When Jensen Huang sat down in a Seoul chicken joint with a frosty beer and two of Korea’s most powerful business leaders, he probably wasn’t thinking about the stock market. But by the next morning, his casual meal had sent South Korea’s fried chicken shares sizzling.
When the Nvidia boss grabbed a beer and fried chicken in Seoul, the stock market followed. Huang’s viral meal is driving a sharp rally in South Korea’s fried chicken-related stocks.
The world's most valued company's CEO's casual dinner of fried chicken and beer with Samsung Electronics Chair Jay Y. Lee and Hyundai Motor Executive chair Chung Eui-sun at local chain Kkanbu Chicken on Thursday night has set off a frenzy in the country’s equity markets.
While Kkanbu itself is privately held, the ripple effects were anything but private. Shares of rival Kyochon F&B jumped as much as 20 percent on Friday as photos and videos of the trio sharing a table went viral on social media. Poultry processor Cherrybro soared by the daily limit of 30 percent, with trading volumes skyrocketing to nearly 200 times the average. Neuromeka, a Kosdaq-listed maker of chicken-frying robots, also saw its shares surge.
The sudden rally underscores a uniquely Korean phenomenon — where memes, celebrity moments, and viral trends often move markets faster than any earnings report. These quick bursts of enthusiasm, usually in small-cap Kosdaq counters, are driven by momentum and buzz rather than fundamentals.
This isn’t the first time the country’s retail-dominated market has reacted to a pop-culture spark. In August, pen maker MonAmi saw its stock surge after US President Donald Trump complimented South Korean President Lee Jae-myung’s pen during a White House meeting.
Huang, who was in South Korea for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation CEO summit, was even seen stepping outside to hand pieces of fried chicken to a policeman and fans gathered nearby — sealing the moment’s meme-worthiness.
It’s hardly surprising that Huang, one of the world’s most-watched tech CEOs, could trigger a market rally with something as simple as a shared meal. Last year, several AI-linked companies saw their shares leap after he mentioned them in a presentation — proof that when Jensen Huang eats, talks, or even gestures, traders are quick to follow.
