McDonald's Launches Sixth 'Taste of Korea' Series: 'Chungju Glutinous Corn Cheese Croquette Burger' Debuts

25 Tons of Chungju Glutinous Corn Sourced from Semi-Highland Farms

Chewy Corn Kernels Meet Spicy Sauce for a Perfect Flavor Combination

Sung Junghwa, Director of Marketing at McDonald's Korea, explained the 'Chungju Glutinous Corn Cheese Croquette Burger' during a media briefing for the new menu held on the 8th at McDonald's Itaewon branch in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Photo by Heo Gyeongjun.

"We are aiming to deliver the taste of Korea, inspired by corn cheese."

McDonald's Korea is launching the 'Chungju Glutinous Corn Cheese Croquette Burger and Muffin' as the sixth installment of its 'Taste of Korea' project. The Taste of Korea project by McDonald's Korea has been ongoing for five years as of 2026.

Seong Junghwa, Director of the Marketing Team at McDonald's Korea, explained at the new menu launch media briefing held on July 8 at the McDonald's Itaewon branch in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, "The Taste of Korea project has grown into a 'Loconomy' project connecting customers and local communities. It has become a flagship project that introduces high-quality local ingredients to customers and discovers new production regions." 'Loconomy' is a portmanteau of 'local' and 'economy,' referring to the production and consumption of products and services that embody unique local characteristics.

This new menu was created using glutinous corn, a popular summer snack in Korea. Chungju glutinous corn is grown in a semi-highland environment with significant temperature differences, resulting in a chewy, elastic texture and a subtle, sweet, and savory flavor that intensifies with each bite. To capture the original taste of Chungju glutinous corn, McDonald's developed the menu after conducting various tests right from the harvest stage, as corn is an ingredient whose quality changes rapidly after harvesting, and ultimately crafted it into a croquette form.

The Chungju Glutinous Corn Cheese Croquette Burger features glutinous corn kernels inside a mozzarella cheese croquette, offering both a chewy texture and a fun eating experience. In addition, a 'spicy Parmesan sauce' made with Parmesan cheese and whole grain mustard adds a spicy and savory flavor. The Chungju Glutinous Corn Cheese Croquette Muffin, released as part of the McMorning menu, combines a glutinous corn cheese croquette with spicy Parmesan sauce and white mayo sauce for a mild and rich taste.

The sixth installment of McDonald's Korea's 'Taste of Korea' project features the 'Chungju Glutinous Corn Cheese Croquette Burger and Muffin.' Photo by Kyungjun Heo.

The Chungju Glutinous Corn Cheese Croquette Burger stood out for its chewy and enjoyable texture, thanks to the generous amount of corn inside the croquette. The combination of sweet corn with the beef patty, lettuce, and tomato created a harmonious blend. In particular, the spicy sauce balanced out the potential heaviness of the sweet corn, maximizing the umami flavor. The Chungju Glutinous Corn Cheese Croquette seemed like a perfect choice for a hearty breakfast—the mild muffin and sweet corn croquette were unexpectedly a perfect match, and the well-balanced sauces helped stimulate the appetite without being overpowering.

Starting with this Taste of Korea project, McDonald's will cooperate with Chungju City to promote various regional coexistence activities, such as a 'Hometown Love Donation' promotion and a 'Local Commercial District Revitalization Project.' During the new menu launch period, donations can be made through a QR code on tray mats at McDonald's stores nationwide, which links to the 'Chungju City Hometown Love Donation' page. Additionally, McDonald's has decided to support merchants at Chungju Youth Mall. From July 9, a pop-up store will be held in the Youth Mall area for five weeks, where young creators will showcase local goods inspired by stories of Chungju.

Since 2021, the Taste of Korea project by McDonald's has collaborated with new regions each year, promoting the excellence of local specialties and achieving regional coexistence by purchasing large volumes of agricultural products. Over the past five years, Taste of Korea menu items have sold more than 30 million units, securing about 1,000 tons of domestic ingredients by using products such as Changnyeong garlic, Boseong green pork, Jindo green onion, Jinju chili pepper, and Iksan sweet potato. For this Chungju glutinous corn menu, approximately 25 tons were purchased.

Sim Nari, Executive Director of the PR and External Relations Team at McDonald's Korea, commented, "The reason customers are responding so positively is because we use high-quality domestic agricultural products to make our burgers, which resonates with consumers. Recently, the trend of value consumption has grown stronger, and within this trend, I believe our Taste of Korea project has allowed customers to feel our sincerity in promoting regional coexistence and has led to a strong sense of empathy."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.