Samyang Roundsquare Co., Ltd. () is an international South Korean food manufacturer and the first instant ramen company in South Korea. Samyang was founded on September 15, 1961, by Jeon Jung Yoon. In 1963, Samyang 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 Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...

. 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, which is s ...

market, including

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

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, and

Korea Yakult hy Co., Ltd ()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 products (including ''yakult'', a yogurt- ...

, 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, pushed for the suspension of board directors with criminal records. In 2019, Samyang Foods established Samyang Japan, its first overseas sales unit. This expansion was motivated by

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

's large ramen market, approximately US$5.4 billion of ramen consumption. In 2020, Samyang Foods launched its new

kimchi Kimchi (; ) is a traditional Korean side dish (''banchan'') consisting of salted and fermented vegetables, most often napa cabbage or Korean radish. A wide selection of seasonings are used, including '' gochugaru'' (Korean chili powder), ...

-flavored Buldak spicy noodles to meet consumer demand and interest 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 and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Samyang Foods Co.'s operating profit increased by 21.9% over the previous 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 (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

subsidiary, Samyang USA, to resolve a nearly US$1 billion 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

Supreme Court of British Columbia The Supreme Court of British Columbia is the superior trial court for the province of British Columbia, Canada. The Court hears civil and criminal law cases as well as appeals from the Provincial Court of British Columbia. There are 90 judici ...

and the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario. Terms of settlement include that Samyang Foods pay $288,586.98 in compensation. On January 25, 2019, Samyang chairman Jeon In Jang was sentenced to prison for 3 years for embezzling $5 billion Won (US$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. In June 2024,

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

recalled three variants of Samyang's spicy ramen noodle products after the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration assessed the levels of

capsaicin Capsaicin (8-methyl-''N''-vanillyl-6-nonenamide) (, rarely ) is an active component of chili peppers, which are plants belonging to the genus ''Capsicum''. It is a potent Irritation, irritant for Mammal, mammals, including humans, and produces ...

in a single packet to be high enough to pose a risk of the consumer developing acute poisoning. The recall was upheld for Buldak 3x Spicy Hot Chicken, the spiciest of the three, but was reversed for the other two variants a month later after an updated risk assessment by the Food Institute of the

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revealed lower capsaicin levels in those variants.

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 * July 2023: Changed the name to Samyang Roundsquare Co., Ltd.

Products

* Samyang Ramen ** Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen * Samyang bowl and 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 links

* {{KOSPI 200 Food and drink companies of South Korea Food manufacturers of South Korea Manufacturing companies based in Seoul South Korean brands Instant noodle brands of South Korea Dairy products companies of South Korea Condiment companies of South Korea Food and drink companies established in 1961 Companies listed on the Korea Exchange Companies in the KOSPI 200 South Korean companies established in 1961 Multinational companies headquartered in South Korea Multinational food companies