- Lotteria is the biggest fast-food chain in South Korea, serving burgers, fries, and fried chicken.
- On a recent trip to Seoul, I tried Lotteria and McDonald's to see how the two fast-food giants compare.
- While McDonald's has a few items you can only buy in South Korea that are worth ordering, Lotteria's superior punches of flavor convinced me that the Korean chain beats out the American fast-food giant.
- $4.
SEOUL, South Korea - The biggest fast-food chain in South Korea isn't McDonald's, KFC, or Burger King - though they all have locations in the country.
Instead, Lotteria reigns supreme, with more than 1,300 locations, plus hundreds more throughout Asia.
While it can be reductive to compare every fast-food chain to McDonald's, Lotteria makes the comparison pretty easy. The burger-and-fries-centric menu is similar, as are the prices. Locations look similar, both to each other and to McDonald's back in the US. There is even a McDonald's directly next to a Lotteria at Seoul station, forcing travelers to choose which fast-food chain to ally themselves with as soon as they enter the city.
Instead of making a snap judgement, I decided to try McDonald's and Lotteria back-to-back and see which fast-food chain came out on top. I discovered more similarities than differences, but one chain still managed to eke out a victory thanks to one key advantage.