The Inscrutable Colonel

In an earlier post, my dear brother raised the topic of KFC's popularity in Asia. And yes, it is true that KFC, in China, anyway, is waaaayyyyy more popular than McDonald's. I can't quite figure this out. The KFC's that we've been in are just like the one's at home -- kinda dirty and not at all cheery. Most of the KFC's here are about 10 times the size of your average US establishment (many are two stories), though. And I've heard that KFC is the happening spot of kids' birthday parties, too.

Here is what the shopping guide for the Incheon (Seoul) International Airport has to say about KFC:

KFC is well-known for its symbol called the Colonel, a grandfather in a white suit with a soft and sweet smile on his face. Do you miss assorted hamburgers and chicken dishes seasoned with 11 different spices? That's KFC's top secret! KFC is waiting for you!

Grandfather? That's certainly not the first thing that pops into my mind.

The picture above is of my first KFC meal in ages. Their "value" meals (compared to McDonald's prices, KFC is no value) feature this kind of "corn slaw" -- corn kernels and chunks of pepper and cucumber mixed with sweet mayonnaise. The name of the product, when translated into English, is "Corn Colonel Sand". The drink is some kind of fruit drink. Nothing I could recognize, but reminiscent of mango.

Perhaps it's just the focus on chicken that makes KFC so popular -- or maybe it's that kindly "grandfather." What I do know is that even McDonald's here caters to the locals' taste for chicken -- there are many more chicken-themed items on the menu than in the States.

Now you know.

[Edited to add: We visited a second KFC, and this one was pretty nice. I think that the first one we went to was in the ghetto-licious part of town]