Japanese firm accused of ripping off Buldak Ramen
Samyang Foods' Buldak Ramen / Courtesy of Samyang Foods
By Kim Jae-heun
Nissin Foods, a Japanese global food company, is facing growing criticism for selling products that closely resemble the popular Korean Buldak Ramen instant noodle product manufactured by Samyang Foods, according to industry officials, Monday.
Nissin introduced Hot & Spicy Fire Wok last September. The product allegedly not only copied the taste and packaging design of Buldak Ramen, but also has the Korean word “bokkeummyeon” written on its packaging, which means fried noodle in Korean. Its price is only one-fifth of the original.
“Nissin's Hot & Spicy Fire Wok product looks very much like Samyang Foods' Buldak Ramen. Some consumers are confused about which is the original. It also introduced a new cup noodle recently that resembles Samyang Foods' Carbo Buldak Ramen. It looks to me like Nissin just wants to ride on the popularity of Korean instant noodle products,” a local food firm official said.
Nissin Foods' Hot & Spicy Fire Wok / Screenshot from Nissin Foods' website
Samyang Foods said it had considered taking legal action but decided not to because it is difficult to hold the Japanese firm legally accountable if its product carries different names.
“The company has trademark rights over Buldak Bokkeummyeon in Japan. As our Buldak Ramen is highly recognized in Japan already, we will carry out marketing activities emphasizing the originality of our product there,” a Samyang Foods official said.
The popularity of Korean instant noodles is resulting in all-time-high sales records in overseas markets.
According to the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation and the Korea Customs Service, exports of Korean instant noodles for this year were tentatively tallied at $208 million (274.6 billion won) as of March. It is the first time that Korean instant noodle product exports exceeded $200 million in the first quarter of a year.