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In 2018, the overall foodservice sales value in South Korea amounted to around **** billion U.S. dollars. Based on sales value, restaurants were the biggest subsector that year. A survey in April 2019 found that more than ** percent of respondents stated that they were eating out once every two to three days.

Chain franchise vs. independent operators

In 2017, McDonald’s was the leading company in South Korea’s foodservice sector based on value sales. Nevertheless, customers seem to prefer dining out at independent restaurants; while the value per transaction at independent operators were lower, the total sales of independent operators were higher in most subsectors. While sales of chain franchises are expected to grow faster than those of independent operators, the South Korean foodservice market is still forecasted to be dominated by small-to-medium-sized, often family-owned businesses.

Food delivery

While dining out is a regular activity within families, friends, and co-workers, many South Koreans tend to order food delivery frequently. As of 2019, around half of surveyed South Koreans mainly used apps for food delivery, overshadowing ordering via websites or phone calls. The most downloaded and most used delivery app based on Android activity as of January 2020 was Baedal Minjok, also known as Baemin, owned by Woowa Brothers. In the end of 2020, Delivery Hero announced the acquisition of Woowa Brothers for around **** billion U.S. dollars. Germany-based Delivery Hero is the company behind the second most popular food delivery application in South Korea called Yogiyo.