[Gangnam Perspective] Time for K-food to Part Ways with K-culture

Buldak Ramen is enjoying explosive popularity, but the dominant player in the global instant noodle market is still Japan’s Nissin Foods. It launched Cup Noodle, the original cup ramen, in the early 1970s and moved quickly into markets around the world.
In 1971, the sight of young office workers in suits on the streets of Ginza in Tokyo twirling hot noodles out of paper cups with forks was strange and new. It was the opening scene of cup ramen’s globalization. Cup Noodle, invented by Nissin Foods chairman Momofuku Ando, broke away from the Asian convention of chopsticks and bowls. Instead, it chose the fork and cup, symbols of Western dining. Cup Noodle was not just the arrival of a new Asian food; it was a historic moment when ramen shed its purely Eastern identity.
More than 50 years later, the billboards of Times Square in New York are dominated by K-food. It is no longer unusual to see foreigners in the middle of Manhattan eating Shin Ramyun and Bibimbap. There is no doubt that K-Bunsik has become a “hot item” in global food culture. Even the animated film K-Pop Demon Hunters, which shows a girl group happily slurping cup noodles, swept both the Grammys and the Oscars.
Yet there is an odd sense of déjà vu. It comes from asking where the current boom in K-food really came from. During the Hong Kong movie craze of the 1980s and 1990s, Dim sum and wonton noodle soup enjoyed huge popularity, only to fade later. Once the momentum of Hong Kong cinema weakened, those foods were pushed to the corners of the ethnic food aisle. Without the “halo effect” of K-culture, wouldn’t K-food face the same fate?
A look at the performance of Korean food companies makes the picture clearer. Buldak Ramen is racing ahead, powered by the global “spicy challenge” trend. But there is no solid mega-brand standing firmly behind it. Shin Ramyun, bibigo and Choco Pie are doing well, yet they still fall short of being true global mega-brands.
Last year, Nissin Foods Holdings posted sales of 776.6 billion yen, about 7 trillion won. It hit an all-time high and is steadily sailing toward the 1 trillion yen mark. Samyang Foods also achieved explosive growth, opening the 2 trillion won (about 1.4 billion dollars) sales era last year, but it still has a long way to go. Nissin remains a massive wall, more than three times larger than Samyang Foods. In the global cup noodle market, Nissin holds a commanding first place with a share of over 26 percent. It has firmly defended the top spot without help from Bangtan Boys (BTS), Squid Game or K-Pop Demon Hunters.
Nissin’s globalization secret lay in rigorous localization—“protecting ourselves by letting go of ourselves.” When entering the U.S. market, Momofuku Ando chose bold changes such as shortening the length of the noodles and introducing Styrofoam cups. He abandoned the insistence that “the Japanese way is right.” Instead, he embraced the pragmatism of “getting into their cupboards.” That strategy elevated Nissin products to the status of everyday essentials, like ketchup or cereal. Consider Lee Kum Kee as well. With oyster sauce alone, it has taken over kitchens around the world. Indomie’s success in spreading Mi Goreng across Africa and the Middle East also came from thorough localization. Rather than “selling Indonesian culture,” it focused its marketing on being a “second staple food” that solves hunger at the lowest cost.
At this point, we need to look coldly at the reality of K-food. It is true that the industry is still intoxicated by the sweet anesthetic called the Korean Wave. It is time for K-food to break away from K-culture. K-food must compete on the unique value it offers and the universal appeal of its flavors.
This is also why the 2026 Global Culinary Trends Report published by Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), the world’s largest food ingredient company, draws attention. The report argues that the real strength of K-food is not its intense spiciness, but the aesthetics of time embodied in “fermentation” and the health philosophy of “slow aging.” In other words, Kimchi, Gochujang and Doenjang are K-food’s true weapons.
Culture flows and trends change. But the human palate is honest. The era when K-food is sold as a “cultural freebie” must come to an end. It is time for K-food to prepare to part ways with K-culture.
cgapc@fnnews.com