[Lee Jong-gil's Autumn Return] If Ramen Is a Mirror of Society...

Kim Jeong-hyun & Han Jong-su 'Rediscovery of Ramen'

Ramen is an inseparable food from the lives of ordinary people. Therefore, it frequently appears in literary works such as poems and novels. Yi Oisoo's "The Instructor" is a representative example.

"I am hungry. I walked over to the thick cardboard box placed in the corner of the room. Then, I casually read the words printed on the box, such as 'Samyang·Beef·Please protect from sunlight and moisture,' and pulled out a packet of instant meal for civilized people. The plastic packaging kindly had detailed cooking instructions, along with advice that it tastes better when eaten with eggs and green onions."

Yi Oisoo was called the "Chuncheon Beggar" in his youth. He was so poor that he would divide one ramen into four portions to eat. Lim Chun-ae, who won three gold medals in athletics at the 1986 Seoul Asian Games, became a symbol of the hungry spirit with her comment, "I trained while eating ramen." Although it was later revealed that it was actually cooked as a snack by the coach's wife, it touched many hearts. Whether poor or not, everyone had at least one memory of satisfying hunger with ramen.

"Rediscovery of Ramen," written by Kim Jeong-hyun and Han Jong-su, is a humanities study dealing with the relationship between ramen and society. It explores the role ramen has played at turning points in Korean society and traces the changes in life led by ramen and the demands society placed on it. It views ramen as a mirror of society.

In reality, ramen has repeatedly transformed not only to solve hunger but also to satisfy consumers' desires to enjoy various flavors. As more people began eating outside the home, ramen was released in cup form. It has been adapted into almost every noodle type Koreans like, such as Jjajangmyeon, Udon, and Bibim noodles. Social changes like expanded leisure activities and increased single-person households are all reflected within ramen.

Today, food has become an object to express and enjoy personal tastes as well as a culture. Ramen has not escaped this trend. The number of consumers who deviate from the manufacturers' suggested methods to combine various products according to their preferences or create their own new ways of enjoying ramen is increasing. New ideas do not just spread through the internet and other media; manufacturers even develop and release ramen products based on these adaptations. The two authors cite Jjapaguri as a representative example.

"Nongshim's Jjapagetti and Neoguri were ramen products released in the 1980s, and Jjapaguri has been an informal fusion recipe tried since 1990. It became widely known and introduced in the media in 2010 when social networking services (SNS) became active, gaining broad attention. However, Nongshim did not commercialize it at that time because both Jjapagetti and Neoguri were already selling well, so there was no need to split the market. But following the appearance of Jjapaguri in the 2019 film 'Parasite,' Nongshim released Jjapaguri as a cup noodle in April 2020."

Movie still cut from 'Gisaengchung'

In "Parasite," Jjapaguri appears when the three families gather at Dong-ik's (Lee Sun-kyun) house. It is after Moon-gwang (Lee Jung-eun) and Geun-se (Park Myung-hoon) reveal themselves as family members and engage in a fight with the Ki-taek (Song Kang-ho) family. Director Bong Joon-ho depicts it as a mixture of two cheap types of noodles. The addition of expensive Korean beef sirloin represents Dong-ik's family suddenly returning to the campsite. No matter how society changes, the identity of ramen as an inexpensive and convenient instant food remains unchanged.