By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter
A cockroach found in a popular Nongshim ramyeon product is causing a huge stir on the Internet as it gets linked to a campaign calling for companies to stop running ads in conservative newspapers.
Last Saturday, an elementary schoolboy in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, found a cockroach in Shin Ramyeon, the nation's bestselling instant noodle, while cooking it. The ramyeon was part of two boxes that the family bought in March online.
The father, 49-year-old Choi, reported it to Nongshim, and the company said after examination that the cockroach was not put in the product during the manufacturing process but during distribution.
However, Choi claimed the cockroach entered the package during manufacturing, as the bug was bent and stuck in the noodles. He reported this to local media.
The case involves the bloggers' movement to press advertisers to stop putting ads in conservative newspapers, which they believe carry unfair reports about the candlelight demonstrations in protest of U.S. beef imports.
Bloggers have pressured those who advertise in the nation's three main conservative dailies, saying they will boycott their products. Some companies, including Samyang Foods, one of Nongshim's rivals, have scrapped their ads following the pressure.
Nongshim, on the other hand, refused to accept the call. Additionally, a Nongshim employee allegedly posted comments criticizing the bloggers' campaign against conservative newspapers.
The Chosun Ilbo, one of the conservative dailies, recently carried a series of articles about a nut found in a ramyeon product by Samyang, but not a single line about the cockroach in the Nongshim product.
Internet users are now moving to ``save'' Samyang ramyeon through buying the products of Nongshim's rival.
rahnita@koreatimes.co.kr
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