Robot fried chicken: entrepreneur seeks to improve S. Korea's favourite food

In fried-chicken-obsessed South Korea, restaurants serving the nation's favourite fast-food dish dot every street corner.

But Kang Ji-young's establishment brings something a little different to the table: a robot is cooking the chicken.

Eaten at everything from tiny family gatherings to a 10-million-viewer live-streamed "mukbang" - eating broadcast - by K-pop star Jungkook of BTS fame, fried chicken is deeply embedded in South Korean culture.

Korean fried chicken is brined and double-fried, which gives it its signature crispy exterior, but the process - more elaborate than what is typically used by US fast food chains - creates additional labour and requires extended worker proximity to hot oil.

Enter Kang, a 38-year-old entrepreneur who saw an opportunity to improve the South Korean fried chicken business model - and the dish itself. "The market is huge," Kang told AFP at her Robert Chicken franchise.

Kang's robot, composed of a simple, flexible mechanical arm, is capable of frying 100 chickens in two hours - a task that would require around five people and several deep fryers.

But not only does the robot make chicken more efficiently - it makes it more delicious, says Kang. "We can now say with confidence that our robot fries better than human beings do," she said.

A robot meticulously handles the frying process - from immersing chicken in oil, flipping it for even cooking, to retrieving it at the perfect level of crispiness, as the irresistible scent of crunchy chicken wafted through the shop.

The robot can monitor oil temperature and oxidation levels in real time while it fries chicken, ensuring consistent taste and superior hygiene.

Entrepreneur Kang now has 15 robot-made chicken restaurants in South Korea, and one branch in Singapore.