Exports of ramyeon (instant noodles) in the first half of the year broke a record high for the period. Shown is the ramyeon section at a hypermarket in Seoul. (Yonhap News)

By Kim Seon Ah

Exports of ramyeon (instant noodles) in the first half of this year set a record high for the period.

The Korea Customs Service on July 4 released trade data saying such shipments from January to last month hit USD 446.2 million (KRW 580 billion) on a provisional basis.

The figure is a record high for the period and 16.4% more than the previous mark of USD 383.28 million in last year's first half.

Since 2015, ramyeon exports have seen remarkable growth from USD 103.83 million in that year's first half to USD 216.18 million in the first half of 2018, USD 320.08 million in the same period of 2020 and USD 400 million so far this year.

By country, China was the biggest market from January to May with USD 70.99 million, followed by the U.S. with USD 47.55 million, Japan USD 26.18 million, the Netherlands USD 22.22 million and Malaysia USD 19.6 million.

The rise of such exports is also attributed to the global expansion of the convenience food market including ramyeon during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Another reason is growing global interest in Korean products due to the worldwide boom in Korean content. Jimin, a member of the K-pop boy band BTS, raised interest in instant noodles during a livestream when he ate Buldak Ramen of Samyang Foods, an internationally popular brand of spicy ramyeon. 

sofiakim218@korea.kr