The Korea Times
Economic ties are often shaped by broader political dynamics, as evidenced by Beijing’s informal restrictions on Korean cultural products — the so-called “Korean wave” — following Korea’s deployment of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system in 2017. Yet while the Korean wave — known as hallyu in Korean — has faded from China’s cultural scene, another wave, that of Korean instant noodles, has surged in popularity. Korea has remained mainland China’s largest supplier of instant noodles since it replaced Taiwan in 2016, with export value rising 266 percent between 2017 and 2025, according to China Customs data. This stands in contrast to broader K-food exports to China, which have fluctuated. Export value declined from 2022 to 2024 before rebounding in 2025, according to data from the Korea Agro-Fisheries and Food Trade Corporation cited by local media earlier this month. “Compared with local brands, Korean instant noodles offer differentiated Korean-style flavors centered on spiciness, as well as a chewier noodle texture,” said a
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