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‘Ramen’ was first invented in Japan in the 19th century. Then in 1958, Nissin Food Products Co., Ltd. invented instant noodles. The noodles landed in Korea in the 1960s and it was the beginning of the Korean Ramyeon. It sharply adapted Korean characteristics and the annual consumption of instant noodles per capita in Korea grew exponentially, overpowering that in Japan and any other nation (74.1/year). Cheap, yummy and quick to serve, Ramyeon is an everyday food in Korea even though some warn that it is not good for your health. Naturally, we can see Ramyeon very often in Korean films.

One of the best ramyeon scenes is in One Fine Spring Day (2001), directed by HUR Jin-ho. Eun-su says (LEE Young-ae), “Do you want to eat Ramyeon?” and this quote is often recited as a pick-up line. It can be translated to “Do you want to sleep with me?” to the man she was with. Later, Sang-woo (YOO Ji-tae) experiences love pains. After he breaks up with Eun-su, he eats ramyeon by himself on a rainy night to relieve the sadness. At that time, his father leaves him a bottle of soju (Korean distilled liquor) without a word. Later on, HUR Jin-ho directed April Snow (2005) and Happiness (2007) to complete the so-called ‘Ramyeon Trilogy’. Seo-yeong (SON Ye-jin) relieves a hangover with a cup of noodles in April Snow and Yeong-su (HWANG Jung-min) hides and eats ramyeon at a sanatorium in Happiness.

Probably influenced by HUR Jin-ho, RYU Jang-ha, who was the assistant director of One Fine Spring Day, inserted an impressive ramyeon scene in his debut film Spring Time (2004). Hyeon-woo (CHOI Min-shik) goes to a remote coal-mining town to teach a school band. There he lives solely on ramyeon as a lazy man. He doesn’t even put noodles in a bowl but gobbles them down from the pot, splashing soup all over and making lots of noise. Jae-il (LEE Jae-eung), a kid living in the town helps him with a great appetite when eating ramyeon. What is interesting about LEE Jae-eung is that this was not his only role to devour ramyeon. A similar scene can be found in My Teacher, Mr. Kim (2003). Teacher KIM Bong-du (CHA Seung-won) is transferred from the city to a mountain village in Gangwon province. When he leaves leftover ramyeon, So-seok (LEE Jae-eung) finishes it no matter how much the teacher scolds him. Another film where a grown-up and a child share ramyeon is Cracked Eggs And Noodles (2005). Dae-gyu (IM Chang-jung) and In-gwon (LEE In-seong) paired up as traveling companions by coincidence cook ramyeon at a shabby room. While cooking, In-gwon makes up a song with lyrics about the most conventional ramyeon recipe among Koreans.

It would be a mistake to leave off the eating master HA Jung-woo when talking about ramyeon scenes. He gobbles up so many different foods in The Yellow Sea (2010), one of which is a cup of noodles he bought at a convenient store late at night. He finishes the ramyeon in a flash and eats a sausage walking out of the store. There are impressive ramyeon scenes at convenient stores in Out to the World (1994) and Attack The Gas Station (1999) as well. But Ramyeon looked the most delicious in Nowhere To Hide (1999). Detective Woo (PARK Joong-hoon) locked up Jjang-gu (PARK Sang-myun) in his house. Interestingly enough, there is a strange feeling of solidarity between the cop and the criminal only when they’re eating ramyeon. The noodles look yummier in a crushed pot. They empty the pot without leaving a single drop.

A man in Le Grand Chef (2007) cannot forget the taste of ramyeon he ate one day in the past. WOO Jung-geo (KIM Sang-ho) tries various different ways to reproduce the taste of ramyeon he ate in the army, but he never achieves it. In the end, he learns the lesson that ramyeon tastes the best when the consumer is starving. Actor KIM Sang-ho actually ran a ramyeon restaurant in the past. Maybe because of that, he cooks ramyeon that look really good throughout the film.

What was the saddest ramyeon scene, then? It is perhaps the last scene of The Show Must Go On (2007). Gangster In-gu (SONG Kang-ho) finally realizes his long-cherished dream of having a pastoral house, but he ends up living alone while the rest of his family lives abroad. He watches TV sitting alone at a large empty house while a video clip of his happy wife and daughter runs on the TV monitor. He sheds tears missing his family and throws the noodles. The noodles and broken pieces of bowl scatter around on the floor. Then he collects them in a plastic bag. Next to him are just the remains of the splattered noodles.