A Korean barbecue restaurant in Texas is drawing waiting lists that stretch past 100 parties, even with pork belly priced at about 46,000 won ($32) per serving. The restaurant is Saemaul Sikdang, a brand operated by The Born Korea, the food company led by Paik Jong-won. With sales rising in the United States and Thailand and overseas outlets expanding, attention is turning to whether the overseas push can help reverse losses at The Born Korea.
Paik's Barbecue Format Catches On Abroad as U.S. Sales Jump 70%
The Born Korea said on the 21st that the Saemaul Sikdang outlet in Carrollton, Texas, posted average monthly sales as of the end of September this year that were about 70% higher than in 2023, its first year of operation. Sales also grew about 38% last year from a year earlier.
The chain has maintained a steady sales level in Thailand as well. Its 14 outlets there averaged about 100 million won in monthly sales per store last year. On a simple calculation, combined monthly sales across all outlets came to about 1.4 billion won.
Krungsri Research, a unit of Bank of Ayudhya in Thailand, estimates that sales growth in the country's food and beverage sector was 2% to 3% last year, a sharp slowdown from 14.2% in 2024.
Still, per-store sales alone do not establish that Saemaul Sikdang outpaced the local dining market. The company did not separately disclose year-on-year sales growth or operating profit.
In Mongolia, the chain opened two new outlets in the first half of this year alone. It also operates in Japan, China and Hong Kong, centered on Korean-style grilled meat dishes.
Overseas outlets grew to 32 at the end of 2024 from 30 at the end of 2023, and to 33 at the end of last year. By the end of June this year, the count had expanded to 35 outlets across seven countries.
As of the same date, the company operated 59 outlets in South Korea, meaning the overseas store count stands at about 60% of the domestic total.
Overseas expansion is under way, but the pace of new openings remains gradual. Over the roughly two and a half years from the end of 2023 through the first half of this year, the net increase in overseas outlets was five.
Why Diners Wait Past No. 100 for 46,000-Won Pork Belly
A video by the YouTube creator known as Youngalnam, who visited the Carrollton outlet, has also drawn attention. As of the 21st, it had logged more than 510,000 views.
The restaurant in the video looked like a Korean barbecue house transplanted intact. Tables were crowded with diners grilling meat and drinking soju, and a notice introducing Paik was displayed on one side.
A serving of pork belly was priced at $34.99, or about 46,430 won. Surveying the room, Youngalnam said it was remarkable that a Korean barbecue restaurant was doing so well. He added that it felt like eating in Hongdae, expressing surprise at how closely the atmosphere matched a Korean barbecue house. He joked that if the mood and the taste were not much different from Korea, there might be little reason to visit the country.
When he asked a staff member about the wait, he was told the list ran into the 100s. After finishing his meal, with the line showing no sign of thinning, he said he was struck that the queue persisted even late at night.
Online reviews are largely positive. The outlet has more than 1,400 reviews on Google with a 4.7 rating.
Visitors wrote that the meat quality was good and that they could experience Korean culture, that staff grilled the meat well, and that they had been disappointed at other Korean restaurants in the United States but were satisfied here.
Others complained that the wait was too long and that the room was noisy with so many customers but had no table call buttons. Some diners also noted that staff grilled the meat in rapid succession.
In the United States, Korean grilled meat is being consumed as a dining experience rather than simply a meal. The company says local consumers are drawn to the format of grilling the meat themselves or having staff do it while enjoying side dishes and soju.
Still, the strong sales growth and online ratings at the Carrollton outlet reflect the performance of a single store and cannot be read as a measure of profitability across the company's entire U.S. business.
The Born Korea Turns Overseas Amid Losses in Its Core Business
Saemaul Sikdang's overseas expansion is tied to the business diversification strategy The Born Korea is pursuing.
The Born Korea posted consolidated revenue of 361.2 billion won last year, down 22.2% from a year earlier. It also swung to an operating loss of 23.7 billion won.
In the second quarter of this year, revenue rose 12.2% from a year earlier to 83.2 billion won, and the operating loss narrowed to 5.6 billion won. Despite the revenue gain and smaller loss, the company has yet to return to profit.
The company is cultivating sauce exports and restaurant consulting as new growth drivers alongside the expansion of overseas franchises. It has set a target of 100 billion won in overseas revenue by 2030, led by its own global sauce brand, TBK.
Overseas Saemaul Sikdang outlets are significant in that they raise brand recognition while widening sales channels for related businesses such as sauces and food ingredients. How much franchise sales growth translates into revenue or profit at The Born Korea's headquarters, however, is a separate question.
The Born Korea plans to apply the operating experience it has gained abroad to its home market. It is reviewing new store sites including the area around Gangnam Station in Seoul, weighing a new store format aimed at both foreign tourists and domestic consumers.
The task, ultimately, is to convert the popularity of Korean barbecue confirmed overseas into stable earnings. The lines outside the U.S. outlet and the scale of sales in Thailand are drawing attention, but whether The Born Korea mounts a genuine recovery will be decided by the profitability of its overseas business and an improvement in its domestic results.