'Mother of Buldak' Sheds Tears on YouTube: "Mother, Father, Please Enjoy Uji Ramen Comfortably"

Kim Jeongsoo, Vice Chairman of Samyang Foods
Appears on the company's official YouTube Shorts video
'Mother of Buldak'... Promoted to Chairman next month

"I would like to give Uji Ramen to my mother and father. Especially Uji Ramen. They always felt sad and regretful about it."

Kim Jeongsoo, Vice Chairman of Samyang Foods, who will be promoted to Chairman next month, appeared in the company's official YouTube Shorts video on May 28 and shed tears. This was Kim's response after being asked who she would like to cook the 'Samyang 1963' product for, which was launched in November last year.

Kim Jeongsoo, Vice Chairman of Samyang Foods, is seen shedding tears in an official YouTube video. (Photo by Samyang Foods YouTube)

Uji Ramen is a historic product that once shook Samyang Foods to its core. In 1989, an anonymous tip-off alleging the use of industrial beef tallow in ramen and other products triggered a prosecution investigation, leading to the factory's closure and a full recall of all products. After a five-year trial, the company was acquitted. However, Samyang Foods had already lost the trust of the market, and its market share plummeted. This incident is commonly referred to as the "Uji Incident."

Vice Chairman Kim overcame this painful past and relaunched 'Samyang 1963.' The noodles are fried in a golden blend oil, which combines tallow and palm oil, maximizing their savory flavor. Kim said, "Since it's ramen I made and our employees made, I want to say, 'Please enjoy it comfortably,'" referring to her late father-in-law, Jeon Joong-yun, the founder of Samyang Foods, and her late mother-in-law, Lee Gyesoon.

Responding to questions about the launch of 'Samyang 1963,' Kim remarked, "It's truly a delicious product and it absolutely had to come out, but I was worried about how consumers would accept it," adding, "I had many complicated feelings, but I was confident."

Kim will be promoted to Chairman on June 1. It has been about five years since her promotion to Vice Chairman. Born in 1964 and a graduate of Ewha Womans University, she is the daughter-in-law of the late honorary chairman. When Samyang Foods went bankrupt during the IMF crisis, she joined the company in 1998 to help her husband, former Chairman Jeon Injang. Kim served as Head of the Sales Division in 2001, Executive Vice President in 2002, and President and CEO in 2010. She developed Buldak Bokkeum Myeon, which became Samyang's core brand, in 2010 to respond to the global trend.

Regarding 'Buldak,' Kim said, "I didn't know it would become this successful at first," and added, "We wanted to create a product that didn't exist in the world. People love spicy food, but no one had made ramen this spicy, so we decided to do it." She continued, "The late honorary chairman, Jeon Joong-yun, passed away in 2014. It was after that that Buldak became a hit and Samyang really started to thrive. It's most regrettable and heartbreaking that he passed away before seeing the world become so enthusiastic about it."

In the video, Kim also talked about her years as a working mother.

Kim said, "By 2028, I will have worked for 30 years, so being a vice chairman feels more familiar to me than being an ordinary housewife," and added, "I feel sorry for my children." She continued, "Children really need to be raised with devotion, but for me, raising them was just another task. I approached it with the same sense of duty as my work. Looking back now that they are grown, I deeply regret it."

Kim has one son and one daughter: Jeon Byungwoo, Head of Strategy at Samyang Foods' Samyang Round Square, and Jeon Hayeong. She said, "I hardly remember times like riding bikes with their father," and expressed both gratitude and regret to her children, saying, "I feel sad about missing those precious, everyday moments."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.