Buldak Ramen

Buldak Ramen is a South Korean brand of instant noodles made by Samyang Foods since April 2012. It is the company's best-selling product and one of the spiciest instant noodles sold in South Korea.

History

The original, Buldak Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen, was launched in April 2012. It drew on a fiery chicken stir-fry that Kim Jung-soo, a member of Samyang's sales team, had eaten at a restaurant in 2010. She recalled diners sweating and fanning their tongues, caught between pleasure and pain. She pushed the company's food scientists to make each prototype hotter.

Worldwide fame arrived in 2014, when the YouTube channel Korean Englishman posted the Fire Noodle Challenge. Host Josh Carrott dared friends in the UK to finish the noodles as fast as possible without drinking anything. The video inspired copycat challenges around the world and boosted sales. From the second half of 2016, exports drove the company's growth, and by 2017 the Buldak range made up more than 85% of Samyang's exports.

Culture

Buldak is a type of dry, stir-fried noodle: after boiling, the noodles are drained and tossed with a spicy sauce and a topping. Its fame is tied to social media, where people film themselves eating it, and the brand has spread into hot sauce, potato chips, fried rice, tteokbokki and other products. Samyang has released varieties with different heat levels and flavours to meet demand.

Imitations have appeared in China, Southeast Asia, Russia and North Africa. Samyang has pursued legal action against some of them, and in 2023 a Chinese court ruled in favour of four South Korean companies, Samyang among them.