Shin Choon-ho (; 1 December 1930 – 27 March 2021) was a South Korean businessman who founded

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 ...

in 1965.

Biography

Shin Choon-ho was born on 1 December 1930 in Ulju County,

Ulsan Ulsan (; ), officially the Ulsan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's seventh-largest metropolitan city and the eighth-largest city overall, with a population of over 1.1 million inhabitants. It is located in the south-east of the country, neighbo ...

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

and was the third eldest son in the family. His older brother Shin Kyuk-ho was the founder of the Korean-Japanese conglomerate

Lotte Corporation Lotte Corporation is a South Korean Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation, and the fifth-largest chaebol in South Korea. Lotte was founded on 28 June 1948 by Korean businessman Shin Kyuk- ...

. He graduated from Dong-A University in

Busan Busan (), officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second list of cities in South Korea by population, most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.3 million as of 2024. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economi ...

in 1958 after serving as a police officer. He moved to Japan to help his brother with Lotte's confectionery business shortly afterwards. Shin founded Lotte Industrial Company, his own business separate from the existing company, in 1965 to focus on the

ramyeon is a Chinese noodle dish popularized in Japan. It includes served in several flavors of broth. Common flavors are soy sauce and miso, with typical toppings including , nori (dried seaweed), menma (bamboo shoots), and scallions. Ramen h ...

business. In 1978, he renamed the company Nongshim, which means "farmer's heart," after his brother objected to his proposal to produce instant noodles. The relationship between the two brothers reportedly soured, and the two never reconciled. Under Shin's leadership, Nongshim became South Korea's largest instant noodles maker and the fifth-largest in the world, and introduced popular products such as the

Saeukkang Saeukkang (; also called Shrimp Cracker) is a South Korean snack produced by South Korean company Nongshim since 1971. Around 90g of prawn crackers (around 4-5 sheets) are packaged in parchment paper. History Name 'Saeu' translates to shr ...

Shin Ramyun Shin Ramyun () is a brand of instant noodle (including cup ramyeon) that has been produced by the South Korean food company Nongshim since October 1, 1986. It is now exported to over 100 countries, and is the best-selling instant noodle brand i ...

, Chapaghetti, and Neoguri. He died on 27 March 2021 at

Seoul National University Hospital Seoul National University Hospital () is a teaching hospital located in Yeongeon-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea. It is a general and teaching hospital of Seoul National University's College of Medicine. Description It consists of four bran ...

. Shin is survived by his wife Kim Nak-yang, and five children. His eldest son,

Shin Dong-won Shin Dong-won (; born 1958) is a South Korean businessman. He is the chairman and CEO of South Korean food and beverage conglomerate Nongshim. Biography Shin is the eldest son of the late founder and chairman of Nongshim Group Shin Choon-ho. H ...

, became chairman of Nongshim.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shin, Choon-ho 1930 births 2021 deaths 20th-century Korean businesspeople South Korean company founders Dong-a University alumni Shin family Yeongsan Shin clan People from Ulsan South Korean chief executives Lotte Corporation Nongshim