How Lee Kyung-kyu turns a chicken flop into 100 million noodles

On 'Boss in the Mirror,' Lee Kyung-kyu revealed how his past failure with the 'Gwi-ttul-dak' business led to the idea for Kkokkomyeon. The core of his confession is that the process of dealing with the aftermath of the failed chicken business allowed him to accumulate chicken dish recipes, which later became the starting point for Kkokkomyeon, a product known to have sold 100 million units.

The story of Gwi-ttul-dak's failure shared on the 14th on 'Boss in the Mirror'

In the episode of the KBS 2TV variety show 'Boss in the Mirror' aired on the 14th, the stories of Lee Kyung-kyu and Kim Sook, who visited Yang Jun-hyeok's fishing pond, were featured. Lee Kyung-kyu and Yang Jun-hyeok share a connection from their time on 'Men's Qualification.'

During the broadcast, Lee Kyung-kyu recalled his experience raising chickens fed with crickets, known as 'Gwi-ttul-dak.' He said, "I also raised chickens fed with crickets, but it failed."

He explained the reason for the failure himself. While there was a unique selling point in being chickens fed with crickets, the cost of the crickets was more expensive than the cost of regular feed. Ultimately, the burden of production costs outweighed the idea, and the business could not survive for long.

The remaining chickens led to the Kkokkomyeon recipe

Lee Kyung-kyu confessed that he sold the remaining chickens as food for lions at the zoo. While the situation of having to dispose of unsold chickens was presented as a comedic moment in the variety show, his story did not end there.

When Kim Sook asked about royalties from Kkokkomyeon, Lee Kyung-kyu replied, "I still get royalties from Kkokkomyeon." He continued, "Behind the birth of Kkokkomyeon lies the pain of Gwi-ttul-dak." He explained that because he couldn't sell the Gwi-ttul-dak, he kept eating them, and in that process, chicken dish recipes accumulated in his mind.

Kkokkomyeon is known to have sold 100 million units since its official launch in 2011. In a ramen market dominated by red broth, it expanded the options with its white broth and has long been discussed as a case where an idea from a broadcast led to an actual commercial product.

Stories of loss and retry continued at Yang Jun-hyeok's fishing pond

The story of this episode was not limited to Lee Kyung-kyu's solo confession. Yang Jun-hyeok was also mentioned as someone who has experienced losses and attempts at restarting through aquaculture and operating a fishing pond. The conversation between the two focused more on 'what they did next' rather than 'how much they lost.'

'Boss in the Mirror' is a program that explores the attitudes of workers and bosses through variety entertainment. Lee Kyung-kyu's confession about Gwi-ttul-dak remained a scene where he did not hide his failed business but instead turned it into jokes and personal anecdotes.