For Korean restaurateurs in China, it's no cakewalk

  BEIJING -- With the fastest-growing economy in modern times, the world is increasingly looking to the East to fill the void in demand. Restaurant franchises, too, have jumped into the fray. All major global food chains have -- or trying hard to establish -- stores in major Chinese cities. 

The world’s most populous country appears to be a land of promise for many Seoul-based companies as well, which is why an increasing number of Korean food chain operators are trying to tap fast-growing the market. 

Sarangchae is a traditional Korean restaurant chain run by a unit of the CJGroup, one of Korea‘s large conglomerates. It has been successfully running a restaurant inside the Beijing Capital International Airport since its opening in 2008. Sitting in Asia’s busiest airport, the restaurant selling homemade-style Korean dishes, including instant ramen noodles, was busy with lunch-goers even at 2 p.m., well after the usual lunch hour, earlier this month.