Ramyeon powers South Korea’s K-food exports to record high of US$17.5bil
As ramyeon has become a growing export item, the country’s leading noodle makers have begun to expand outward.
Exports of South Korean instant noodles, or ramyeon, pushed past the US$1.5-billion mark for the first time last year, extending an 11-year run of growth, data showed Sunday.
According to data released by the Korea Customs Service, annual ramyeon exports reached a new all-time high of US$1.52 billion in 2025, up 21.8 % from a year earlier.
The milestone caps a rapid ascent, as exports have doubled from US$765 million in 2022 and grown sevenfold over the past decade from US$219 million in 2015. Since 2021, the figures have increased at an average annual rate of about 23 %.
China and the US together account for more than 40 % of Korea’s ramyeon exports. Shipments to China rose 47.9 % on-year to US$385 million, or 25.3 % of the total, whereas exports to the US totalled US$255 million, or 16.7 %.
Exports to the US grew at an average annual rate of 68 % from 2022 to 2024, but a 15 % tariff appears to have weighed on growth last year, when shipments rose 18.1 % below the overall export growth rate.
As ramyeon has become a growing export item, the country’s leading noodle makers have begun to expand outward.
Nongshim launched co-branded products tied to the Netflix film “KPop Demon Hunters” in the US and is ramping up its export capacity through a new export-only factory in Busan this year. Samyang Foods completed its second factory in Miryang, South Gyeongsang Province, last year and is constructing its first overseas plant in China.
Given that major ramyeon makers such as Nongshim operate factories in the US and China, overseas sales of ramyeon products are likely to far exceed export figures, industry officials said.
No Kyung-min
The Korea Herald
Asia News Network
