[Feature] Samyang Foods Joins Hands with the 'Mother of Buldak'…Targets...

Kim Jung-soo, the creator of Buldak Bokkeummyun, played a pivotal role in driving the company’s sales growth through the hit spicy noodle brand. Photo = Samyang Roundsquare

| NewsWatch= Reporter Myung Kyung-min | The industry is paying close attention as Kim Jung-soo, who led the development of Buldak Bokkeum Myeon and spearheaded the company’s export-driven growth, has been promoted to chairwoman of Samyang Foods. However, compared with its strong overseas growth, the company’s relatively sluggish domestic performance is expected to remain a key challenge for Chairwoman Kim going forward.

According to industry sources on May 19, Samyang Foods held a board meeting on May 12 and appointed Kim Jung-soo as chairwoman. The promotion comes about five years after she was elevated from executive vice president to vice chairwoman in 2021. Through the latest reshuffle, the company said it plans to further strengthen its global expansion and profitability-focused management strategy.

Kim, the daughter-in-law of the late honorary chairman Jeon Jung-yoon and wife of former chairman Jeon In-jang, graduated from Ewha Womans University with a degree in social work. She had lived as an ordinary homemaker before joining Samyang Foods in 1998 to help the company through financial difficulties caused by the beef tallow scandal and the IMF financial crisis. Since then, she has taken on key leadership roles including head of sales, vice president and president, gradually moving to the forefront of management.

Chairwoman Kim is widely regarded as the driving force behind the creation of Buldak Bokkeum Myeon, the mega-hit brand that transformed Samyang Foods from a domestically focused company into a global food enterprise. In early 2011, after seeing young consumers sweating while enjoying spicy food at a restaurant in Seoul’s Myeong-dong district, she reportedly ordered the development of a new spicy noodle product. After about a year of development, Buldak Bokkeum Myeon was launched in April 2012.

During the year-long R&D process, more than 1,200 chickens were reportedly used, while employees from the marketing and research divisions traveled across the country visiting famous spicy-food restaurants to analyze flavors. After numerous sauce-mixing tests, the company ultimately perfected the signature Buldak sauce known today. Ironically, Kim herself is said to have a low tolerance for spicy food, making her rise as the “Mother of Buldak” all the more remarkable.

Image = Screenshot from the YouTube channel Korean Englishman.

Buldak Bokkeum Myeon experienced explosive growth overseas in tandem with the rise of online content trends. In 2014, a foreign YouTuber in Korea uploaded a “Fire Noodle Challenge” video featuring the spicy noodles, and the trend quickly spread among overseas YouTubers and across social media platforms. The brand’s global recognition grew even further after content showing Jimin eating Buldak Bokkeum Myeon also went viral.

According to Samyang Foods business reports, overseas sales stood at just 22.4 billion won in 2014, but rose to 30.7 billion won in 2015 and surged to 93 billion won in 2016, marking the beginning of full-scale growth. Although overseas sales dipped slightly from 205.1 billion won in 2017 to 200.1 billion won in 2018, they resumed their upward trajectory with 272.7 billion won in 2019 and 370.3 billion won in 2020.

In the first quarter of 2026 alone, overseas sales increased 38% year-on-year to 585 billion won, accounting for approximately 81% of total revenue. As a result, Samyang Foods has transformed itself from a domestically focused food company into one built around global markets.

In line with its rapid global expansion, the company’s strategy under Chairwoman Kim Jung-soo has become increasingly focused on overseas markets. Samyang Foods completed its first export-dedicated factory in Miryang in 2022, followed by a second factory in June last year. In 2024, the company also finalized plans to establish a local production facility in China.

The company has also obtained halal certification for Buldak products from Majelis Ulama Indonesia and is expanding collaborations and localized products tailored to consumer preferences in key markets such as the United States, China and Japan. At the same time, it is accelerating its global push by launching various product extensions including Buldak snacks. In January, the company also relocated its headquarters to Myeong-dong to better target demand from foreign tourists.

Graph = ChatGPT, Source = Samyang Foods Business Report

While Samyang Foods continues to post strong growth driven by its overseas business, some analysts say its performance in the domestic market remains relatively underwhelming. In fact, domestic sales fell from KRW 356.1 billion in 2023 to KRW 314.8 billion the following year, before rebounding to KRW 359.7 billion last year. Industry observers believe this is partly because Buldak Bokkeummyun has become positioned more as an “extreme spicy challenge” product rather than an everyday meal like conventional instant noodles.

Regarding this, a Samyang Foods official said, “Apart from the growth of our global business, we are also actively expanding brand experiences and diversifying our product portfolio in the domestic market,” adding, “In line with changes in Korean consumers’ tastes and lifestyles, we are introducing new brands and expanding into categories such as sauces, snacks, and HMR (home meal replacement) products.”

The official continued, “This year, we plan to further strengthen the global competitiveness of the Buldak brand while focusing on expanding our business portfolio and brand experiences,” adding, “We will continue to expand our production and distribution infrastructure, as well as consumer touchpoints, in key markets such as the United States, China, and Europe to further solidify our global business foundation.”

The official also added, “In addition to expanding into various categories including sauces, snacks, and HMR products centered around the Buldak brand, we also plan to provide new consumer experiences through new brands such as MEP, Tangle, and Pulse Lab.”

Reporter Myung Kyung-min newswatch@newswatch.kr