In certain parts of the world, KFC means Korean fried chicken, not Kentucky Fried.

It’s so common in modern Korean culture that just about every Korean drama includes a chicken-eating scene. In fact, a German woman staying at my Airbnb in Seoul last fall said one of the reasons she came was to see if Koreans really did frequently go out for chicken with their co-workers. Whether it’s colleagues or friends, you’ll often see Koreans sporting vinyl food service worker-style gloves diving into pieces of double-fried meat covered in a caramelized salty, sweet, sometimes spicy sauce. It’s accompanied by cubed pickled daikon (moo); the vinegar cuts through the oil.

If you haven’t tried it yet, you’re missing out. And I am here to help.

I recruited, friends, kids, my parents and X followers to scour the best spots for KFC in the area or participate in taste tests. And we ate a lot of fried chicken. A lot. In one aggressive 24-hour sprint, I tried seven different kinds from five different places. Unsurprisingly, several are located in Howard County, an established mecca for great Korean food. I’d argue the offerings are superior to those of Manhattan’s Koreatown.

People have strong opinions about KFC.For some, crisp is king: One of the things that distinguishes Korean chicken is the use of rice flour, potato starch or soybean powder in the batter, then double frying it.

For others, it’s the sauce: Some are more sweet, more spicy, more salty, more garlicky, while others may taste like it’s from a package.

We ordered takeout KFC that we picked up on days that were 95-plus degrees and humid during a Maryland heat wave. Humidity can make the chicken mushy, especially when it’s trapped in a takeout container. We stuck to the original or “yangnyum” or soy garlic sauces and a spicy option if they had it. But the best experience might be to eat at the restaurant and down it all with a cold beer. Koreans call this “chi mek,” referring to chicken and maekju, Korean for beer.

These were our favorites, but you may want to eat through them all yourself to find yours.

Kong Pocha

12 W. 20th St., Baltimore

The order: Fried chicken (bone in) with original sauce.

This popular student hangout stays open late, providing an authentic Korean pub experience, complete with a karaoke room. Kong Pocha was the one place that packed the sauce separately; my friend Anna Lee said that the chicken was “very moist, skin is very crispy and flavorful, but with the sauce, is delicious.” The batter tasted like American fried chicken, and with the sauce as dip, it seemed more of a hybrid than the purely Korean iteration..

Godakk

Mount Vernon Marketplace, 520 Park Ave. Space J, Baltimore

The order: Soy garlic and spicy wings

While living in France, a friend on X, Tim Young, 35, missed a taste of home and discovered Korean Fried Chicken. Godakk’s soy garlic wings, layered with toasted sesame seeds, chopped scallions and other aromatics on top of a “crispy outside, juicy inside” chicken were “out of this world,” he said. After a few hours the batter held up OK — not soggy, not audibly crisp.

Bon Chon

3419 Plumtree Drive #102, Ellicott City

The order: Soy garlic and spicy wings.

It may be the most common KFC chain in the U.S., but each individual Bon Chon franchise is different, as is the quality of each restaurant. In our group’s collective opinion, some are very good and some aren’t worth visiting. Ellicott City’s Bon Chon delivers chicken with skin that stayed audibly crunchy an hour later, and the soy garlic was a favorite of 16-year old Bella Kang, my friend’s daughter, and mine. Another friend who went to culinary school, Caroline Chang, noted that their pickled radish was the crispest and had the best flavor.

Rainpia

10194 Baltimore National Pike, Suite 103, Ellicott City

The order: Fried chicken with signature sauce and spicy fried chicken.

Like Kong Pocha, Rainpia is a Korean pub that’s open Iate, especially for Howard County. The crisp on the skin didn’t hold up on takeout, the texture turned a little mushy and the batter seemed the most like American fried chicken, but for my friend’s daughter, Lucy Choe, 17, it didn’t matter. It came in as her favorite. The meat was juicier than others and the “sauce had a smoky flavor, not just the sticky sweet and sour spicy sauce you get, with more depth,” she said. Her 14-year-old brother, Linus, also rated it as his fave. Most of us preferred the spicier version, which leaned heavily into gochujang (chili paste), tasting homemade.

bb.q Chicken

The Hub Asian Food Hall, Pike Park Plaza, 6510 Baltimore National Pike, Suite 5C, Catonsville

Lotte Plaza Market, 8801 Baltimore National Pike, Suite K, Ellicott City

The order: Soy Garlic and Gangnam Style wings.

There are two bb.q Chicken locations on Baltimore National Pike — so be sure to double check which one you’re ordering from. (Ask me how I know). The Ellicott City location is set up like a Korean pub indoors — soju flavors galore and an impressive array of Korean beers, including regional microbrews. It also has outdoor picnic tables. Indoors you get the full Korean chicken experience with the vinyl gloves and lined mini buckets to discard the bones. We went to this location by accident so took a peek inside, but had actually ordered from The Hub, an Asian food court in Catonsville farther east on Baltimore National Pike. Bb.q is known for ridiculously crunchy skin — an hour later and a bite into a wing is loud enough to cause a sensory response. If crisp is most important, this is the place for you. One of my friends tasted a lot of corn syrup in the sauce and found the meat drier.

Seoul Pub Sushi Chicken & Beer

9059 Frederick Road, Ellicott City

The order: Ban Ban Chicken (which means half and half). Half original Korean sauce and the other half was soy garlic.

Seoul Pub Sushi Chicken & Beer is a no frills pub in a strip mall with very good chicken. The skin didn’t maintain an audible crisp, but it didn’t dissolve into mush, either. It held the sauce pretty well. This ranks as a local favorite, and you can see why. “The skin-to-meat ratio is good; the skin is really thin. The meat was really succulent,” said friend Anna Lee. The soy garlic — which stayed true to its name by being doused with fresh chopped garlic — was also a crowd pleaser.

Soo Youn is a journalist who writes about Korean culture, @bysooyoun on Instagram and @lalasoo on Twitter.