What Is Chimaek? Korean Fried Chicken & Beer Explained
What is chimaek? Chimaek is one of Korea’s most popular food and drink pairings, combining crispy Korean fried chicken and beer into a casual social experience enjoyed with friends, at restaurants, during sports games and even beside the Han River.
The word chimaek (치맥) combines chikin, meaning chicken, with maekju, the Korean word for beer. What started as a simple pairing has become a recognizable part of modern Korean food and drinking culture.
In this guide, you’ll learn the meaning of chimaek, why fried chicken and beer became such a popular combination in Korea, which Korean fried chicken styles are worth trying, and where you can experience chimaek in Seoul.
We’ll also look at how K-dramas helped make chimaek famous around the world, why the Han River is such a popular place to enjoy it, and how chimaek differs from other Korean drinking traditions such as somaek.
If you’ve ever wondered why Koreans love chicken and beer so much, this guide explains everything you need to know before trying chimaek in Korea for yourself.
How to Play the APT Game: Rosé & Bruno Mars’ Korean Drinking Game
What is the APT game and how do you play it? The viral game behind Rosé and Bruno Mars’ hit “APT.” is actually a real Korean drinking game known as the Apartment Game — a fast, simple party game built around stacking hands, choosing a floor number and counting upward until one player loses the round.
The name comes from the Korean word 아파트 (apateu), meaning “apartment,” and the hand stack works like the floors of a building. Players move the bottom hand to the top while counting each new “floor,” and the person whose hand lands on the chosen number loses. It is one of the easiest Korean drinking games to learn, with no cards, dice or complicated setup required.
In this guide, you’ll learn how to play the APT game step by step, the official-style game rules, what APT means in Korean, how the game inspired Rosé and Bruno Mars’ song, and why the chant became such a recognizable part of the track.
You’ll also discover alcohol-free versions, fun K-pop variations for BLACKPINK and K-drama fans, and more Korean drinking games to try with friends. Whether you found the game through Rosé, K-pop, Korean culture or a night out in Seoul, this guide gives you everything you need to start playing.