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About six out of 10 global consumers visited at least one Korean restaurant in a foreign country in the past year, with an average frequency of 1.7 visits per month, a survey showed Tuesday.

According to the Korean Food Promotion Institute's annual survey, 64.6 percent of 9,000 respondents aged between 20 and 59 living in 18 cities around the world have visited a Korean restaurant.

The survey was conducted over two months — from August to October 2023 — in cities including New York, Paris, London, Shanghai, Tokyo and Bangkok.

The average percentage of non-Korean visitors to Korean restaurants was 52.3 percent in Oceania, Latin America and the Middle East, marking a 2.1 percent increase from the previous year.

Southeast Asia ranked first with 84.6 percent, followed by Northeast Asia at 74.7 percent, North America at 58.6 percent and Europe at 46.9 percent, all of which saw slight declines.

When it comes to the monthly frequency of visits to Korean restaurants, Southeast Asia had the highest average at 2.2 times, followed by Northeast Asia at 1.7 times and Oceania, Latin America and the Middle East at 1.5 times each. North Americans averaged 1.4 visits per month, while Europeans averaged 1.2 visits per month.

The change in the purpose of visiting Korean restaurants was also noticeable. The proportion of non-Koreans visiting Korean restaurants for "routine meals" was 49 percent in 2023, up by 2.8 percentage points from 46.2 percent in 2022.

An overwhelming 90.4 percent of respondents said they were satisfied with Korean restaurants, marking a 0.5 percentage point increase from the previous year, while 83 percent said they would recommend Korean restaurants to others.

The proportion of non-Koreans willing to return to Korean restaurants stood at 86.7 percent. By region, Southeast Asia ranked first with 91.9 percent, followed by Northeast Asia with 85.9 percent, Europe with 84.6 percent, Oceania and Latin America and the Middle East with 84.4 percent and North America with 84.3 percent.