"Global Love Call" Jjapagetti Becomes K-Food Icon... Sales Expected to Reach 200 Billion Won This Year

Jjapagetti Captivates the World, Spotlighted as the Second Shin Ramyun
36 Years of Jjapagetti's Popularity: The Fun of Mixing... Building a Fandom
36th Anniversary Since Launch... Second Best-Selling After Shin Ramyun, Exported to Over 70 Countries

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] The brand ‘Jjapagetti,’ synonymous with jajang ramen, the Jjapaguri syndrome, and known as a nationwide chef, stands out uniquely in the ramen market and is enjoying global popularity. Born on March 19, 1984, Jjapagetti is celebrating its 36th anniversary since launch and is truly experiencing a second heyday.

◆Overseas sales grew 120% in February after the Oscars= According to Nongshim on the 18th, Jjapagetti’s overseas sales in February this year reached $1.5 million, more than double compared to the previous year. This is the highest monthly performance. After the news of Parasite’s Oscar win was announced on February 9 (U.S. time), people worldwide started purchasing Jjapagetti. Even countries that did not previously sell Jjapagetti have sent love calls. Recently, countries such as Chile, Bahrain, Palau, and Sudan, which had no exports, requested imports of Jjapagetti, increasing the number of export countries to over 70 this year.

A Nongshim overseas sales official explained, “Consumers in countries where Jjapagetti was unavailable saw Jjapaguri videos on social networking services (SNS) and then requested local supermarkets or marts to sell Jjapagetti, which led to actual exports.” Earlier, after Parasite’s Academy Award win, Nongshim uploaded a video introducing the Jjapaguri recipe in 11 languages on its YouTube channel.

The country with the highest overseas sales of Jjapagetti is the United States. In February, the U.S. topped the list with $700,000 in Jjapagetti sales. Nongshim analyzed, “Since the Academy Awards is the largest film festival held locally in the U.S., American consumers showed the greatest interest and response. Especially, the local production system at the LA factory enabled timely supply and distribution despite increased demand.” Japan, which released the Parasite movie earlier this year, and Vietnam, which held Jjapaguri gifting events at local theaters during the re-release, also ranked high.

A Nongshim official said, “Overseas clients who previously mainly sought Shin Ramyun are now looking for both Jjapagetti and Neoguri. Jjapagetti, through Jjapaguri, has gained competitiveness as a representative of K-food (Korean food wave) following Shin Ramyun.”

◆Cumulative sales of 7.5 billion units, enough to cover 35 soccer fields= Since its launch until last month, a total of 7.5 billion units of Jjapagetti have been sold domestically. It ranks third in sales after Shin Ramyun (32.5 billion units over 34 years) and Ansungtangmyun (15.3 billion units over 37 years). Calculated by area, the sold Jjapagetti would cover 35 soccer fields and still have some left; if lined up, the length would be 40 times the circumference of the Earth.

Sales growth is also remarkable. Last year, Jjapagetti achieved its highest sales of 185 billion KRW, a 23% increase from the previous year, ranking second in the market after Shin Ramyun, and continues its strong performance this year.

Nongshim stated, “With domestic sales of Jjapagetti exceeding 37 billion KRW in two months, we aim to achieve an annual sales record of 200 billion KRW for the first time.” Jjapagetti, which first reached 100 billion KRW in annual sales in 2010, is now looking at the 200 billion KRW milestone after 10 years.

The secret to Jjapagetti’s long-lasting popularity is ‘fun.’ Consumers create their own recipes using Jjapagetti and pursue enjoyment. Searching ‘Jjapagetti recipe’ on portal sites yields over 10,000 reviews. On YouTube, searching for Jjapagetti brings up ‘Jjapagetti mukbang’ as the top result, and Instagram shows over 170,000 photos of Jjapagetti dishes.

Jjapagetti has generated countless recipes and is considered the origin of the Modisumer (a blend of Modify and Consumer) trend. From Korean beef sirloin Jjapaguri to dumpling filling, green onion kimchi, and cheese, there are so many diverse recipes that people say everyone is a Jjapagetti chef.

Thus, Jjapagetti is a brand that pursues fun and novelty based on a strong fandom (a group or person who passionately likes a particular field or celebrity).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.