• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.1-10
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• 2004

The last half of the twentieth century brought many new opportunities and challenges to the traditional South Korean family. One area of change that challenges the traditional South Korean family is the availability of new food sources, specifically the introduction of commercial restaurants that offer new types of food in untraditional settings. This research investigated the perceptions of South Korean mothers'(n = 104) regarding the patronage of quick service style restaurants by their children through the use of Q sort methodology. The results showed that even though children do influence the decision making process when determining where to eat away from home, Korean mothers still play a very prominent role in planning the family's food consumption. While Western food styles and practices can provide a variety of food selections and service styles, care should be taken not to over utilize the quick service restaurants' in place of traditional foods.