'I visited McDonald's in Korea and it was like living in the future'

A travel expert has offered a glimpse into the future as she visited a McDonald's restaurant in South Korea where there is "zero contact" with any member of staff. Jessica Turner, who documents her adventures around the globe on TikTok, ventured to the Far East where she described her experience as "like living in 2050".

Heading inside the restaurant, Jessica pointed out that the touchscreen ordering process is little out of the ordinary and similar to that in the UK. Selecting a double classic cheeseburger, chicken nuggets and a long cheese stick, she admitted there is "nothing fancy here". However, that all changes when it comes to collecting your food.

"This is where things get pretty interesting," Jessica explained as she looked up at the order screen.

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"Once your number flashes up, you go over to these boxes and scan your receipt."

The machine then tells you which door to use in a similar format to Amazon lockers. However, rather than entering a code, the customer must knock on the door to open it to reveal their food neatly presented on a tray.

"I think this is my first time at a fast food restaurant where there is literally zero human contact and there is no staff in sight," Jessica said of the restaurant, which is located in Lotteria, Seoul.

Heading over to the drinks dispenser station, she continued: "You also do the drinks here yourself - I chose a Pepsi Max Lime. The question is though, does the food taste any good - because for all I know, robots could be making it back there."

After sanitising her hands, Jessica admitted: "I don't know what they put in the burger patty, but it tastes amazing.

"Next up, the chicken nuggets weren't very crunchy, so I wasn't a big fan of these. Finally I had the biggest mozzarella stick I have ever had - it tasted really good."

Closing her review, Jessica pointed out that customers are required to clean up after themselves when finished dining. "This is the future," she declared.

Writing in response, one unimpressed TikTok user said: "I'm all for cool tech but this looks so soulless and dystopian."

Conversely, however, a second person urged: "This looks perfect not having to collect from a assistant - come on UK please."

A third pondered: "I feel like this would be such a good place to work for people who suffer with social anxiety, autism, etc and want to ease themselves into the workforce. I really hope this place does have humans back there."

A fourth TikTok user hit out though: "That looks like absolute hell."