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JOURNEY · DETAIL
Samyang Buldak Ramen: The Near-Death of an Industrial Oil Scandal Veteran Brand, Rebounding as a Global Viral Sensation via Nuclear-Level Spiciness
Founded: Jeon Jung-yoon (Founder, established in 1961); Kim Jung-soo (Inventor of Buldak Ramen, daughter-in-law of the founder, current Chairperson); Jeon In-jang (Her husband, former Chairman) · Samyang Roundsquare Co., Ltd. (formerly Samyang Foods)
JOURNEY
Key Fields
FIELD STAMPSIndustryFood & Beverage
RegionGlobal（韩）
ScaleGiant
ChannelHybrid
Origin
In 1961, amid South Korea's post-war food shortages, former insurance executive Jeon Jung-yoon observed citizens lining up for soup made from leftover US military base scraps. Convinced that instant ramen could substitute for rice to feed the nation, he started with chicken-flavored ramen at 10 won per bowl, making it South Korea's first instant noodle factory. Prompted by Park Chung-hee's military government to alter the broth to a spicy flavor to suit local tastes, it captured 65% of South Korea's ramen market by the 1970s, entering the country's top 25 enterprises. In 1984, it even built a factory in Los Angeles to serve Korean expatriates, pioneering the introduction of Korean ramen to the world.
Milestones
1961
First Bowl Created PMF
Jeon Jung-yoon established Samyang Dairy Company in September, renamed it Samyang Industries in October, and produced South Korea's first bowl of instant ramen in September 1963. Priced at 10 won per bowl—cheaper than coffee—chicken-flavored ramen filled the national food shortage gap, starting as an alternative to post-war bread. This phase lasted from 1961 to 1963.
1970
Monopoly Golden Era Growth
Driven by the Daegwallyeong Ranch and diversified expansion, Samyang captured 65% of South Korea's ramen market by 1970, entering the top 25 enterprises nationwide. In 1984, it further established a factory in Los Angeles targeting Korean expatriates, making it one of the most profitable South Korean food companies of the time.
1989
Industrial Oil Scandal Failure
In 1989, an anonymous tip claimed Samyang used industrial-grade beef tallow in its noodle soup bases, known as the tallow incident. Although the Supreme Court ultimately acquitted them in 1997, a massive customer exodus had already occurred. Top food scientists defected to competitors, and Nongshim and Ottogi seized the market, dropping Samyang from the industry leader to third or fourth place.
1997
Financial Crisis Near-Death Failure
The 1997 Asian Financial Crisis plunged the still-tainted Samyang into insolvency. The LA factory closed, and the company entered a debt-reconstruction survival mode. Banks held shares as collateral, and for a decade employees continued manual bookkeeping while competitors digitized. It was the company's darkest decade, lasting from 1997 to 2008.
1998
Daughter-in-Law Enters the Business Turning Point
In 1998, seeing the company near death, founder Jeon Jung-yoon persuaded Kim Jung-soo—who married into the family in 1994—to leave her role as a housewife and join the sales department. The reasoning was that a woman's more nuanced perspective might help the food business, and family involvement would set an example for employees. Kim Jung-soo officially joined that year, with no one imagining she would become the savior.
2010
Birth of Buldak Ramen PMF
In 2010, while eating at a spicy braised chicken restaurant in Myeongdong with her daughter, Kim Jung-soo saw customers fan their tongues in pain yet ecstatic delight. She instantly thought: why not turn this level of spiciness into instant ramen? She instructed chief food scientist Lee Byung-hak to repeatedly increase the spice level, pushing it so far that the R&D director questioned whether it could actually sell. Spicy Buldak Ramen launched in 2012; initial retail feedback was poor, criticized as too spicy and resembling a failure. This phase lasted from 2010 to 2012.
2014
Video Explosion Turning Point
In February 2014, British YouTuber Korean Englishman uploaded a video of London family and friends challenging Samyang Buldak Ramen, where his father went from praising the taste to chugging milk and shooting milk out of his nose. The video garnered 11 million views, igniting a global fire noodle challenge trend. Competitive eater Matt Stonie eating 15 bowls at once accumulated 145 million views, transforming Buldak Ramen from a slow mover into a viral sensation and launching export growth.
2020
Pandemic Dividend Growth
COVID-19 stay-at-home trends triggered a surge in ramen demand. In 2020, Samyang's sales hit a record high, with operating profit increasing by 21.9% year-on-year. That same year, Kimchi Buldak Ramen was launched to meet consumer expectations for the Buldak lineup, and BTS member Jimin was spotted enjoying Buldak Ramen, giving another boost to the Korean Wave promotional effect.
2020
Embezzlement Failure
In 2020, Jeon In-jang and Kim Jung-soo were convicted of embezzling approximately $3.7 million from the company for luxury mansion renovations, car rentals, and credit card bills. Jeon In-jang was imprisoned, and Kim Jung-soo received a suspended sentence with restitution paid. The case stemmed from January 2019 when Jeon In-jang was sentenced to 3 years and Kim Jung-soo to 2 years with a 3-year suspension. The chronic issue of family-run business management failing to separate personal and public funds was fully exposed, and major shareholder HDC even pushed to strip them of their board director qualifications.
2024
Danish Recall Failure
In June 2024, the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration recalled three types of Buldak Ramen due to acute poisoning risks from single-pack capsaicin content. The spiciest 3x Spicy version remained recalled, while the other two were cleared a month later after re-evaluation by the Technical University of Denmark. That same year, the company was also embroiled in news regarding a 2012 instant noodle price-fixing penalty case, placing food safety labeling under international scrutiny once again.
2026
Spicy Mom Promoted to Chairperson Turning Point
In May 2026, Kim Jung-soo was appointed Chairperson, officially taking office in June with a goal to accelerate global expansion. In February, she became the first female entrepreneur to win the Korea Management Award, entering the Forbes Korea 50 Richest list with her husband with a net worth of $1.3 billion. In April, she stepped down from the Samyang Roundsquare board to focus on the Buldak growth line. The company's 2025 revenue reached about $1.5 billion, US H1 sales hit $185 million making up 30% of overseas revenue, and the fourth factory commenced operations in June with an annual capacity of 100 million packs.
Turning Points
- Founder's daughter-in-law and housewife Kim Jung-soo joined the business in 1998 and conceived Buldak Ramen during a meal in 2010, turning a family female perspective into the savior of a near-death legacy factory.
- A 2014 YouTube challenge video by Korean Englishman propelled slow-moving Buldak Ramen onto the global viral podium, replacing traditional advertising with social viral propagation.
- Following their 2020 imprisonment for embezzlement, Kim Jung-soo was granted a government pardon to return as CEO, and later promoted to Chairperson in 2026, completing the family business power transition from criminal to helm.
Failures & Pitfalls
- Although the 1989 industrial oil scandal ultimately ended without a criminal conviction, it completely ruined their reputation and handed market leadership to Nongshim, plunging the company into a dual trough of reputation and market share for the next decade.
- The 1997 Asian Financial Crisis pushed the debt-ridden company directly into insolvency, closing the LA factory and leaving employees keeping manual paper ledgers for a decade, lagging behind industry-wide digitization.
- Upon its 2010/2012 launch, Buldak Ramen was deemed too spicy by retailers and consumers, nearly facing discontinuation until a 2014 YouTube viral hit turned things around.
- In 2020, the couple embezzled $3.7 million in company funds for personal use, resulting in Jeon In-jang's imprisonment and Kim Jung-soo's suspended sentence, stumbling over the failure to separate personal and public funds in a listed company.
- In 2024, Denmark recalled Buldak Ramen due to acute capsaicin poisoning risks, with the 3x Spicy version remaining delisted, bringing food safety labels back under international scrutiny.
- Multiple side ventures opened by Jeon In-jang after taking over in 2010—including physical noodle shops and burger chains—completely collapsed, drawing criticism of weak management by the family heir, with Buldak Ramen ultimately covering those losses.
关键成功要素
- Turning spiciness itself into a product differentiation asset; nuclear-level heat serves as both a barrier to entry and social currency, prompting spontaneous challenge videos worldwide for free marketing.
- Riding the Korean Wave, leveraging Korean cultural symbols like BTS and Parasite to create a sense of scarce exoticism among young people in Europe and America, transforming instant ramen from cheap fast food into a Gen Z trendy snack.
- Export-first strategy: establishing a Japanese subsidiary in 2019, seeing the US account for 30% of overseas sales by 2025, and launching a fourth factory, maintaining continuous growth in overseas revenue share to hedge against South Korea's domestic demand ceiling.
- Remediation and reuse of key figures: Kim Jung-soo's pardon and return reframed the narrative from sinner to prodigal return, with the symbolic value of a female leader offering eye-catching contrast in a South Korean chaebol circle dominated by the 'weak son of a strong father' trope.
Lessons
- When legacy companies indulge in past leadership glory and look down on new categories, a family female with cross-industry perspective is bolder than professional managers in betting on extreme differentiation.
- The tipping point of social viral propagation is unpredictable but preparable; building basic quality control and global export pipelines beforehand allows you to catch the wind when it arrives rather than scrambling for channels.
- Failing to separate personal and public accounts in a publicly traded family company is chronic suicide; pardon and prodigal-son narratives can buy time, but governance risks never disappear automatically.
- Extreme spiciness acts as a double-edged sword as a safety label in international markets; while it generates buzz, it also triggers local food safety regulations, requiring product grading and compliance contingency plans.
Core Data
- Year Established：1961 (based on public disclosures)
- Listed Exchange：KRX 003230 (based on public disclosures, independent verification unverified)
- First Instant Noodle Factory in South Korea：Yes (based on public disclosures, independent verification unverified)
- South Korean Market Share in the 1970s：65% (based on public disclosures, independent verification unverified)
- 2020 Operating Profit YoY Growth：21.9% (based on public disclosures, independent verification unverified)
- 2024 Revenue：Approx. $1.2 billion (based on public disclosures, independent verification unverified)
- 2024 Overseas Sales Growth：65% (based on public disclosures, independent verification unverified)
- 2025 H1 US Sales：$185 million (based on public disclosures, independent verification unverified)
- 2025 H1 US Share of Overseas Revenue：30% (based on public disclosures, independent verification unverified)
- 2025 Fourth Factory Annual Capacity：100 million packs (based on public disclosures, independent verification unverified)
- 2025 Revenue：Approx. $1.5 billion (based on public disclosures, independent verification unverified)
- 2026 Forbes Korea 50 Richest Net Worth：$1.3 billion (based on public disclosures, independent verification unverified)
- Per Capita Annual Instant Noodle Consumption in South Korea：77 servings (2nd globally) (based on public disclosures, independent verification unverified)
Competitors / Peers
The South Korean instant noodle market features fierce competition among over 500 items. Market leader Nongshim dominates domestically with Shin Ramyun, closely followed by Ottogi and Korea Yakult. Samyang surpassed competitors on the overseas export front through its Buldak series, with Samyang contributing the lion's share to South Korea's 65% YoY growth in instant noodle exports in 2024. However, its domestic market share still ranks third to fourth. Overseas reliance rests on TikTok and the Korean Wave, while Nongshim relies on brand heritage, shifting the main battlefield for both parties from the South Korean domestic market to the US and Southeast Asia.
Sources
- https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2024-03-05/how-a-spicy-noodle-saved-the-pioneer-of-korean-ramen-from-scandal
- https://www.channelnewsasia.com/commentary/instant-noodles-samyang-buldak-spicy-challenge-korea-tariffs-5233496
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samyang_Food
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Jung-soo_(businesswoman)
- https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10738790
- https://www.forbes.com/profile/kim-jung-soo-chun-in-jang/
- https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy00gk0kr82o