Korean Instant Noodles

SEPTEMBER 2021 VOTED MAGAZINE BRAND OF YEAR
delicious.
by Truong Ngoc Quynh Dan (S3817776)
Asian Popular
Culture
The motivation make
Vietnamese purchase Korean
instant noodles
How do young
Vietnamese people
perceive Korean instant
noodles?
KOREAN
INSTANT NOODLE
DARK SOY NOODLES

Contents
Overview
The summary of Instant Noodles market in Korea
and Vietnam, the rationale for this project
03
Why Korean instant noodles is considered as a
popular culture?
Definition of popular culture would be mentioned
to prove Korean instant noodles as a popular culture
05
Theories
Some theories and difinitions are applied to
analysize this research
07
The motivation make Vietnamese decide to
purchase Korean instant noodles
Hallyu Wave brought a plurality of new culture such
as K-pod, K- drama and Mukbang
08
How do young Vietnamese people perceive
Korean instant noodles?
The way young Vietnamese perceive and response
the new culture
11
References
13
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Photo: Truong Dan
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Overview
It is undeniable that the cultural wave from Korea
spread strongly and widely in all sectors. Hence, the
Korean instant noodles market is also fast-growing
thanks to digital media and becomes the favorite food
of Vietnamese youth who will be the primary consumer
force in the future.
Author: Truong Ngoc Quynh Dan
Photo: Truong Dan
Instant noodles in Korea
In 2020, Korea – considered home to the
biggest noodle lovers – is in ranked 1 in the
highest consumption of instant noodles with
appropriate 79 servings per capita utilization
(World Instant Noodles Association [WINA]
2020). Additionally, instant noodle manufacturers
saw exponential demand at home and
abroad as the hot snack acquired international
popularity during the pandemic year due to
the Korean Wave or Hallyu Wave (Lee 2021).
The growth of the Korean popular culture
across the globe and significantly influenced
the popular culture of the neighborhood
(Ganghariya & Kanozia 2020), especially,
when the Korean film Parasite is Oscar-winning
(Lee 2021). As a result, Korean manufacturers
in this category earned billions of
dollars in 2020, thank to a surge in overseas
demand for instant noodles..
Instant noodles in Vietnam
Vietnam ranked 3rd in demand of instant
noodles when consuming more than seven
thousand cups/ packs behind China and
Indonesia and 2nd servings per capita consumption
behind Korea (WINA 2020). As a
result, Vietnam is a promising and potential
market for Korean manufacturers such as
Nongshim and Ottogi (Khoa 2019). Furthermore,
Nha Phuong – A famous actress – becomes
the first foreign brand ambassador of
Nongshim - Korea’s leading food company,
Nongshim will promote promotion to increase
image coverage for its most popular
noodle lines (Vu 2020).
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why is this project important?
This study is significant for the following reasons.
Firstly, although instant noodles are considered a
second meal for domestic consumers, prior research
on the link between consumer purchasing preferences
and Asian popular culture was insufficient and
restricted. The present study was conducted to investigate
why Korean instant noodles are the prominent
popular culture, the motivation of Vietnamese to decide
to purchase Korean instant noodles, and how
young Vietnamese people perceive Korean instant
noodles. Secondly, the rapid development of the
Korean instant noodle market in Vietnam may be a
threat or opportunity for the domestic company and
other foreign enterprises such as Japan, Indonesia.
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WHAT IS POPULAR CULTURE?
Popular culture is composed of two constitutive elements:
‘Popular’ and ‘culture’, and derived from significant things
of our everyday lives. ‘Popular’ means “of, or belonging to
the people” and is frequently infatuated by a large number
of people in a contemporary context (Szeman & O’Brien
2017). ‘Culture’ in other words special intellectual or artistic
productions which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals,
law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits created
during the evolutionary process of social groups (Helen
2012). As a result, it is defined as the totality of ideas, values,
practices, products that are enjoyed by a large number
of individuals as well as be a commercial culture (Szeman &
O’Brien 2017).
Why does Korean instant noodles belong to popular
culture?
From the above arguments, Korean instant noodles are considered
an emerging Asian popular culture because of the following
reasons. Firstly, the Korean instant noodle sales in Vietnam
are growing fast so appealing to the strong investment of enterprises
such as Nongshim and Ottogi (Khoa 2019). Especially, adolescents
(ages 10 – 18) and emerging adulthood (ages 18 – 29),
who are predominantly influenced by a flow across cultures of
concepts, products, and people through films (K-drama), music
(K-pop), cuisine, and Hallyu Wave in globalization context (Jensen
at al. 2011). Therefore, Korean instant noodles are a popular
commercial product from the Korean popular culture. Secondly,
food serves as a socializing mechanism that reflects cultures, societies,
and classes because the meaning will be performed through
cooking and eating (Wenzel 2016). Additionally, food is not just
preparing ingredients and consuming dishes, especially, in media
and popular culture: it frequently conveys complex meanings that
must be analyzed to understand what is being conveyed (Turner
2021). As a result, Korean instant noodles have fulfilled popular culture’s
features.
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Why Korean
instant noodles
is considered
as a popular
culture?
Photo: Truong Dan
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Theories
1
Textual analysis:
A process entails comprehending the language,
symbols, and/or images included in
texts to obtain insight into how individuals
feel and communicate life and life experiences.
However, the communication way is often
impacted on broader social structures, so the
researcher must comprehend the larger social
structures that affect the signals contained in
the text under consideration (Allen 2017).
2Hegemony:
Author & Photographer: Truong Ngoc Quynh Dan
The term mentions the potential of an individual
or a group with the overwhelming
ability to frame the international structure.
In addition, the latter feature of hegemony is
emphasized to international leadership by one
political subject such as the government or a
‘historical bloc’ of social groupings (Schmidt
2018). Soft power is theư dominant trait of
hegemony and proposes that pop culture may
be converted into tools of political influence,
allowing the exporting country to affect the
opinions of target consumers (Lovric 2016).
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The motivation of Vietnamese
decide to purchase
Korean instant noodles
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Artwork: Mukbang
by Truong Ngoc Quynh Dan

To understand the motivation that makes people want to purchase
Korean instant noodles, we have to explore why Korean popular
culture develops at an extraordinary rate, especially, cuisine
Hallyu Wave
Korean popular culture also know
as Hallyu Wave, is a term to refer to
popular cultural goods from Korea,
for example, cosmetics, music, movies,
and cuisine are exposed to outsiders
(Dator & Seo 2004). Advancing
in the late 1990s and spearheading
in the late 2000s because of virtual
connectedness of social media and
advancements in internet technology
(Ganghariya & Kanozia 2020). This
development has prompted South
Korea to commercialize their cultures
as a package commodity. As a
result, Vietnamese youth (Millennials
and Gen Z), who have advanced
into new creative spaces such as music,
film, sport, and fashion, can be
greatly influenced by South Korean
soft power and formed a large number
of hard-core Hallyu fans.
Oscars winning ‘Parasite’
movie
Korean cinema is known and appreciated
by more and more people after
Parasite wins 4 important Oscars
and the Ram – don which combines
two Korean instant noodle brands:
“Jjapaghetti” and “Neoguri” is taking
the internet and the world by storm
(Coughlin 2020). Besides, Korean
food such as kimchi, tteokbokki,
and ramyeon are essential elements
of K-drama and the way they show
their identity as Koreans (Park &
Lee 2019). Opinions and attitudes of
neighboring countries such as China,
Japan, and Vietnam, which consume
K-drama is considerably influenced
toward cuisine.
Mukbang
Recently, the viral Korean food You-
Tube trend also know as Mukbang
(eating broadcast) – a combination of
the Korean terms for “eating” (meokneun)
and “broadcasting” (bangsong)
(Kang et al. 2020). The author or host
of their live audiovisual broadcast has
to consume huge quantities of food
equivalent to 4,000 or more calories
in one sitting (Jackson 2021). Therefore,
watching Mukbang has a strong
influence on the youth’s eating habits
and arouses cravings. The massive
success of cultural media industries
from music to film has exploded Korean
food culture as well as instant
noodles.
Three motivations make the young Vietnamese
purchasing Korean Instant Noodles
First of all, audiences and Hallyu
fans are willing to experience Korean
food with true ethnic flavor as they
are in this country to make novelty
for their daily meals (Maksan et al.
2019). Because of watching Korean
dramas, consumers are naturally exposed
to numerous Korean items and
brands (Straubhaar 1991). Hence, instant
noodles, which have been produced
and sold all over the world, are
a product category that may symbolize
a traditional ethnic flavor while
also being highly convenient to deliver
and consume.
Secondly, each food culture has
used the rule of spices and ingredients
which use so regularly and
gradually form a mnemonic of the
cuisine - also known as “the flavor
principle”. For instance, Soy sauce,
rice wine, and ginger root impart a
Chinese taste, whereas soy sauce, sesame
seeds, and chile impart a Korean
flavor (Li & Chung 2021). Therefore,
the domestic instant noodle market
cannot respond this need.
Finally, the proximity culture between
Vietnam and Korea is positively
linked with meal liking (Victoria et
al. 2009), particularly in comparing
food acceptances across consumers
in cross-cultural studies (Hong et al.
2014). Food acceptability of consumers
is judged based on an integration
of prior experiences, the sensory
characteristics, contextual appropriateness,
and the individual’s biological,
psychological, and socio-cultural
variables. For example, traditional
Korean foods like Kimchi, tteobokki
are accepted and popular in Vietnam
because they appear in almost K-drama.
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Trend
Due to cultural proximity, Vietnamese audiences search for more content on
a national scale and choose what is imported from the same region, language
group, and culture (Straubhaar 1991). Hence, K-Pop music has always been
a vibrant market with a large number of followers, Korean food was in the
spotlight as well (Maynard 2020) especially when it is suggested by idols.
Through media, the celebrity has established an intimate relationship with
their fans, one that is spontaneous, flexible, and exudes the aura of ‘reality’
(Krieken 2012, p. 41). For example, Mark (a member of GOT7) shares his
favorite dish which is a combination of tteokbokki and instant noodles, then
immediately it becomes famous and is named ‘Markmeal’ by his fans (Kenh
14 2017). As a result, the young Vietnamese perceive Korean instant noodles
is as a trend which is imparted by their idols pop.
Asian imagined communities
Korean media as soft power, the transnational flexibility of popular culture
has spread globally. Myanmar, Vietnam, Singapore, and Indonesia have the
highest ratings on the Korean wave growth and popularity indexes (Lee et
al. 2020), so it is conceived ‘imagined communities’ in Asia (Shim 2006).
Especially in worldwide interconnection period, the more audiences consume
the same Korean cultural products, the more similar identities are.
The young have the “sense of belonging” to a community when they have a
plurality of topics to communicate, connect and share on social media regardless
of geography and region (Kavoura 2014). As a result, individuals
who do not have the opportunity to visit this country might learn a great
deal through others on large and tiny screens.
Conclusion
To get a critical understanding of the Korean instant noodles popular culture in Vietnam, we have to explore
why and how Korean popular culture is accessible to the Vietnamese. The reasons have proposed the dominance
of Hallyu Wave in the early 2000s and then Mukbang and Oscar-winning of ‘Parasite’ film. As a result, it
has formed and developed into Asian imagined communities who desire to experience Korean instant noodles
and perceive them as the trend. Because popular culture directly reflects Vietnamese perception formed by
the ideology of belief, it is also essential aspect to find out how to communicate with the young Vietnamese.
Hence, businesses’ and PR practitioners’ messages must fit the identity of the audience and make sense of their
experiences (Grindstaff 2008).
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HOW DO YOUNG
VIETNAMESE
PEOPLE PERCEIVE KOREAN
INSTANT NOODLES?
Photo: Truong Dan
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EXPLORING ASIAN POPULAR
CULTURE KOREAN INSTANT
NOODLES - VOL.1
Lecture: Justin Michael Battin
Subject Code: COMM2497
Author: Truong Ngoc Quynh Dan
Email: S3817776@rmit.edu.vn