Ramen Freezes Solid in Minus 20-Degree Cold Wave... Japanese Reporter Tears and Eats Ramen by Hand at Han River

Report on Hideyoshi Nakamichi's Experience with Seoul's Cold Weather

As a strong cold wave swept across the country, with wind chills hovering around minus 20 degrees Celsius, a Japanese journalist posted an account of eating "Han River ramen" that had frozen solid in the cold, tearing it apart with his hands.

On January 22, the Japanese TBS news program N Star covered reporter Hideyoshi Nakamichi's experience with the cold in Seoul. In the report, Nakamichi, dressed in a black long padded coat, cooked "Han River ramen" at a convenience store near a Han River park in Seoul and tasted it on a bench.

He began the experiment by saying, "To verify just how cold it is in Korea, I will see how long it takes for ramen to freeze."

According to the report, the freshly cooked ramen froze solid after about two hours. The chopsticks he used to lift the noodles also froze in place, creating the appearance that the noodles and chopsticks were suspended in midair.

Han River Ramen Experience. Photo by TBS TV Capture

The reporter remarked, "The wind chill is much lower than I expected," and expressed amazement, saying, "The ramen is turning into a sculpture." Within two hours of the experiment, the ramen had frozen in the position where the noodles were lifted by the chopsticks. As he tore off the frozen noodles with his hands, he commented, "It looks as if time has stopped and the chopsticks are floating in the air."

In the end, the reporter tore off the ramen with his bare hands and ate it. He added, "It's completely frozen. Even when I chew it, it just tastes like powder." The video quickly went viral on social media both in Japan and in Korea. Online users reacted with comments such as, "It's not Han River ramen, it's cold wave ramen," and "He ate it anyway-what impressive professionalism."

On the 25th, near Haengju Bridge in Goyang City, Gyeonggi Province, ice floes filled the area as the cold wave continued. Photo by Yonhap News

Meanwhile, as the record-breaking cold wave continues, the "ramen freezing challenge" has become a trend online. On this day, many posts sharing videos and photos of hot ramen being frozen were widely circulated on YouTube Shorts and Instagram.

Due to the influx of cold air from the north, a severe cold snap is expected to persist, especially in central regions, with temperatures remaining below the seasonal averages (morning lows of minus 13 to minus 1 degrees Celsius, daytime highs of 0 to 8 degrees Celsius) for the time being.

According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, on Monday, January 26, morning temperatures are forecast to drop to between minus 15 and minus 3 degrees Celsius. Daytime highs are expected to range from minus 3 to 7 degrees Celsius. On January 27, morning temperatures are predicted to be between minus 13 and 1 degree Celsius, with daytime highs between minus 4 and 7 degrees Celsius. In particular, on January 27, most areas nationwide are expected to experience strong winds with gusts of around 55 km/h (15 m/s), which will make the wind chill feel even colder.