By Xu Aiying

Buldak Ramen, a globally popular brand of spicy ramyeon (instant noodles), has seen cumulative sales of four billion packages, meaning half of the world's population has tried it.

Samyang Foods on Aug. 1 announced that its brand eclipsed four billion units in sales and forecast this year's exports at USD 400 million.

Using the motif of spicy stir-fried chicken cuisine, the product is made by mixing stir-fried noodles without soup. Its name is often used to refer to spicy noodles both at home and abroad.

Since its launch in 2012, the brand is being exported to approximately 90 countries. The variations in the brand include Buldak Ramen Carbonara, which has cream sauce, and Buldak Ramen Jajang, which has black bean sauce added. 

The brand has seen astronomical growth over its first decade. Cumulative sales reached a billion packages in 2017, two billion in 2019 and three billion last year, and the figure of four billion was reached this year.

To mark the 10th anniversary, Samyang has held events abroad. In April, it was the main sponsor of the Las Vegas concert of the K-pop group BTS, and a month later, it participated in "K-pop. Flex," the largest K-pop festival in Europe held in Germany. The company is thus active in promotional activities overseas.

More recently, Samyang is holding the short-form challenge "#BornTobeSpicy" on social media in Asia including China and Korea, attracting participation of nearly 100,000 people and 700 million views.

xuaiy@korea.kr