From 10 Won to National Staple: How Korean Ramyeon Began
Korean ramyeon launched in 1963 at 10 won a pack — a post-war hunger fix built on a soup recipe handed over in secret at a Tokyo airport, then cemented by a government flour campaign.
TL;DR — Korea's first instant ramyeon shipped on September 15, 1963, at 10 won a pack, built by Samyang founder Jeon Jung-yun as a post-war hunger fix. The decisive soup recipe came from Japan's Myojo Foods — reportedly handed over in secret at an airport. A government flour-promotion campaign then turned ramyeon into a daily staple.
Most people first encounter Korean ramyeon as a viral spicy challenge or a film prop. The origin is quieter and grimmer: it was engineered to keep people fed.
1963: a 10-won meal
Early-1960s Korea was still short on food. Jeon Jung-yun (전중윤 — also romanized Chun Joong-yoon), a former insurance-company president, was reportedly moved by the sight of people queuing for kkulkkul-i-juk — "pig-swill stew" cooked from US Army leftovers. His read: the country needed cheap, warm, reliable calories.
The product shipped on September 15, 1963: "Samyang Ramen," at 10 won a packet — confirmed by the Korea Herald, which notes it was "inspired by the concept of dehydrated noodles in Japan." Reference point: a cup of coffee then ran 35 won. Jeon later compressed the pivot from finance to noodles into a line still quoted:
"When people have enough to eat, the world is at peace. What's needed now is not insurance, but a single meal."
The recipe, handed over at the airport
Korea could not yet manufacture instant noodles, so Jeon went to Japan, where Momofuku Ando had invented the format in 1958. Nissin declined. Its rival, Myojo Foods, took him on as an apprentice for about a month and sold him two noodle machines — but initially withheld the critical piece: the soup-base formula.
Per the founder's obituary in Hankook Ilbo, Myojo's president reversed course at the last minute and secretly handed Jeon the soup recipe at the airport, against his own staff's advice, just before the flight home. (A tidier "they gave it away for free" version circulates; the airport handover is the better-sourced account.)
Policy turned product into habit
A single product does not make a national dish — policy did the rest. Across the 1960s and 70s, the government ran a flour-promotion campaign — bunsik (분식, "flour food") — pushing wheat over scarce rice and even mandating "no-rice days." Fueled by US wheat aid, it turned ramyeon into an everyday food: Samyang's sales climbed from 2.4 million packets in 1966 to 15 million by 1969.
From there it embedded in daily life. The line "Do you want to come in for some ramyeon?" — from the 2001 film One Fine Spring Day — is Korea's version of "Netflix and chill," a marker of how routine and intimate the food had become.
Ramyeon vs. ramen, drawn cleanly
The two get conflated constantly. The distinction:
- Japanese ramen is traditionally a fresh, restaurant dish, built around a broth (tonkotsu, shoyu, shio, miso). Instant noodles were invented in Japan by Momofuku Ando in 1958, but the ramen tradition is a sit-down meal.
- Korean ramyeon almost always means the packaged instant product itself — flash-fried dried noodles plus a powder sachet — and is a national dish in that form. It runs spicy, with springy wheat noodles and a beef-and-chili-forward soup.
Both words trace ultimately to Chinese lamian; Korean "ramyeon" arrived via Japanese "ramen."
The cooking conventions
Every Korean household holds opinions, but the consensus add-ins are egg, scallion, a slice of processed cheese, and — non-negotiably — kimchi on the side. Nongshim's official Shin Ramyun instructions are notably plain: 550 mL of water, cook 4–5 minutes. The home-cook obsessions — pull the noodles early, flip the block, let carryover heat finish it — are folklore layered on top.
Then there is jjapaguri — Chapagetti plus Neoguri — the hack the world met as "ram-don" in Parasite, plated with expensive steak. Sixty years on from a 10-won packet, Korea's cheapest food became a symbol on the world's biggest stage.
FAQ
When was Korean ramyeon invented?
Korea's first instant ramyeon, Samyang Ramen, launched on September 15, 1963, priced at 10 won, created by Samyang founder Jeon Jung-yun.
Where did the recipe come from?
The noodle-making equipment and the crucial soup-base recipe came from Japan's Myojo Foods; the founder's obituary describes the soup formula being handed over in secret at an airport before Jeon returned to Korea.
What's the difference between ramyeon and ramen?
Ramyeon usually refers to the Korean instant product (spicy, beef-and-chili soup, springy wheat noodles), while ramen traditionally means a fresh Japanese restaurant dish built around a broth. Both words descend from Chinese lamian.
Sources: Korea Herald, Hankook Ilbo, Korea JoongAng Daily, Fine Dining Lovers.
Image: Hyeon-Jeong Suk, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
← Back to all posts