# Chicken Nugget (닭강정)
**Chicken Nugget** (닭강정) is a 2024 South Korean comedy-mystery streaming series in which a young woman steps into a mysterious machine at her father's company and is transformed into dakgangjeong, a piece of fried chicken glazed in sweet and spicy sauce, and her father and her secret admirer set out to turn her back into a human being. It was released on Netflix on March 15, 2024, with all ten episodes available the same day.[1](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/chicken-nugget-teaser-ka-trailer-debut) • [2](https://www.comingsoon.net/guides/news/1603815-chicken-nugget-season-1-how-many-episodes-when-do-new-episodes-come-out)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original title | 닭강정 (Dakgangjeong), released internationally as Chicken Nugget[1](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/chicken-nugget-teaser-ka-trailer-debut) |
| Platform and release | Netflix, March 15, 2024, all 10 episodes at once[1](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/chicken-nugget-teaser-ka-trailer-debut) • [2](https://www.comingsoon.net/guides/news/1603815-chicken-nugget-season-1-how-many-episodes-when-do-new-episodes-come-out) |
| Source material | Naver webtoon *Chicken Nugget* by Park Ji-dok, serialized 2019 to 2020[3](https://v.daum.net/v/20240319150008236) |
| Director and writer | Lee Byeong-heon, director of *Extreme Job* and *Be Melodramatic*[1](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/chicken-nugget-teaser-ka-trailer-debut) |
| Main cast | Ryu Seung-ryong (Choi Sun-man), Ahn Jae-hong (Ko Baek-joong), Kim Yoo-jung (Choi Min-ah, special appearance)[1](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/chicken-nugget-teaser-ka-trailer-debut) |
| Episode length | Roughly 28 to 36 minutes per episode[4](https://www.netflix.com/in/title/81582269) |
| Production | Studio N and Plus Media Entertainment[1](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/chicken-nugget-teaser-ka-trailer-debut) |
| Ratings | IMDb 5.1/10 from about 5,900 votes; Rotten Tomatoes 100% Tomatometer (5 reviews) and 65% Popcornmeter[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt28642797/ratings/) • [6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/chicken_nugget/s01) |
## Spoilers
### Premise and story
Choi Min-ah ([Kim Yoo-jung](https://www.edgepedia.org/kim-yoo-jung)) visits her father's office and enters a strange machine, undergoing a transformation into a dakgangjeong. Her father Choi Sun-man ([Ryu Seung-ryong](https://www.edgepedia.org/ryu-seung-ryong)), the owner of a company called More Than Machine, and Ko Baek-joong (Ahn Jae-hong), an intern at the company who secretly has a crush on Min-ah, panic and begin searching for a way to restore her.[1](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/chicken-nugget-teaser-ka-trailer-debut) • [4](https://www.netflix.com/in/title/81582269)
The ten episodes follow the pair as they trace the machine's delivery, learn of a scientist who may know its origins, and investigate the missing Dr. Yoo In-won; later episodes bring in Yoo Tae-man, who steals the machine, and a figure named Baekjung whose own lost machine enters the story through a viral video.[4](https://www.netflix.com/in/title/81582269) The final episode follows a decades-long wait after Baekjung's departure and a difficult decision about Min-ah's fate.[4](https://www.netflix.com/in/title/81582269) Netflix's own logline describes the series as "a tearful and comic mystery of two men struggling to save their lover/daughter."[7](https://media.netflix.com/en/only-on-netflix/81582269)
## Title and translation
The Korean title refers to dakgangjeong, a Korean dish of fried chicken coated in a sticky, sweet and spicy glaze, which differs from the breaded Western chicken nugget the English title suggests.[8](https://dramarambles.com/2024/08/12/chicken-nugget-2024-review/) Netflix's media center glosses the transformed object as "Dakgangjeong (sweet & sour chicken)."[7](https://media.netflix.com/en/only-on-netflix/81582269) Localized titles include Nugget de pollo in Spanish-speaking regions and タッカンジョン in Japan.[9](https://celluloidscore.com/shows/chicken-nugget/)
## Cast and creative team
Lee Byeong-heon directed and wrote the series. He was previously known for the 2019 film *Extreme Job*, which Netflix's announcement describes as the second highest-grossing film in Korea, and the television series *[Be Melodramatic](https://www.edgepedia.org/be-melodramatic)*.[1](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/chicken-nugget-teaser-ka-trailer-debut) Ryu Seung-ryong and Ahn Jae-hong had both worked with the director before, and the pairing of the two actors was promoted as a central draw.[1](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/chicken-nugget-teaser-ka-trailer-debut) Kim Yoo-jung appears as a special appearance, since her character spends most of the series as a piece of fried chicken, and [Jung Ho-yeon](https://www.edgepedia.org/hoyeon-jung) appears as the culinary columnist Hongcha.[1](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/chicken-nugget-teaser-ka-trailer-debut) • [10](https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/web-series/kdrama-chicken-nugget-early-reviews-ryu-seung-ryongs-absurd-natural-comedy-tickles-viewers-101710502335298.html) The series also features numerous cameos, including [Park Jin-young](https://www.edgepedia.org/park-jin-young) (Jinyoung of GOT7) as Tae-man's older brother.[10](https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/web-series/kdrama-chicken-nugget-early-reviews-ryu-seung-ryongs-absurd-natural-comedy-tickles-viewers-101710502335298.html)
At a March 13, 2024 production press conference in Seoul, Ryu Seung-ryong said he played the role with the immersion of [Liam Neeson](https://www.edgepedia.org/liam-neeson) in the 2008 action film *[Taken](https://www.edgepedia.org/taken-film)*, and that Kim Yoo-jung's performance made the dakgangjeong feel like a real daughter.[11](https://www.yna.co.kr/amp/view/AKR20240313081100005) Ahn Jae-hong said he aimed to look as though he had come out of a comic, noting his resemblance to the webtoon character.[12](https://www.sportschosun.com/entertainment/2024-03-20/202403200000000000019786)
## Adaptation from the webtoon
The source webtoon was serialized on Naver Webtoon by Park Ji-dok from 2019 to 2020 and became known as a representative work of absurdist, so-called "byeongmat" Korean web humor, with a simple drawing style and unpredictable thrills.[3](https://v.daum.net/v/20240319150008236) Lee Byeong-heon said he added a substantial amount of new narrative to the original, expressing it through theatrical language and strange behavior.[13](https://v.daum.net/v/Ht4wJmJqxR) The series sits within a broader wave of Korean webtoon adaptations, a market in which Kakao Webtoon alone has sold about 50 video-adaptation licenses per year since 2021 because adaptation news itself provides marketing value and brings a verified fan base.[14](https://journal.kci.go.kr/djnar/archive/articlePdf?artiId=ART003177384)
## Reception
Critical and audience responses diverged. Rotten Tomatoes recorded a 100% Tomatometer from five critics against a 65% Popcornmeter audience score; Pierce Conran of the *South China Morning Post* wrote that the series stands out among Netflix's Korean catalog for its saturated colors, heightened tone, and absurd humor.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/chicken_nugget/s01) On IMDb the series holds 5.1/10 from about 5,900 votes, with per-episode ratings declining steadily from 6.2 for the first episode to 4.9 for the tenth.[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt28642797/ratings/) Korean coverage noted that the absurd premise and the "B-grade" sensibility divided viewers.[12](https://www.sportschosun.com/entertainment/2024-03-20/202403200000000000019786) Reviewers frequently highlighted the comic chemistry of Ryu Seung-ryong and Ahn Jae-hong as the series' strength, alongside its pop-culture references to the director's own works, including *Be Melodramatic* and parodies of *Interstellar*.[10](https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/web-series/kdrama-chicken-nugget-early-reviews-ryu-seung-ryongs-absurd-natural-comedy-tickles-viewers-101710502335298.html) • [15](https://v.daum.net/v/20240325070008513?s=print_news)
The series carries a 15 rating in Korea and TV-MA in the United States; Common Sense Media recommends it for ages 15 and up, citing frequent strong language and sci-fi threat.[16](https://www.alio.go.kr/download/download.json?fileNo=2935421) • [17](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/chicken-nugget)
## References
1. [‘Chicken Nugget’ Teaser Trailer Dishes Laughs Before Its March 15 Debut, About Netflix](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/chicken-nugget-teaser-ka-trailer-debut)
2. [Chicken Nugget Season 1: How Many Episodes & When Do New Episodes Come Out?, ComingSoon.net](https://www.comingsoon.net/guides/news/1603815-chicken-nugget-season-1-how-many-episodes-when-do-new-episodes-come-out)
3. [이병헌 감독의 특제 소스로 버무린 신박한 맛, '닭강정', 데이트오늘/다음](https://v.daum.net/v/20240319150008236)
4. [Chicken Nugget episode listing, Netflix India](https://www.netflix.com/in/title/81582269)
5. [Chicken Nugget (TV Series 2024) – Ratings, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt28642797/ratings/)
6. [Chicken Nugget: Season 1, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/chicken_nugget/s01)
7. [Chicken Nugget, Netflix Media Center](https://media.netflix.com/en/only-on-netflix/81582269)
8. [Chicken Nugget (2024) Review, DramaRambles](https://dramarambles.com/2024/08/12/chicken-nugget-2024-review/)
9. [Chicken Nugget (2024) Review, Celluloid Score](https://celluloidscore.com/shows/chicken-nugget/)
10. [K-drama Chicken Nugget early reviews, Hindustan Times](https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/web-series/kdrama-chicken-nugget-early-reviews-ryu-seung-ryongs-absurd-natural-comedy-tickles-viewers-101710502335298.html)
11. [류승룡 "닭강정이 진짜 딸로 보여…'테이큰'처럼 몰입했죠", 연합뉴스](https://www.yna.co.kr/amp/view/AKR20240313081100005)
12. ['닭강정' 안재홍 "만화에서 나온듯한 모습 구현하고 싶었죠", 스포츠조선](https://www.sportschosun.com/entertainment/2024-03-20/202403200000000000019786)
13. [딸이 닭강정으로 변했다…독특한가 황당한가, 다음](https://v.daum.net/v/Ht4wJmJqxR)
14. [웹툰 원작 드라마 각색 연구, 한국콘텐츠학회 저널](https://journal.kci.go.kr/djnar/archive/articlePdf?artiId=ART003177384)
15. [이것은 '웃음폭탄'인가 '병맛'인가…'닭강정' 리뷰, 스포츠서울/다음](https://v.daum.net/v/20240325070008513?s=print_news)
16. [2024년 한국 영화산업 결산, KOFIC](https://www.alio.go.kr/download/download.json?fileNo=2935421)
17. [Chicken Nugget – Parents' Guide & TV Review, Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/chicken-nugget)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › International serial drama and telenovelas › East Asian drama series › Korean contemporary drama › Comedy and slice-of-life series*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license