The Reason Behind Buldak Bokkeummyeon's Global Success... It's Our 'Survival Instinct' [Delicious Stories]

A Spiciness Close to Pain: Why Do We Keep Craving It?
Learning the Spicy Taste of Spices While Adapting to Climate Change
Korea, Which Did Not Enjoy Spiciness in the Past
Spiciness Became Popular After the Korean War to Forget Stress

Editor's NoteIt is believed that the first snacks were discovered in ancient Mesopotamian civilization. In other words, snacks have accompanied every moment of human history. From biscuits and chocolate to ice cream, we bring you delicious stories behind the treats we have loved.

Samyang Foods' Buldak Bokkeummyeon has introduced the spicy flavor of K-food to the world. Of the total 1.48 billion packs of Buldak Bokkeummyeon sold last year, 1.3 billion were sold overseas. How did the world come to enjoy a spiciness that borders on pain? Ethologists analyze that this is due to the 'survival instinct' hidden in our subconscious.

The Spiciness Enjoyed Globally Is a Sensation of Pain

There are five basic tastes that humans can perceive with the tongue: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami. The spiciness felt when eating Buldak Bokkeummyeon or Tteokbokki is not a taste, but rather a sensation close to pain caused by the tongue's sensory receptors (cells) reacting to high temperatures. Capsaicin, the main component responsible for this painful spiciness, is primarily found in chili peppers and spices.

After American rapper Cardi B's Buldak Bokkeummyeon challenge, Buldak Bokkeummyeon gained worldwide attention. Photo from SNS capture

Because of this, capsaicin is also used as an indicator to measure the intensity of food spiciness, commonly known as the 'Scoville scale.' Buldak Bokkeummyeon's Scoville rating is 4,400, similar to Cheongyang chili peppers. For people sensitive to spiciness, consuming it can cause a rise in body temperature or abdominal pain. Previously, food authorities in some countries, such as Malaysia and Denmark, have recalled Buldak Bokkeummyeon due to health concerns.

Spiciness Is a Cultural Product Developed as an Adaptation to Climate Change

Humans did not seek out spiciness from the early days of civilization. The prevailing view is that the preference for spiciness is a culturally learned trait that developed later. In 1998, Paul Sherman, an ethologist at Cornell University, together with his colleague Jennifer Billing, investigated when spicy flavors began to be incorporated into cuisines around the world. They discovered that all cultures that developed a preference for spiciness had experienced a rapid rise in average temperatures due to global climate change.

Paul Sherman, a professor at Cornell University, is an ethologist who discovered that humans' preference for spicy flavors is a culturally learned trait developed later. Humans had no choice but to become accustomed to the spiciness of various spices to extend the shelf life of food. Screenshot from Cornell University student newspaper

Various spices added to food not only provide unique flavors but also help preserve food that spoils easily in warmer climates. Professor Sherman explained that humanity gradually accepted spiciness in order to survive, and in particular, trained their children to like spicy flavors from a young age. Since humans, like other animals, instinctively dislike pain, people adapted to spiciness through repeated exposure and learning from childhood.

The reason why the preference for spiciness persists even today, despite advances in food preservation technology, is due to 'spillover.' Spillover is an ethological term referring to the phenomenon where cultural habits adopted long ago do not disappear but continue to persist. Sensations such as spiciness, which are associated with pain, are deeply imprinted in our memory. Even if it takes time to get used to the spiciness of Buldak Bokkeummyeon, it is also the reason why people can easily become addicted to it.

Korean-Style Spiciness, a Means to Forget Stress After the Korean War

Korea, where spicy ramen is common, is classified as a country where the preference for spiciness was learned relatively recently. In 2015, the Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture analyzed changes in the amount of chili peppers used in Baechu Kimchi from the 1930s to the 2010s. The results showed that chili usage increased twelvefold over the past 80 years. This means that Korean food culture was originally far from spicy, but became rapidly spicier in modern times.

There is also a view that the culture of preferring spiciness in Korea is not only due to food preservation, but also the result of another survival instinct. Ahn Jungyun, a researcher at the National Folk Museum of Korea, argued in a 2009 paper titled "Chili Peppers: A Historical and Folkloric Essay on Their Spiciness" that Korean-style spiciness developed as a way to manage stress.

For example, the amount of chili peppers used in Korean food increased dramatically starting in the 1950s, a period when the country was struggling after the Korean War. In the 2000s, when youth unemployment became a prominent issue, spiciness regained popularity among the 20s and 30s demographic. In the paper, Ahn explained, "After the Korean War, the stress of poverty and hunger led people to seek out spiciness. The spiciness of chili peppers induces addictive symptoms and an endorphin effect, giving it commercial value. The stress caused by job scarcity is also reflected in the reason why young people in their 20s and 30s enjoy spicy food."