The Cheapest Korean Franchises to Open (2026)
Which Korean franchise is cheapest to open? It depends entirely on where you open it. Below, every brand in our catalogue is ranked by its lowest published startup investment — with Korea-domestic figures and US FDD figures in separate tables, because they measure different things.
These two tables are NOT comparable to each other. Korea figures are domestic startup costs (often excluding the premises deposit and key money); US figures are FDD Item 7 total-investment ranges under a different regulatory system. Compare within a market, never across.
Cheapest in Korea — by domestic startup cost
Total startup investment reported in Korea (KFTC disclosures and franchisor tables). Most exclude the premises deposit and key money (권리금), which are often the largest single outlay.
| # | Brand | Total startup investment | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pelicana Chicken | from ₩35,900,000 | KFTC disclosure-based chicken startup-cost table via In-Today (excl. rent deposit/premium) |
| 2 | Myungrang Hotdog | from ₩39,710,000 | 2022 KR total startup cost excl. real estate, 7-pyeong basis, via rank.intoday.kr (2022) |
| 3 | Paik's Coffee | from ₩65,530,000 | TheBorn Startup Center official cost table (10-pyeong store, ex-VAT, ex-real-estate; education 3M + bond 1.5M + equipment 38.18M + interior 15.45M + signage 4.9M + initial goods 2.5M KRW) (2026) |
| 4 | Mega MGC Coffee | from ₩73,145,700 | Official startup cost page — 10-pyeong (33㎡) store total, VAT excluded, excludes real estate/deposit (2026) |
| 5 | NeNe Chicken | from ₩80,910,000 | KFTC disclosure 2021-12-30 via Changup Korea — 12-pyeong store, excl. premises (interior 19.8M + training 3.3M + deposit 3M + other 54.81M) (2021) |
| 6 | bb.q Chicken | from ₩90,000,000 | KFTC disclosure figures via Korean franchise info portal (2026-05, excludes rent/deposit: 가맹비 1,100만 + 교육비 418만 + 보증금 500만 + 인테리어 5,000만 + 설비 2,000만) (2026) |
| 7 | bhc Chicken | from ₩90,030,000 | Busan Ilbo citing KFTC disclosure 2024 — total franchisee burden 9,003만원 (excludes premises lease deposit/key money) (2024) |
| 8 | Goobne Chicken | from ₩92,460,000 | KFTC disclosure figures via StartupPlus — total startup cost excl. real estate |
| 9 | Bonchon | from ₩125,730,000 | MyFranchise (KFTC disclosure aggregator) — approx. 1.26억원 startup cost excl. rent/deposit; NOTE: Bonchon has no meaningful domestic KR franchise network (Korea Times 2026: brand 'eyes Korea return') |
| 10 | Ediya Coffee | from ₩129,130,000 | KFTC 2022 disclosure (jeongbogongkaeseo) via rank.intoday.kr (2022) |
| 11 | Kyochon Chicken | from ₩131,010,000 | KFTC franchise disclosure total startup cost (13,101만원, excludes premises deposit/key money) via StartupLus (2024) |
| 12 | Sulbing | from ₩151,500,000 | KR total startup cost, 30-pyeong store excl. real estate, via Maninpost |
| 13 | Dookki | from ₩167,000,000 | Official Dookki 30-pyeong total (VAT excluded; refundable 5M deposit and demolition/electrical/fire/gas/exterior works separate) (2026) |
| 14 | Paris Baguette | from ₩221,500,000 | Official paris.co.kr opening-costs page, 2025 KFTC 정보공개서 filing basis (30-pyeong store, ex-VAT, excludes real estate) (2025) |
| 15 | Tous les Jours | from ₩327,510,000 | KFTC disclosure figures via Changupdo — total startup cost, 25-pyeong basis, excl. premises (총비용 32,751만원) |
Cheapest abroad — by US FDD total investment
Total initial investment from each brand's US Franchise Disclosure Document (Item 7). Where a Korean brand has no US FDD, it does not appear here.
| # | Brand | Total startup investment | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Myungrang Hotdog | from $188,793 | 2021 US FDD (Myungrang America LLC) via The FDD Exchange (2021) |
| 2 | Two Hands Corn Dogs | from $230,500 | 2024 US FDD via Vetted Biz (2024) |
| 3 | Pelicana Chicken | from $293,000 | 2024 US FDD via FDD Exchange (2024) |
| 4 | Goobne Chicken | from $300,000 | 2022 US FDD (Favor 46, Inc.) via FDD Exchange (2022) |
| 5 | bb.q Chicken | from $305,000 | 2025 US FDD via SharpSheets (range spans food-truck to QSR formats) (2025) |
| 6 | Paik's Coffee | from $349,000 | 2025 US FDD via Vetted Biz (Paik's Noodle — TheBorn Korea's US K-food franchise; Paik's Coffee itself does not yet franchise in the US) (2025) |
| 7 | bhc Chicken | from $391,838 | 2025 US FDD Item 7 via Vetted Biz (2025) |
| 8 | Sulbing | from $489,960 | Sulbing Franchise LLC US FDD (issued 2025-10-31) via Free FDD Library (2025) |
| 9 | Kyochon Chicken | from $543,500 | 2026 US FDD (issued 2026-03-19) via Free FDD Library (2026) |
| 10 | Bonchon | from $591,436 | 2025 US FDD Item 7 via SharpSheets (low end = Delivery & Carryout format; Dine-In starts at $1,005,136) (2025) |
| 11 | Tous les Jours | from $718,230 | 2025 US FDD via VettedBiz (2025) |
| 12 | Paris Baguette | from $727,440 | Paris Baguette US FDD via Vetted Biz (2024) |
Find the one that fits your budget
This website is not an offer to sell a franchise. We are an independent consultancy, not a franchisor, and we do not offer or sell franchises. A franchise is offered only through the franchisor's own disclosure document in jurisdictions where such documents are required. Investment figures are compiled from the named public sources; costs and results vary.