Jensen Huang's fried chicken meal sends Korean "chicken stocks" soaring

Jensen Huang appeared at the Kkanbu Chicken fried chicken restaurant in Seoul, sharing a fried chicken dinner with the heads of Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor, unexpectedly sparking a frenzy in Korea's "meme stocks." Although the restaurant is not publicly listed, related stocks in fried chicken, poultry, and robotics concepts surged, with poultry processor Cherrybro soaring 30% and triggering a trading halt.

Written by: Zhang Yaqi

Source: Wallstreetcn

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s fried chicken dinner in Seoul with Korean business leaders unexpectedly ignited a "meme frenzy" in the Korean stock market, with some related stocks soaring as much as 30%.

This highly anticipated dinner took place on Thursday evening, with Jensen Huang, Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, and Hyundai Motor Executive Chairman Chung Eui-sun appearing at a Seoul fried chicken restaurant called Kkanbu Chicken. Related photos and videos quickly went viral on social media.

Although Kkanbu Chicken is not a listed company, its competitor Kyochon F&B Co. saw its stock price soar by as much as 20% on Friday; Korean poultry processor Cherrybro Co. even hit the daily limit of a 30% surge, with trading volume about 200 times the average. Even Neuromeka Co., a company that makes fried chicken robots, saw its stock price jump in response.

This event not only reflects the unique impact of viral trends on the Korean stock market, but also reveals the business logic behind this casual dinner. Beneath the relaxed atmosphere lies Jensen Huang’s strategic intention to deepen Nvidia’s presence in this key Korean market. According to Wallstreetcn, Nvidia has reached agreements with Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Group, and SK Hynix to supply more than 260,000 AI chips to launch Korean AI projects. Nvidia did not disclose the financial terms of the deal.

Informal Dinner of Tech Giants

The dinner that triggered market volatility was itself full of relaxed social details. On Thursday evening, Jensen Huang, wearing his signature black leather jacket, appeared at the Kkanbu Chicken restaurant in Seoul’s Gangnam district, drawing a large crowd of onlookers.

They ordered three servings of fried chicken, cheese sticks, and three draft beers, and Jensen Huang drank soju mixed with beer from the next table.

During the meal, Jensen Huang presented Lee Jae-yong and Chung Eui-sun with gift boxes printed with Nvidia DGX (the company’s AI system series). Lee Jae-yong showed the camera a signed note from Jensen Huang, which read:

“To our cooperation, to the future of the world!”

Jensen Huang shouted “It’s on the house for everyone!” and at the end of the dinner, Lee Jae-yong and Chung Eui-sun jointly paid a bill of about 2.5 million Korean won (about $1,750), which even covered the meals of all other customers in the restaurant at the time.

Jensen Huang then interacted with the waiting crowd outside the restaurant, signing various items.

This gathering was not just an eye-catching PR event. Jensen Huang’s visit to Korea coincided with the APEC CEO Summit.

According to reports, Jensen Huang plans to announce new contracts to supply AI chips to Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor during this trip. For Nvidia, deepening cooperation with Korean tech and automotive giants will help further expand its business footprint in this key market. Jensen Huang himself told the media:

“I have many partners here, and we have many announcements to make.”

For Korean companies, building closer ties with Nvidia means gaining access to a more stable supply of GPUs. According to the latest agreement, Nvidia has reached deals with Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor Group, and SK Group to supply more than 260,000 AI chips to launch Korean AI projects. The Korean government will build what is called “sovereign AI”—that is, government-controlled computing infrastructure. In the future, more than 50,000 of Nvidia’s latest AI accelerators will be deployed in data centers, including the National AI Computing Center and facilities of companies such as Kakao, Naver, and NHN Cloud.

Earlier this week, Nvidia became the first company with a market capitalization exceeding $5 trillion.

The “Meme” Culture of the Korean Stock Market

Jensen Huang’s personal influence has once again been validated in the capital markets. After photos of the fried chicken dinner spread online, they quickly translated into upward momentum for related concept stocks.

Since the gathering venue Kkanbu Chicken is not publicly listed, traders seeking short-term gains turned their attention to other related companies. Fried chicken chain Kyochon F&B Co. saw its stock price rise as much as 20%, while upstream poultry processor Cherrybro Co. surged directly to the 30% daily limit.

In addition, Neuromeka Co., a Kosdaq-listed company and fried chicken robot manufacturer, also saw its stock price surge. However, these stocks all retreated after their brief spikes.

This “fried chicken stock” anomaly is yet another reflection of the “meme culture” in the Korean stock market. Analysts believe this event demonstrates the powerful influence of internet trends and celebrity effects on the Korean market, especially for small-cap stocks.

In Korea, risk-seeking traders often chase short-term gains related to cultural, political, or economic hot topics, and such speculative behavior is often not closely related to the company’s fundamentals or actual operations. For example, in August this year, after former U.S. President Donald Trump praised the pen used by Korean President Lee Jae-myung, shares of Korean stationery maker MonAmi soared, but later fell back to their starting point.

This is not the first time Jensen Huang has played the role of “stock market kingmaker.” In 2024, after he mentioned several AI-related companies in a speech, their stock prices also surged in response, demonstrating his market influence that goes beyond the company itself.