‘Shin Ramyun’ from Nongshim and ‘Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen’ from Samyang Foods are the most famous two prominent ramyeon brand from Korea. Recently, a new ramyeon brand has challenged them to win the crown. It’s the ‘Gunsan Jjambbong Ramyun (Gunsan spicy seafood noodle soup ramyeon)’. The noodle made from Gunsan glutinous barley is mixed with the ingredients and ramyeon base made from Korean seafood. On top of that, the unique ‘wok hei’ flavor of Jjamppong really adds the charm to the dish. Since Gunsan Wonhyup (Gunsan Horticulture Cooperative Association) launched ‘Gunsan Jjambbong Ramyun’ in 2020, it has been promoting its ‘healthy ramyeon’ to the world beyond Korea.

 

 

#Food Made from Glutinous Barley Noodle

The ‘Gunsan Jjambbong Ramyun’ is a jointly developed ramyeon by Gunsan Wonhyup, Gunsan National University and Gunsan-si. This is a product made with the cooperation of industry, academia and research institutes in a consensus to expand the consumption of glutinous barley, a specialty of Gunsan. The ramyeon uses noodles made from glutinous barley. The glutinous barley has 7 times more soluble fiber than regular rice and 3.7 times more than wheat, and is rich in carbohydrates and calcium, making it a nutritionally exceptional variety. Also, they combined the Gunsan specialty ‘Jjamppong’ with Ramyeon. Gunsan is famous as the City of Jjamppong. Due to the geographical advantage of being close to the sea, various types of Jjamppong were born. ‘Gunsan Jjambbong Ramyun’ is a product that combines glutinous barley and Jjamppong, the symbol of Gunsan. ‘Gunsan Jjambbong Ramyun’ is made from 100% Korean ingredients, seafood such as squid, shrimp, seaweed, as well as greenonions, carrots, etc. Especially, it added a scent of subtle ‘wok hei’ flavor to the ramyeon base that bring out the real Jjamppong flavor. The scent of seafood and ‘wok hei’ flavor spreads out as soon as you try the soup.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#Ramyeon for a Late Night Snack

Noodles in ‘Gunsan Jjambbong Ramyun’are made by mixing Korean potato starch with glutinous barley (25%). As it is made from barley, which is a grain, the noodles are not only chewy and savory than ordinary ramyeon noodles, but also they digest better. Moreover, the soup tastes clean and light because it is flavored with vegetable oil such as red pepper seed oil instead of animal oil. The president of the Gunsan Wonhyup, Go Gye-gon says “‘Gunsan Jjambbong Ramyun’ is a ‘healty ramyeon’that appeals to the tastes of young and old alike as a late night snack. Because it is rich in barley which is effective in preventing diabetes, even people with adult disease can eat it with out concern.” ‘Gunsan Jjambbong Ramyun’ has recently been launched at OrderStation, a Korean health care specialized shopping mall and it’s been widely introduced as a ‘light, clean, tasty ramyeon’. ‘Gunsan Jjambbong Ramyun’, first released in 2020, was sold out in the first month, and it was so popular that it sold 1.2 million units in that year alone. Since 2020, the sales volume exceeds 2 million in 2 years. The numbers show that ‘healthy life style’ image added to ‘Gunsan Jjambbong Ramyun’ has suceeded in captivating the consumer’s tastes and overtaking the products from food industry giants in ramyeon market by fulfilling the need for healthy food.

 

#Aspire to be a Premium Ramyeon Brand

‘Gunsan Jjambbong Ramyun’ is becoming popular in oversea markets. Starting from U.S, Gunsan Wonhyup is exporting ‘Gunsan Jjambbong Ra-myun’ to Australia, New Zealand, etc.. In 2021, more than 5 million units were exported in total. Lately, they are planning to enter China. The Korea Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs has selected Korean grain ramyeon as a promising export item, and as a part of that, it is promoting the export of ‘Gunsan Jjambbong Ramyun’ overseas. Also, Gunsan Wonhyup introduced vegetable ramyeon to the market. President Go says “‘Vegetable Ramyun’ was developed as ramyeon that tastes similar to regular ramyeon, and the noodle of this ramyeon is made from Korean wheat and potato.” In the meantime, they are considering to develop local targeted ramyeon to expand exports. For example, Gunsan Wonhyup launches Bibimmyeon (spicy noodle) according to Vie-tnamese consumer’s preference for ramyeon with out broth. President Go Gye-gon spoke with total confidence that “We are the only store to enter the luxury department store in Lotte Department Store with ramyeon. This shows that the market sees ‘Gunsan Jjambbong Ramyun’ as a premium brand. As a premium brand from Korea, we will try our best so that people from all over the world can enjoy healthy ramyeon at home.”