famous production areas. This was because they judged that promoting agricultural products from such regions and creating demand would maximize the win-win effect. In fact, the Changnyeong Garlic Burger is also sold at McDonald’s Taiwan. The Taste of Korea project led directly to the export of Changnyeong garlic. CEO Kim stated, ‘The Taste of Korea is a proud local sourcing project that breathes vitality into local farms and provides delicious menus to customers,’ adding, ‘It not only increases the actual income of farms but also raises awareness of the regions and agricultural products while expanding sales channels.’
According to Euromonitor, the domestic hamburger market grew in scale from 3.467 trillion KRW in 2021 to 5 trillion KRW last year. The growth trend of the Korean market is noticeably steep even on a global scale. CEO Kim cited a ‘shift in perception’ as the biggest reason. While hamburgers were previously considered a snack in Korea, he explained that as overseas stay demand increased, people now view them as a sufficient ‘full meal.’ ‘Lunchflation’ (lunch + inflation), where opening one’s wallet feels frightening, is another reason. CEO Kim noted, ‘When McDonald’s tries to launch a global new product, they come to Korea first to check consumer reactions, which shows how high the level of Korean consumers is,’ and added, ‘I feel rewarded to be able to contribute to spreading the popularity of K-food to the world.’
