LOTTERIA is a Korean burger brand. The name was first used in Japan in 1972. LOTTERIA Korea opened its first restaurant in 1979 and built the menu the world now knows, with bulgogi burgers, shrimp burgers and rice buns, and the brand in Korea and the United States is operated by Lotte GRS.
This question comes up every day at our counter in Fullerton, and it comes up constantly in search. It is a fair question with a genuinely layered answer, so here is the whole thing, in order, without the hedging.
The short answer
If you are asking which country’s food culture this menu comes from, the answer is Korea. The bulgogi burger, the shrimp burger, the rice bun burger and the seasoned fries you shake in a bag are Korean fast food, developed for Korean customers over decades, and they are what we serve in Orange County.
The confusion is real and it has a cause. The name appeared in Japan before it appeared in Korea. That single fact has traveled through encyclopedia entries and news copy for years, which is why some articles reach for a hyphenated description of the brand. For a US customer standing in front of our menu board, the useful version is simpler. This is Korean fast food, run by a Korean company, in the first LOTTERIA in the United States.
What LOTTERIA means
The name is a portmanteau. It combines LOTTE, from the Lotte group, with cafeteria, meaning a self-service restaurant. That is the company’s own explanation, given on the brand’s official pages, and it tells you what the business was meant to be from the start: a counter where you order for yourself, quickly.
It is not a Korean word with a hidden meaning, and it is not a family name. It is two words pushed together in the way brand names were built in the early 1970s, and it has stayed intact for more than fifty years while nearly everything else about the brand has been redrawn, including the 2024 identity refresh that brought the current slogan, Taste the Fun.
Korea since 1979, and the burgers that came out of it
LOTTERIA Korea opened its first restaurant in 1979, as the country’s first modern quick service restaurant. Everything that makes this menu recognizable came after that, in Korea, for Korean customers. The company’s own brand timeline lays it out.
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 1979 | First LOTTERIA restaurant opens in Korea |
| 1992 | Bulgogi Burger launches |
| 1998 | First restaurants in Vietnam |
| 1999 | Bibim Rice Burger launches |
| 2000 | Shake Shake fries launch |
| 2013 | Myanmar |
| 2014 | Cambodia |
| 2016 | Laos |
| 2018 | Mongolia |
| 2025 | United States, Fullerton, California |
Read that list as a menu history rather than a corporate one. The Bulgogi Burger in 1992 is the moment a Korean marinade stopped being a topping and became the patty. The Bibim Rice Burger in 1999 is the moment rice replaced bread. The shaken fries in 2000 are the moment a side dish became something you finish yourself at the table. All three are on our board in Fullerton right now.
Roughly 1,600 restaurants, seven countries, one US store
The company counts roughly 1,600 LOTTERIA restaurants across seven countries today. That figure is the company’s own count, published on its official brand pages.
Most of those restaurants are in Korea. The rest are spread across Southeast Asia and Mongolia, with Vietnam by far the largest overseas market. And then there is Fullerton, which opened in August 2025 and is the only LOTTERIA in the United States. When people search for a location in Los Angeles or anywhere else in the country, this is the one they are looking for.
Who runs the Fullerton restaurant
The LOTTERIA brand in Korea and in the United States is operated by Lotte GRS, the food service arm of the Lotte group. Our Fullerton restaurant is directly operated by Lotte’s US subsidiary. It is not a franchise, and that is a deliberate choice for a first store in a new country.
Practically, it means the recipes, the equipment and the standards come from the same place the Korean restaurants get them. The shrimp for our shrimp patties comes directly from LOTTERIA’s own operations in Vietnam, while most other ingredients are sourced here in the United States. It is the same reason a guest who grew up eating this food in Seoul can walk in here and recognize what is on the tray.
“It tasted just like the one I had there! She even got me a double patty, which made it even better. It was crispy, juicy, and so satisfying.”
Natalie P., Google, Apr 2026
What is different about the Fullerton menu
The Fullerton board is a focused version of the brand. Eight burgers and sandwiches, one bowl, three sides and one dessert, which is a tighter lineup than a long-established LOTTERIA market would carry, and it is built around the items that travel best.
The Shrimp Burger at $6.99 is the anchor, and it is the item our guests write about most. The Bibim Rice Burger at $9.49 is the one nobody else nearby makes. Cup Bingsu at $4.99 is our only dessert, a Korean style slush layered with red bean paste, fruit cocktail, mini rice cakes, yakgwa and roasted grain powder. The two K-Chicken sandwiches are the newest additions, and Mozzarella Cheese Sticks join the board on September 24. Those are our in-store prices as of September 2026 and they can change.
There are American touches too, because we are cooking in Orange County. Most ingredients other than the shrimp are sourced in the United States, the drinks are the fountain you would expect, and the drive-thru exists because this is California. None of that changes what the food is.
“The double shrimp burger, with two thick, juicy shrimp patties, is something you simply can’t find at any other American burger shop”
Bo K., Google, Jun 2026
If you want to see the whole lineup, it is on our menu, and there is more on the brand on our story page. Directions and hours are on locations.
Questions
Is LOTTERIA Japanese or Korean?
LOTTERIA is Korean. The name was first used in Japan in 1972, which is where the confusion starts, but LOTTERIA Korea opened in 1979 and created the menu the brand is known for. The brand in Korea and the United States is operated by Lotte GRS, a Korean company.
Which country is LOTTERIA from?
Korea, for every purpose that matters to a diner. The bulgogi burger, the shrimp burger, the rice bun burger and the shaken seasoned fries were all developed in Korea for Korean customers. Our Fullerton restaurant serves that Korean menu, adapted for US sourcing but not reinvented.
What does LOTTERIA mean?
It is a combination of LOTTE, from the Lotte group, and cafeteria, meaning a self-service restaurant. That is the company’s own explanation of the name, published on its official brand pages. The word has stayed unchanged since the brand began, including through the 2024 identity refresh.
Is there a LOTTERIA in the USA?
Yes, one. LOTTERIA Fullerton at 150 W Orangethorpe Ave, Fullerton, CA 92832 opened in August 2025 and is the only LOTTERIA in the United States. It is open 10am to 10pm every day, with a drive-thru, dine-in seating and take-out, and it serves the Korean menu.
How many LOTTERIA restaurants are there?
The company counts roughly 1,600 restaurants across seven countries. That is the company’s own published figure. Most of them are in Korea, the largest overseas market is Vietnam, and exactly one is in the United States.
Is LOTTERIA a franchise in the United States?
No. The Fullerton restaurant is directly operated by Lotte’s US subsidiary rather than licensed to a franchisee. That means the recipes, the equipment standards and the training come from the same source as the Korean restaurants, which is the point of running a first store in a new country directly.
Sources
- LOTTERIA, About LOTTERIA, brand history and name origin, accessed September 12, 2026
- Lotte GRS, Business, Brand, accessed September 12, 2026
- Korea JoongAng Daily, Korean burger chain Lotteria opens first U.S. store in Orange County, August 18, 2025
- City of Fullerton, Fullerton Welcomes Lotteria: Korea’s Iconic Burger Chain Opens First U.S. Location, August 14, 2025
- Korea Daily, Lotteria Opens First U.S. Store in Fullerton, Bringing K-Burgers to America, August 14, 2025