After waiting in the longest immigration line I’ve ever had to queue up in entering another country, we took the airport express into Seoul, dropped our bags off at our hotel, and set out to enjoy our first evening in Korea.

“What do you want to eat tonight — barbecue or fried chicken?” Chris asked.

Fried chicken. Yum.

We went to Han Chu, supposedly one of the best Korean fried chicken restaurants in the city, which is in the Garou-sil area (“tree-lined street) south of the river. There was English on the menu, but I wasn’t sure whether to get the “fried” chicken or the “seasoned” chicken. Fearing the chicken labeled only “fried” wouldn’t be seasoned that well, I got us the seasoned chicken and a bottle of soju. The soju bottle, enough for the both of us, only cost 5,000 won. No wonder Korea has a crazy drinking culture; the alcohol is so cheap!

When the chicken came to the table, it was piping hot and obviously freshly fried. It was coated in a dark, sticky, and thick red sauce topped with white sesame seeds. The batter was thicker than the Korean fried chicken I’d had back in New York, and the batter was seasoned more heavily, as well, with a darker brown color as opposed to the golden color I was so used to seeing.

I was curious about the fried chicken styles and found out after some quick research that there’s no real “Korean fried chicken style” — different places have different recipes and thickness of the batter. Some are heavier the way Southern fried chicken back home is (especially the ones being sold by street vendors I’ve seen in Myeongdong), while others are lighter like the Bonchon and Unidentified Flying Chicken Korean chicken I’d had in New York. The Bonchon or Kyochon style Korean fried chicken is the type that’s made it to the U.S. But this made me realize that what I consider to be Korean fried chicken isn’t the same fried chicken that Koreans in Korea consider their own fried chicken — these are the things you learn when you travel.