Nowadays, when people think of ramen, they usually picture the instant kind—the noodles that come in packages or cups and take little effort to prepare.
The roots of instant ramen can be traced to 1958. Momofuku Ando, founder of the Japanese company Nissin Food Products, invented the world’s first instant noodles named “Chicken Ramen” in hopes of offering affordable and easy-to-prepare food in post-war Japan, a dark time in Japanese history where people struggled to find food. In 1971, Nissin further revolutionized instant ramen by launching Cup Noodles, the world’s first instant ramen in a cup, according to Nissin Foods. The product immediately became a global hit for its affordable price, convenience, accessibility, and most importantly, its great taste. Over the following years, many companies began replicating Nissin’s success with instant cup noodles. The most notable Japanese companies following Nissin are companies such as Maruchan and Sapporo Ichiban, based on information from Rocket Reach.
Fast-forward to 2012, came the creation of Buldak Ramen by Samyang Foods. In 2014, British YouTuber 영국남자 Korean Englishman posted a video titled “The Original Fire Noodle Challenge,” in which Britons attempted to eat the dangerously spicy Buldak Ramen noodles, such as in this YouTube video. The video went viral, gaining over 11 million views, and created the infamous internet challenge “The Fire Noodle Challenge.” For a decade, people on the internet were constantly producing videos trying the challenge. In 2019, when TikTok gained popularity, the Buldak craze evolved. Instead of a noodle challenge, a new type of content took over—Mukbangs.
The word Mukbang comes from the combination of two Korean words, “eating” (Meokneun) and “broadcast” (Bangsong). Originally, Korean YouTubers ate vast quantities of food in front of a live audience. Soon, this style of content gained huge popularity globally, with many non-Korean creators joining in, according to The Eater. Content creators like Aaron Michelle and Irene Kim became extremely famous on the internet for their large mukbangs of Buldak Ramen. Later, due to the popularity of these videos, many people decided to try out Buldak Ramen, and it soon became an internet sensation. Other ramen brands, such as Nongshim’s Shin Ramyun, also rose in prominence. Influencers received millions of views on TikTok for their Buldak Ramen flavor reviews, recipes, and Mukbangs. Overall, social media transformed instant ramen from a quick, inexpensive meal into a global trend—a cultural phenomenon that connects people through flavor, creativity, and shared online experiences.
However, instant ramen, such as Buldak and the original Nissin Cup Noodles, isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. There are many dark truths and dangers to these noodles that people have become completely blinded to, primarily because of social media influence. Instant ramen may taste great, but do you really know what’s in it? The taste people love in Buldak Ramen and Cup Noodles can’t be found in any other food—and that’s because it’s not natural. The Chicken Packets, Dextrin, Disodium 5-ribonucleotide, Paprika Oleosidrin, and many more ingredients that most people can’t even pronounce are all completely artificial, according to the Deccan Herald.
While these noodles may contain little traces of vitamins, they lack real nutritional value. Its excessive sodium content can lead to abnormally high blood sugar levels and develop dangerous cardiovascular conditions like heart failure. Instant ramen is one of the most processed foods in the world, in which all ingredients are made artificially in a factory.
Another issue with instant ramen products such as Buldak Ramen, Maruchan Ramen, and Shin Ramyun is their alarmingly high contents of MSG and TBHQ. MSG is a processed additive that is used to enhance food flavor based on research conducted by USC. For more than 100 years, it has been commonly used in traditional Asian cooking. Instant noodles contain insanely high amounts of MSG, and certain people may experience headaches, nausea, and high blood pressure after consumption. TBHQ is an extremely common ingredient in instant ramen, acting as a preservative that extends its shelf life. According to USC, high doses of TBHQ can increase the risk of developing lymphoma, a type of cancer in the immune system, and can cause liver enlargement. TBHQ also leads to neural pathways being degenerated. Additionally, studies have shown that the pesticide damages DNA. This preservative is why instant ramen is so deadly to consume and why brands such as Buldak Ramen have a cancer warning symbol.
The next time you think about eating instant ramen, consider its risks. While it may taste great and be popular worldwide, is one-time gratification that is possibly detrimental to your health worth the same as a healthy life?
