Inspired by ‘My Love From the Star’, Chinese tourists feast on chicken in South Korea

INCHEON, South Korea - Around 4,500 employees of a Chinese cosmetics firm visiting South Korea sat down on Monday for a dinner of fried chicken and beer, a staple made popular in China by a hit Korean television drama.

The group were inspired to eat the meal after watching the hugely popular South Korean TV show "My Love from the Star". The programme, which focuses on an actress and her alien boyfriend, aired from 2013 to 2014 and gained a large following in China.

Aolan International Beauty Group employees ate their chicken and beer meal gathered around 750 outdoor tables for Monday's dinner, according to officials in Incheon, 50 km (31 miles) west of Seoul.

"I saw on the TV show "My Love from the Star" that there's fried chicken and beer, so this time when I came to Incheon and I saw this I thought it was really good, especially as this is the first time I've come to South Korea, I think that everything here is great," 27-year-old Chinese tourist from Xi'an city, Wang Ke, said.

Incheon Metropolitan City said they hoped the visit would be the start of an increase of tourists to the city.

"They (Chinese tourists) want to gather in one place for dinner. So we prepared the chicken and beer party at this large square in Wolmido. This is very meaningful event for them to create a sense of unity and for us to promote tourist attraction," Mayor of Incheon Metropolitan City, Yoo Jeong-bok, said.

The number of Chinese visitors to South Korea rose 17 percent in the first two months of the year to 1.07 million, and South Korea expects a record total of 8 million this year, lured in part by the popularity of Korean cultural exports, such as TV shows, movies and K-pop music. — Reuters