The Han River ramyeon — enjoyed by many K-pop idols and stars, including aespa’s Karina, as well as locals and tourists from around the world — will be exported to the United States.
Han River ramyeon refers to instant noodles sold at the Han River parks along the Seoul waterway that use a one-stop instant noodle cooker.
Bumil Industrial, the maker of the Hauscook instant noodle cooker, signed a $5 million export deal with the U.S.-based distribution company BeautyMaster on Tuesday to export its machines.
The deal was signed at the 2024 Korea Business Expo Vienna held in Austria.
Hauscook is a machine that combines an induction stove, water purifier and kettle in one unit to cook instant ramyeon in a more convenient manner. It can also be used to cook other products, according to the company.
Many of the cooking machines installed at Han River parks are made by Bumil Industrial, which has a near-95 percent market share for instant noodle cookers in Korea.
“The popularity of K-food rose in the United States thanks to Hallyu,” BeautyMaster CEO Park Hyoung-gwon said, referring to the Korean pop culture wave. “We saw an increase in instant ramyeon sales in stores and made the judgment that [Hauscook] will work in the market.”
BeautyMaster operates 12 food- and beauty-specialized supermarkets in the U.S.
“We first plan to supply [Hauscook] to gas stations with service areas to increase the product’s brand awareness,” the CEO said, adding that the company will import more machines in the future.
Bumil Industrial also signed a $3 million deal with a Bulgarian company and a $1 million deal with a Chinese company, but did not disclose the company names.
BY HA SU-YOUNG [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]
