South Korean QSR chain Bulgogi Brothers has added Thailand to its growing Southeast Asian footprint, with its first store opened in the EmQuartier mall in central Bangkok.

The barbecue restaurant chain has 42 restaurants worldwide – including seven in the Philippines, five in China, three in Malaysia and others in Indonesia and Myanmar. The company will open its first outlet in Tokyo in October and in Taiwan’s capital, Taipei, in December. It also plans an Indian debut this year and is targeting 100 worldwide within five years.

The Thai franchise rights are held by Ausanee Mahagitsiri Leonio, the daughter of Prayuth Mahagitsiri, described by Thai media as “the Nescafe coffee tycoon”. She also owns the Thai Krispy Kreme franchise.

The chairman and CEO of Bulgogi Brothers’ parent company Et & Zeus is Intae Jung, who says his brand is making the most of the popularity of K-pop music, Korean TV series and fashion reputation.

“Korean food has become a fad in Asia due to the popularity of South Korean pop music and TV series. Korean is the fourth most recognised cuisine by nationality among Thai consumers, following Japanese, Italian and Chinese,” he said in an interview with the Bangkok Post newspaper.

“The Philippines, Thailand and Myanmar are the top three priority markets we want to focus on for our five-year business plan. In Thailand we want to see 10 more Bulgogi Brothers restaurants by 2020,” Jung said.

Ausanee, president of King of Bulgogi Thailand, said she plans to spend 100 million baht (US$3 million) to open two Bulgogi Brothers Bangkok restaurants, including the EmQuartier one.

“We expanded into the Korean restaurant business because the food tastes similar to Thai food. Many Thais travel to South Korea and enjoy watching Korean dramas, which inspires them to try some dishes,” she said.