Samyang Foods Co., Ltd. is an international South Korean food manufacturer and the first instant ramen company in South Korea. Samyang Food was founded on September 15, 1961 by Jeon Jung Yoon. In 1963, Samyang Food debuted the first Korean instant noodle.

History

In the early 1970s, Samyang Foods converted a 20 km² Daegwallyeong forest into a grassland to raise

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals ...

. In 2010, Jeon In Jang became the company's chairman. The company is now placed third to fourth in the instant noodle market of Korea. Samyang Foods started exporting their products, increasing the company's profits. Recently, the company took over several restaurant chains to expand into the food service industry. In 2012, Samyang Foods released its Buldak Spicy Chicken Ramen. The new Buldak Spicy Chicken flavor became popular in the

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community. In 2012, Samyang Foods along with several other companies in the

Instant Noodles Instant noodles, or instant ramen, is a type of food consisting of noodles sold in a precooked and dried block with flavoring powder and/or seasoning oil. The dried noodle block was originally created by flash frying cooked noodles, and this is ...

market, including

Nongshim Nongshim Co., Ltd. () is a South Korean food and beverage company headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. Nongshim was founded in 1965 under the name Lotte (conglomerate), Lotte Food Industrial Company. The name was changed to Nongshim in 1978. The ...

Ottogi Ottogi Co, Ltd. ( Korean: 주식회사 오뚜기) is a food manufacturing company headquartered in Anyang, South Korea. Ottogi Center is located in Seoul and is listed on the KOSPI 200. History Ottogi was founded in May 1969. Ottogi’s fir ...

, and

Korea Yakult hy Co., Ltd (), formerly known as Korea Yakult (), is a South Korean food company based in Seocho-gu, Seoul. It is one of the largest food companies in South Korea and produces beverages (including ''sikhye'' and '' sujeonggwa'') and dairy produ ...

, were fined by the Korean Fair Trade Commission for fixing instant noodles prices from 2001 to 2010. In 2019, Hyundai Development Co., a large shareholder of Samyang Foods with 16.99% stake, pushes for the suspension of board directors with criminal records. In 2019, Samyang Foods establishes Samyang Japan, its first overseas sales unit. This expansion is due to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

’s large ramen market, approximately $5.4 billion US dollars of ramen consumption. In 2020, Samyang Foods launches its new

kimchi ''Kimchi'' (; ko, 김치, gimchi, ), is a traditional Korean side dish of salted and fermented vegetables, such as napa cabbage and Korean radish. A wide selection of seasonings are used, including ''gochugaru'' (Korean chili powder), sprin ...

-flavored Buldak spicy noodles to meet consumer demands and interests in “fire noodles”. On March 19, 2021, Samyang Foods Co. announced its sales reached a new high due to the increased demands for its instant noodles during the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

. Samyang Foods Co.’s operating profit increased by 21.9% since last year.

Legal Issues

In the 1980s, Samyang Food began producing other products such as snacks, dairy products, and sauces. The demand for instant noodles in Korea increased, followed by increasing exports to Japan and the United States. In 1989, allegations arose that Samyang used unsafe industrial oil in their noodles. Although ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing, this scandal harmed the company's reputation, and contributed to ending its dominance in the instant noodle market. In 2018, Samyang Foods Co. reached an agreement with its

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

subsidiary, Samyang USA, to resolve a nearly $1 billion US dollar legal battle. Samyang USA paid $4.1 million in reparation. In 2019, the settlement of two class actions against Defendant Samyang Foods Co. have been approved by the

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and the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario. Terms of settlement include that Samyang Foods pay $288,586.98 dollars in compensation. On January 25, 2019, Samyang chairman Jeon In Jang was sentenced to prison for 3 years for embezzling $5 billion Won (USD $4.43 million) of his company's funds. His wife and CEO of Samyang, Kim Jung-soo, was given a 2-year prison term, albeit suspended for 3 years, on the same charges. Since Jeon's imprisonment, Kim has assumed her husband's leadership duties.

Chronology

* September 1961: First established the Samyang Dairy Corporation * October 1961: Changed the name to Samyang Industrial Co., Ltd * September 1963: Produced Korea's first instant noodle * October 1965: Changed to Samyang Food Industrial Co., Ltd * November 1967: Moved to Dobong Plant from Wolgok Plant * January 1969: Established Samyang Dairy Products * November 1973: Started construction of Daegwallyeong grassland * January 1978: Established Samyang Oil Industry * October 1978: Opening of the Samyang Medical Corporation * November 1989: Industrial oil scandal * June 1990: Changed the name to Samyang Food Industrial Co., Ltd

Products

Samyang ramen Samyang ramen (Instant Noodles) is instant ramen made by Samyang Foods, a South Korean grocery company. History It was launched as South Korea's first ramen product on September 15, 1963. Industrial oil scandal On November 3, 1989, an anon ...

Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen Hot n Flavor Ramen or ''buldak-bokkeum-myeon'' ( ko, 불닭볶음면, '' fire chicken stir-fried noodles'') is a South Korean brand of instant noodle, produced by Samyang Foods since April 2012. The large cup ''ramyeon'' debuted in June 2012, and ...

* Samyang bowl & cup noodles * Samyang snacks * Refined sugar

Affiliates of Samyang (Samyang family)

* Samyang Ranch * Ho Myeon Dang * Ho myeon dang (Premium Noodle House) * Gourmet Ho myeon dang (Gourmet Noodles and Comfort Food) * Ho myeon and Ban (Oriental Noodle Shop) * Lamen's (We Know Korean Flavor) * Samyang Sae A-chim * Samyang Jeju Milk

References

Sources

# http://www.etnews.com/20171027000329 # http://news.mk.co.kr/newsRead.php?&year=2017&no=88786 # http://www.sportsseoul.com/news/read/514659 # http://news.mk.co.kr/newsRead.php?&year=2017&no=107740

External link

* {{Portal bar, Food, Companies, South Korea Food and drink companies of South Korea Food manufacturers of South Korea Manufacturing companies based in Seoul South Korean brands Instant noodle brands Food and drink companies established in 1961 Companies listed on the Korea Exchange South Korean companies established in 1961 Multinational companies headquartered in South Korea