How did viewers outside Korea respond to Samyang’s samyangman channel?

Viewers outside Korea, including those in Canada, Britain and Australia, made up about 99 percent of total views. Samyang Roundsquare said comments were largely positive, with viewers praising the marketing as clever and fresh, and that interest in Tony’s character was growing.

What does Samyang Roundsquare plan to do with its original content?

A Samyang Roundsquare official said the company would continue introducing food and culture from various countries and release original content highlighting the cast members’ personalities and stories. The company said it aims to strengthen its own intellectual property and broaden connections with consumers through content global audiences can relate to and enjoy.

Samyang's employee-led YouTube channel tops 2 mil. views in 3 months

Q: What is Samyang Roundsquare’s Fire or Fired series about?

The series follows Tony, a Samyang employee who struggles with spicy food, as he tries fiery local dishes in New York, Texas, Los Angeles and other parts of the United States. The company cast its own employee rather than hiring celebrities or influencers, and he interacts with locals on camera.

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Summary

Samyang Roundsquare’s employee-led YouTube channel samyangman surpassed 2 million cumulative views about three months after its launch in August. Its BURNT series Fire or Fired follows employee Tony as he tries spicy local dishes in several U.S. locations and interacts with locals. The seven episodes had drawn more than 2.18 million views as of Sunday, with the Samyang America episode leading at 770,000. Viewers outside Korea accounted for about 99 percent of total views.

Key Facts

The channel’s most-watched episode features a visit to Samyang America, the company’s U.S. subsidiary.
Viewers in the United States accounted for about 45 percent of total views.
Samyang Roundsquare launched BURNT in May as a spicy media house seeking to expand spiciness into culture and experience.
BURNT also runs original series called Spicy Blind Date and Can You Handle the Burn.

By Jhoo Dong-chan

Published Nov 9, 2026 11:00 am KST
Updated Nov 9, 2026 11:34 am KST

A scene from the “Fire or Fired” series on Samyang Roundsquare’s YouTube channel samyangman / Courtesy of Samyang Foods

Samyang Roundsquare, the parent company behind the Buldak spicy instant noodle maker Samyang Foods, said Monday its YouTube channel samyangman has surpassed 2 million cumulative views about three months after its launch in August.

The channel airs “Fire or Fired,” an original series from BURNT, the company’s spicy food content brand. The show follows Tony, a Samyang employee who struggles with spicy food, as he tries fiery local dishes in New York, Texas, Los Angeles and other parts of the United States.

Tony is what Koreans jokingly call a “maepjjiri,” slang for someone with a low tolerance for spicy food. Instead of hiring celebrities or influencers, the company cast its own employee, who interacts with locals on camera.

The seven episodes released so far have drawn more than 2.18 million views as of Sunday. The most-watched episode, featuring a visit to Samyang America, the company’s U.S. subsidiary, logged 770,000 views, followed by episodes filmed in Nashville, Tennessee, and New Mexico.

Viewers in the United States accounted for about 45 percent of total views, while those outside Korea, including Canada, Britain and Australia, made up about 99 percent.

The company said comments have been largely positive, with viewers praising the marketing as clever and fresh, and that interest in Tony’s character is growing.

“We will continue to introduce food and culture from various countries and release original content that highlights the personalities and stories of our cast members,” a Samyang Roundsquare official said. “Through content that global consumers can relate to and enjoy, we will strengthen the competitiveness of our own intellectual property and broaden our connections with consumers.”

Samyang Roundsquare launched BURNT in May as a “spicy media house” that seeks to expand spiciness into culture and experience. It also runs other original series such as “Spicy Blind Date” and “Can You Handle the Burn.”

This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.

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