SEOUL, Sept. 28 (Korea Bizwire) — Korean instant noodles called ramen, spotlighted in the Oscar-winning Korean film “Parasite,” are gaining attention in the global market as more consumers are looking for non-perishable food during the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp. (aT) and Korea Agricultural Trade Information reported that ramen exports between January and August totaled US$405 million, up by 36.7 percent compared to the same period last year.
Starting from $208 million in 2014, ramen exports have more than doubled over the last five years, reaching $467 million last year.
“For the past couple of years, Korean spicy and vegan ramen have been gaining popularity in the global market, particularly after the film “Parasite” introduced ‘chapaguri’, a combination of two kinds of Korean noodles,” aT explained.
“Also, due to the coronavirus, global consumers are buying ramen noodles because they are affordable and they last for a long time.”
Ramen exports to China between January and August totaled $105.8 million, up 44.9 percent compared to $73 million last year.
U.S. exports hiked from $34 million to $53.2 million, up 56.6 percent, while exports to Japan jumped from $21.8 million to $32.4 million, up 48.6 percent.
Following the Korean Wave, exports to Southeast Asian countries including Thailand (52.4 percent) and Taiwan (32.6 percent) and other Chinese-speaking countries have also expanded.
Last July, the New York Timesincluded four Korean instant noodle brandsin its list of World’s Most Delicious Ramen, among which Nongshim’s Shin Ramyun Black was selected as the world’s best.
Image Credit: CJ Freshway / Yonhap / Korea Bizwire / photonews@koreabizwire.com
