For awhile now, I’ve been trying to get my hands on some of this that actually is from South Korea. Thanks to Anders and his girlfriend Ji-Min, here we are! Here’s some info from Wikipedia –

Shin Ramyun/Ramyeon is a brand of instant noodle (including cup ramyeon) that is made by South Korean food company Nongshim since October, 1986. It now exports to over 100 countries, and is the highest selling instant noodle brand in South Korea.

Shin Ramyun is well popular for its spicy flavor. It is produced in two kinds: Shin Ramyun,^[1] the original one, and Shin Ramyun Black,^[2] which was introduced in 2011. A standard package consists of noodles, a sachet of flavoring powder (soup base), and a sachet of vegetable flakes. Shin Ramyun Black contains extra beef stock soup.

Shin Ramyun was introduced in October 1986 by Nongshim. The Nongshim R&D team came up with the idea of Sogogijanguk, a Cabbage and Beef Stew, which is one of the most popular traditional South Korean dishes.^[3]

In 2015 it has risen to 28 billion units sold since its first introduction.^[5] Shin Ramyun is listed on the National Brand Consumption Index (NBCI)^[6] as the number 1 brand in South Korea (2012~2016) for its brand awareness and brand power.^[7]

The name of Shin Ramyun is from a Chinese character Shin (辛), which means “spicy.” Shin Ramyun uses red and black packaging with the emphasized calligraphic word “辛”.^[3] The meaning of the Chinese character is shown on the background of the package. Nongshim decided to emphasize the Chinese character Shin (辛) for their brand with a belief that a single Chinese character delivers the brand image better than written in Korean. Additionally, the character is the surname of both the founder of Nongshim and his elder brother, who started Lotte.

As you can see, its definitely what you can call a success story. It’s probably one of the most popular instants around. Let’s check out this South Korean version!

Nongshim Shin Ramyun – South Korea

Here’s the back of the package (click to enlarge). Unsure whether it contains meat or not. To prepare, add noodles block and sachet contents to 550ml boiling water and cook for 4 minutes. Finally, stir and enjoy!

The noodle block.

The soup base sachet.

The spicy soup base.

The vegetables sachet.

A nice mix of vegetables.

Finished (click to enlarge). Added beef, spring onion and Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts. The noodles come out really nice – a very standard ramyun – thicker and with a good chew. The broth has a spicy and beefy kind of taste, however I’m getting a lot of mushroom and a burnt kind of bitterness as well. It’s been a long time since I’ve had Shin Ramyun and honestly, I’m not too enthused. Now everyone hates me. 3.0 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 8801043014809.

Korea Noodle Pot / Aluminum Pot 6.3″(16cm)/ Traditional HOT POT

A TV spot for the iconic product.