South Korea is home to a lively foodservice industry, where people like to eat out or simply order food online to be delivered straight to their homes. With
across most food items, dining out, ordering delivery food or getting takeout is often not much more or equally expensive as buying and preparing fresh ingredients at home. At the same time it is a more convenient and tastier alternative to cooking at home. As a result, over 61 percent of
Preference for local cuisine
Despite the availability of many different cuisines when dining out or ordering in, South Korean consumers still display a
strong preference for Korean food over all others. The only exception was food delivery, where
fast food was more popular. This was also reflected in the
number of food franchise restaurants operating nationwide, of which only about 7.5 percent offered cuisine other than Korean or fast food.
Taste and price are major concerns
While enjoying a tasty meal was the leading motivation for South Koreans to dine out or get delivery, the convenience factor was also a significant draw. In a 2023 survey, the second-most
common reason to eat out at restaurants was to avoid having to prepare food oneself. However, many were also concerned with the price of food and service when choosing a restaurant to eat at or order from. Like most other food and food-related products, the
consumer price index of restaurant food has also seen major increases since 2020. Those who were very concerned about this tended to opt for
takeout over dining out or getting food delivered, as it is generally cheaper.
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