This brand began with a memory
from thirty years ago.
A small boy. A warm corn dog. A mother's smile. The reason Ugly Donuts exists.
Good things stay forever.
When John Kim was a little boy, he walked beside his mother to a corn dog shop in Korea. She bought him one, placed it warm in his small hands, and smiled down at him.
Thirty years later, he still remembers that moment. The warmth in his hands. The way she looked at him. The feeling that he was loved.
That moment never left him. Years later, it became the reason Ugly Donuts exists.
The Korean corn dog came from an American kindness.
During the Korean War, American troops shared corn dogs with Korean civilians, a small gesture that mattered in a hard time.
Korea, being Korea, transformed it. Rice flour batter instead of the cornmeal. Fresh mozzarella that stretches when you pull. Fresh dough mixed every morning. Coatings of potato cubes, ramen, Hot Cheetos, sugar.
70+ years later, the Korean version came back to America as something entirely its own.
That circle, from American kindness to Korean reinvention back to American streets, is what we are part of. We honor it by making everything fresh, by hand, every day.
Every store. Same standard.
Every store opens to the same recipes, the same training, and the same made-to-order promise. We mix fresh dough every morning. We fry in 100% avocado oil, the moment you order. We don't take shortcuts because the people walking through the door deserve better than shortcuts.
That is the brand. Not a logo, not a tagline. The way we make food, and the way it makes you feel.
Ugly Donuts & Corn Dogs (어글리) was founded by John Kim, who remembers his mother buying him a corn dog in Korea about 30 years ago. The Korean corn dog traces its heritage to the Korean War when American troops shared corn dogs, leading to a Korean version made with rice flour batter and mozzarella. Today, we honor that history by serving fresh Korean corn dogs and handmade hot donuts.
- Founded by John Kim.
- Inspired by a childhood memory from Korea about 30 years ago.
- Korean corn dogs use rice flour batter and mozzarella.
- Headquartered in Belleville, NJ.
Where did the Ugly Donuts & Corn Dogs hot donut and corn dog concept begin?
The Ugly Donuts & Corn Dogs concept began with John Kim's childhood memories of Korea and the historical Korean War heritage of American troops sharing corn dogs.