Nongshim, Shin Ramyun Cup Baduk Tournament... Legends of Korean, Chinese, and Japanese Baduk Compete

Participation of 9-dan Players Jo Chunhyun and Lee Changho

The legends of the world's Go gather once again to compete in the event tournament of the 22nd Nongshim Shin Ramyun Cup World Go Championship. The photo shows Go legends Cho Hunhyun 9-dan from Korea (right) and Yoda Norimoto 9-dan from Japan (left), who participated in the first Shin Ramyun Cup Go Tournament in 2000. Photo by Cho Hunhyun

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] Nongshim announced on the 7th that the legends of the world Go will face off once again in the event tournament of the 22nd Nongshim Shin Ramyun Cup World Go Masters Championship.

In Korea, Go legends Cho Hunhyun 9-dan and Lee Changho 9-dan will participate. The performance of these two national Go masters, who are also considered part of the history of Korean Go, is highly anticipated. From China, legends who led the world Go scene in the 1990s such as Nie Weiping and Chang Hao 9-dan will participate, and from Japan, Kobayashi Koichi and Yoda Norimoto 9-dan are expected to compete.

The tournament will be held in two rounds from January 15 to 17 and January 22 to 24 next year, with players competing online from game venues set up in each country. The first round matchups will be Korea-China, China-Japan, and Korea-Japan in that order, with the first games featuring Cho Hunhyun 9-dan vs. Chang Hao 9-dan and Lee Changho 9-dan vs. Nie Weiping 9-dan. A total of 12 cross-country matches will be held, and rankings will be determined by individual wins.

The Shin Ramyun Cup Go tournament, established in 1999, is Nongshim’s representative marketing activity to promote the Shin Ramyun brand in China. During the Shin Ramyun Cup, Nongshim promotes the brand to 1.4 billion Chinese consumers through game venue interiors, product displays, tasting events, and TV broadcasts.

A Nongshim official said, “We prepared this special match to support the Go community, which has been struggling due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), and to provide unforgettable memories for Go fans.”

Meanwhile, Nongshim is also preparing to hold the ‘Baeksansu Cup Senior Go Tournament’ alongside the 23rd Shin Ramyun Cup Go tournament next year. Baeksansu is Nongshim’s new growth engine and a leading Korean bottled water brand targeting the Chinese market together with Shin Ramyun.

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