The Restaurant Index

Korean cuisine was the most common restaurant category in South Korea, with 352,155 establishments as of Sep 2026, according to Commercial District Information (Small Enterprise and Market Service).

Every eating and drinking place in Korea's commercial-district registry, sorted by how many there are. 815,570 of them, Q3 2026 (as of 30 September 2026). The categories are the registry's own, not ours.

Source: Commercial District Information (Small Enterprise and Market Service) (소상공인시장진흥공단 상가(상권)정보) — Small Enterprise and Market Service (소상공인시장진흥공단). Q3 2026 (as of 30 September 2026). Retrieved 2026-10-31.

Data change history

Change types and comparisons

A period change reflects a new period. Same-period data changes distinguish confirmed source corrections from reasons still under review. Changes to coverage or methods require care when comparing. More than one type can apply.

A single month, a year-to-date total, and a moving window cover different spans. Entering or leaving a top-N list alone does not establish a change in the population studied. Counts of observed stations or countries describe the saved data, not necessarily the source population.

Period change · Coverage or method change

Applied: 2026-10-31

Before: 2026-06-30 · Point-in-time · Retrieved 2026-09-10 · Data source

After: 2026-09-30 · Point-in-time · Retrieved 2026-10-31 · Data source

Change reviewed · Review evidence

Review details are available in Korean.

The basis differs; compare with care.

View values and ranks

Names without translations appear in their original Korean. Ranks follow the saved list; ranks outside it are not inferred.

Restaurants

  • Changed items한식 — Before: rank 1 · 359,832 count; After: rank 1 · 352,155 count
  • 기타 간이 — Before: rank 2 · 162,941 count; After: rank 2 · 156,896 count
  • 비알코올 — Before: rank 3 · 122,623 count; After: rank 3 · 119,065 count
  • 주점 — Before: rank 4 · 97,580 count; After: rank 4 · 91,365 count
  • 중식 — Before: rank 5 · 31,984 count; After: rank 5 · 30,972 count
  • 일식 — Before: rank 6 · 24,842 count; After: rank 6 · 24,283 count
  • 서양식 — Before: rank 7 · 23,100 count; After: rank 7 · 23,692 count
  • 구내식당·뷔페 — Before: rank 8 · 10,673 count; After: rank 8 · 10,519 count
  • 동남아시아 — Before: rank 9 · 6,631 count; After: rank 9 · 6,578 count
  • 기타 외국 — Before: rank 10 · 49 count; After: rank 10 · 45 count
  • 출장 음식 — Before: rank 11 · 0 count; After: Outside saved list
  • 이동 음식 — Before: rank 12 · 0 count; After: Outside saved list

Changed source figures

  • total — Before: 840,255; After: 815,570
  • rows[0].count — Before: 359,832; After: 352,155
  • rows[1].count — Before: 162,941; After: 156,896
  • rows[2].count — Before: 122,623; After: 119,065
  • rows[3].count — Before: 97,580; After: 91,365
  • rows[4].count — Before: 31,984; After: 30,972
  • rows[5].count — Before: 24,842; After: 24,283
  • rows[6].count — Before: 23,100; After: 23,692
  • rows[7].count — Before: 10,673; After: 10,519
  • rows[8].count — Before: 6,631; After: 6,578
  • rows[9].count — Before: 49; After: 45
  • rows[10].count — Before: 0; After: Not present
  • rows[11].count — Before: 0; After: Not present

Changed basis

  • Stored items — Before: ["I201","I202","I203","I204","I205","I206","I207","I208","I209","I210","I211","I212"]; After: ["I201","I202","I203","I204","I205","I206","I207","I210","I211","I212"]

How this index works, and its limits

  1. 1Korean한식43.2%352,155
  2. 2Other quick-service기타 간이19.2%156,896
  3. 3Cafés & non-alcoholic비알코올14.6%119,065
  4. 4Bars & pubs주점11.2%91,365
  5. 5Chinese중식3.8%30,972
  6. 6Japanese일식3.0%24,283
  7. 7Western서양식2.9%23,692
  8. 8Canteens & buffets구내식당·뷔페1.3%10,519
  9. 9Southeast Asian동남아시아0.8%6,578
  10. 10Other international기타 외국0.0%45
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Practical takeaways

Computed only from the table above — nothing added from outside this dataset.

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