So why do you not usually see Korean restaurants being nationally franchised to American mainstream consumers like how Japanese or Chinese food have been? I think there are several reasons why this did not happen yet.
1. Korean food names are too hard to pronounce. Try to pronounce "Chung Gook Jang Jji Gae" and try to remember this dish 10 minutes later. I think Korean food names need to be changed to English and allow Americans to use those names instead of making them pronounce some odd sounding Korean words.
2. Lack of food description on menu at most Korean restaurants. The reason for this is because most Korean restaurants are mom and pop stores who are immigrants without good English. Lack of descriptions with all the ingredients on the menu ends up scaring American customers or people in another culture because, especially if it's their first time trying, they don't have any idea about what they're about to order.
3. Korean restaurant owners' exclusive business targeting to only Korean customers in a tightly knit Korean community. Reason from #2 comes back in for this one but also I believe the 1st generation immigrant Koreans are not very open to the new culture and they seriously fear reaching out to American market. Many Koreans in America live in a way they do not need to Americanize themselves because of all the Korean shops, Korean churches, Korean cable TVs, and etcs.
4. Korean food is too damn spicy for many people. Need I explain more?