Restaurant Software in South Korea and Taiwan 2026: 789,000 Small Restaurants, Kiosks Doubling, Delivery Concentrating

Founders who build restaurant software in Asia usually start with Japan, or go straight to Southeast Asia. South Korea and Taiwan are harder to read from the outside. Most market reports on them come from paid research firms that don't show their method. Both countries' statistics offices publish the basics for free, though: how many restaurants there are, what they sell, how they sell it and what they pay staff. This article covers what those numbers say and what they mean if you are deciding whether to build for these markets.

The problem: lots of buyers, each one very small

South Korea has 789,000 restaurants, cafés and bars (Statistics Korea Service Industry Survey, 2024). These businesses employ 2.05 million people in total (Statistics Korea, 2024). That works out to about 2.6 people per business (our calculation from the same survey). Most restaurants in Korea are run by the owner, with one or two helpers and no IT staff.

Each business is still worth more every year. Total sales went from KRW 150,763 billion in 2021 to KRW 198,881 billion in 2024 (Statistics Korea). That is +32% in three years (our calculation). Over the same period the number of businesses fell slightly, from 801,000 to 789,000. So revenue per business rose from KRW 188 million to KRW 252 million (Statistics Korea, 2021 and 2024). Revenue per person engaged is KRW 97 million (Statistics Korea, 2024).

Taiwan is smaller and growing faster. 50,631 food and beverage businesses filed business tax in 2025, compared with 35,403 in 2019 (Fiscal Information Agency, Ministry of Finance). That is +43% (our calculation). Reported sales went from TWD 426.4 billion to TWD 710.1 billion over the same years (Fiscal Information Agency). That is +67%, or about TWD 14 million per business in 2025 (our calculations). Taiwan's count only includes businesses that file business tax. The smallest street stalls are often outside it, so the real number of outlets is higher.

What the data shows about how restaurants sell

Kiosks are spreading fast, from a low base. In Korea, 5.5% of restaurants had a self-service payment kiosk in 2021, and 10.1% in 2024 (Statistics Korea). The share almost doubled in three years (our calculation), but nine out of ten restaurants still don't have one. A separate survey of hotels and restaurants by the Korea Development Institute, which uses a broader definition, found 28.9% using kiosk ordering in 2024. Only 0.4% used serving or reception robots (KDI, 2024). Robots get a lot of press, but almost no restaurants use them.

Fewer restaurants sell through delivery, but delivery spending keeps rising. The share of Korean restaurants selling via delivery went 37.3% (2021) → 35.6% (2022) → 33.2% (2023) → 32.3% (2024) (Statistics Korea). Spending on online food-service orders still grew, from KRW 32.4 trillion in 2023 to KRW 37.2 trillion in 2024 and KRW 41.6 trillion in 2025 (Statistics Korea Online Shopping Survey). That is +28% in two years (our calculation). In the second quarter of 2026 the quarterly value was KRW 10.9 trillion, and the August 2026 monthly figure was up 7.6% year on year (Statistics Korea). Food services make up 16.4% of all online shopping, and 99.1% of those orders are placed on a phone (Statistics Korea, August 2026).

The data shows the outcome, not the cause. Spending through delivery is rising while the number of restaurants that offer delivery is falling, so more of that money is going to fewer restaurants. The most likely explanation is that restaurants which do delivery well are taking a bigger share, and restaurants for which platform fees don't pay off are dropping out. The statistics office doesn't publish what delivery apps charge restaurants. The closest official figure: digital platform companies in Korea earn 42.6% of their revenue from commissions (Ministry of Science and ICT, 2024). That figure covers all platforms, not only food delivery.

About one restaurant in five is on any digital platform. 21.7% of Korean restaurants made sales through digital platforms in 2024 (Statistics Korea). In accommodation the share is 55.7%, up from 44.3% in 2021 (Statistics Korea). Hotels and guesthouses depend on booking platforms far more than restaurants depend on delivery apps.

What this means for a product

Who pays. In both countries the buyer is usually the owner of one small restaurant, not a chain's head office. With about 2.6 people per business, the owner makes the buying decision alone and has no time to set up or maintain software. If a product needs onboarding sessions, data migration or a staff member to run it, it doesn't fit most of these buyers.

What they can afford. A Korean restaurant earning about KRW 252 million a year (Statistics Korea, 2024) can pay for a subscription. The bigger pressure is labour. In 2025, the average monthly wage in Korean accommodation and food services was KRW 2,209 thousand, against KRW 4,205 thousand across all industries (Statistics Korea, e-Narajipyo). Hospitality wages are about 53% of the national average (our calculation). Low pay usually means high staff turnover. Products that take over a staff task, such as ordering, payment or table turnover, are easier to justify than products that only add analytics.

Taiwan has published wage data by occupation, which helps with pricing a labour-saving product. In July 2025, food and beverage servers earned TWD 35,646 a month, kitchen helpers TWD 32,072, cooks TWD 41,597 and managers and supervisors TWD 52,419 (Ministry of Labor). Cooks in restaurants earned TWD 41,030; cooks in hotels earned TWD 45,455 (Ministry of Labor). If your product saves a restaurant part of one server's shift, you can compare your price to that month's wage. The owner will make the same comparison.

Where the opening is. The data points to three gaps:

1. Self-ordering and payment for the 90% without a kiosk. Kiosk adoption in Korea is growing fast and is still only around 10% (Statistics Korea, 2024). Hardware kiosks are a crowded, price-driven category. A tablet or QR alternative for a 2–3 person restaurant faces less competition.
2. Tools for restaurants that left delivery or are thinking about it. Two-thirds of Korean restaurants don't sell via delivery (based on the 32.3% figure, Statistics Korea, 2024). Many of them still want takeaway or repeat customers. Direct ordering, pickup and loyalty tools that don't take a platform commission fit them.
3. Taiwan as a growing market, not a fallback. The number of tax-filing food businesses grew 43% in six years (Fiscal Information Agency). New owners choose their software when they open. A growing base of businesses means a steady flow of buyers without an existing system to replace.

For hotels the picture is different. Korea has 69,000 accommodation businesses with KRW 20,272 billion in sales (Statistics Korea, 2024), about KRW 293 million per business. Only 7.9% have a self-service kiosk (Statistics Korea, 2024). Taiwan has 4,990 tax-filing accommodation businesses with TWD 176.0 billion in 2025 sales (Fiscal Information Agency). Most Korean properties already sell through platforms, so a hotel tool there competes with tools the platforms provide, not with spreadsheets.

What the data doesn't tell you

• Delivery app fees. There is no official figure for what Korean delivery apps charge restaurants. The 42.6% commission share covers all digital platforms (Ministry of Science and ICT, 2024). It is not a take rate on food orders.
• Margins. Neither statistics office publishes restaurant profit margins in the tables used here. Revenue per business is not profit. Treat any margin you put in a model as an assumption you need to test.
• Different definitions. The 10.1% (Statistics Korea, payment kiosks, restaurants) and 28.9% (KDI, kiosk ordering, hotels and restaurants) figures measure different things. Don't put them side by side as one trend.
• Different counts. Korea counts every business in its survey. Taiwan counts only businesses that file business tax. Per-business numbers across the two countries aren't fully comparable.
• Taiwan hotel performance. We have no official occupancy or room-rate series for Taiwan yet, so this article leaves out hotel economics there.

The Atlas brief South Korea and Taiwan Restaurant and Hotel Market 2026 lists every number above with its source, period and link. Related market pages: restaurant tech, hotel tech and hospitality workforce.