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| Park Byeong-gu |
By Nam Hyun-woo
An 84-year-old man has been eating ramyeon, instant noodles, for 41 years.
Ramyeon is one of the most favored snacks since its debut here in 1963.
It is generally regarded as an unhealthy fast food. But the man's ramyeon diet, which has lasted for more than four decades could be proof against this.
Park Byeong-gu has only eaten ramyeon three times a day since 1972, when he was suffering from a stomach disease and started to vomit after everything he ate.
Park's acquaintances advised him to try medication and other healthy food. But none was effective.
One day he came to eat "Happy Sogogi Ramyeon (beef ramyeon)" by Nongshim, the country's largest instant noodle maker, and found that the vomiting stopped and that the noodles made his stomach feel comfortable.
Since beef ramyeon went off the market in 1988, he has been eating Ansungtangmyun, one of the best selling instant noodles in Korea. Park does not eat anything except ramyeon.
Nongshim has been supplying Park 432 Ansungtangmyun packs per quarter since 1994 for free.
"We learned that Park's residence is in a remote area of Gangwon Province, far from grocery markets. Since then, we've been providing Park with our ramyeon," said an official at Nongshim.
The official said Park is healthy with no major change in his weight.
Jang Yeong-ae, part of the Nutrition Research Team at Nongshim, said, "Ramyeon has been evolving from a substitute for a meal to a dish with good nutrition. However, you cannot attain all the nutrition the body requires only through ramyeon. Park's case is really unusual."
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