"Tastier Than Japanese Ramen"... Shin Ramyun Sweeps Harajuku With Spicy Slurps [Forty-Year-Old Shin Ramyun]

100,000 Weekend Visitors to Harajuku, Tokyo
Nongshim's "Shin Ramyun Bunsik" Draws Huge Crowds
Cumulative Sales Surpass 1 Trillion Won... Pioneering the Spicy Ramen Market

View of the Nongshim 'Shin Ramyun Bunsik' store located on Takeshita Street in Harajuku, Tokyo.

"I choose Shin Ramyun because it's spicier and tastier than Japanese ramen."

On April 15, the 'Shin Ramyun Bunsik' store located on Takeshita Street in Harajuku, Tokyo, was bustling with not only Japanese customers but also foreign tourists. Customers select products such as Shin Ramyun and Shin Ramyun Tomba using a kiosk, then cook them themselves on the spot using an instant cooker, similar to the 'Hangang Ramyun' style. The store also offers toppings like eggs and cheese for those unaccustomed to spicy food. Yumi Danno (25), who visited from Fukuoka, finished an entire bowl while sweating. She said, "I came in out of curiosity while walking around Harajuku, and it tastes even better than Japanese ramen."

This year marks the 40th anniversary of Nongshim's Shin Ramyun, which is rewriting the history of the spicy ramen market in Japan. Since its launch in 1986, Shin Ramyun has not rested on its laurels as the domestic market leader for over 30 years, but has instead looked overseas, planting the 'Shin brand' in markets around the world. In particular, it has risen to sixth place in the Japanese ramen market—the homeland of ramen—spreading the taste of Korean spiciness.

Harajuku, where Shin Ramyun Bunsik is located, sees a floating population of about 100,000 people on weekends and 20,000 to 30,000 on weekdays. Nongshim opened the Shin Ramyun Bunsik store here, known as the 'mecca of shopping,' to expand brand awareness and maximize marketing impact. The store is an experiential space where Japanese consumers and international tourists can try popular products such as Shin Ramyun, Shin Ramyun Tomba, and Neoguri. The local response has been enthusiastic. The overwhelming majority of customers have been women in their early 20s who are passionate about K-pop and K-content, and tourists from various countries have been noticeable as well.

Kim Daeha, Head of Nongshim Japan Corporation, explained, "Shin Ramyun Bunsik is serving as a vanguard in spreading Korean content. Monthly sales are increasing, and about 10,000 people visit every month."

After establishing its Japanese subsidiary in 2002, Nongshim introduced Shin Ramyun and began earnestly pioneering the spicy ramen market. Shin Ramyun did not find immediate success in Japan. Buyers from Japanese retailers often rejected it, saying, "Who would eat something this spicy?" Because Japanese ramen tends to favor sweet and salty flavors like shoyu, miso, and tonkotsu, they believed the spiciness of Shin Ramyun would not appeal to local consumers.

However, Nongshim did not dilute the spiciness or pursue localization strategies; instead, the company steadfastly maintained its original flavor. Kim Daeha recalled, "When I reported the situation to the headquarters, the late Chairman Shin Chun-ho said, 'If someone can't handle the spiciness, don't sell Shin Ramyun to them—just establish the brand.' As a result of sticking to our convictions, Japanese consumers have now come to appreciate spiciness, and we've continued to grow for over 10 years."

Kim Daeha, Head of Nongshim Japan Corporation, is conducting a media briefing on the 15th at the 'Shin Ramyun Bunsik' store located on Takeshita Street in Harajuku, Tokyo.

In fact, Shin Ramyun's sales in Japan reached 16.5 billion yen (about KRW 160 billion) last year, and over the past five years, it has achieved an average annual growth rate of over 20%. As of last year, cumulative sales surpassed KRW 1 trillion, and Shin Ramyun now holds a 40% share of the Japanese spicy ramen market. It is available at approximately 53,000 stores, including Japan's three major convenience store chains: 7-Eleven, FamilyMart, and Lawson, demonstrating the brand's power. Kim Daeha noted, "Only about 20% of the Japanese population knows the company Nongshim, but everyone knows Shin Ramyun."

The experiential marketing initiative 'Shin Ramyun Kitchen Car' has also contributed to Shin Ramyun's growth. The Shin Ramyun Kitchen Car, a food truck that allows people to taste Shin Ramyun directly, first launched in 2013 and has traveled through major Japanese cities every spring and fall for seven months each year, meeting consumers on the street and significantly boosting brand awareness. Kim Daeha stated, "Nongshim Japan has climbed from outside the top 10 in the ramen market to sixth place. There is still a gap to fifth, but our goal is to achieve 50 billion yen in sales and enter the top five. Initially, our main target consumers were housewives in their 30s and 40s, but the customer base has expanded to include younger people in their 20s and 30s as well."

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