[Field Report] 600 Packs of Shin Ramyun Made in a Minute... Nongshim's Noksan Export Plant, a K-Ramen Production Hub

Expanded facility in Gangseo-gu, Busan stands as tall as an 11-story apartment building

Produces 600 packs of instant noodles and 500 cups of cup noodles per minute

Manufacturing and packaging time cut from 2 hours to 30 minutes

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A view of Nongshim's expanded export-focused factory at its Noksan plant in Gangseo-gu, Busan. Photo courtesy of Nongshim.

"We produce 600 bags of noodles per minute."

Nongshim held a media tour on November 5 at its Noksan export-focused factory in Gangseo-gu, Busan. Standing as tall as an 11-story apartment building, the facility is a "global export production hub" that Nongshim recently finished expanding. Since starting operations at its factory in Daebang-dong, Dongjak-gu, Seoul, in 1965, Nongshim has laid the groundwork for taking off in global markets through the Noksan export-focused factory. "The Noksan factory is a next-generation global export facility that will become the new heart of K-Ramyun," said factory manager Jeon Yun-yeol. "It currently operates three ultra-high-speed production lines and can produce around 500 million units a year."

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A worker inspects finished Shin Ramyun at Nongshim's export-specialized factory in Noksan. Photo courtesy of Nongshim.

The Noksan export-focused factory has significantly increased the speed of its overall production process compared with existing factories. It can produce 600 bags of noodles per minute and around 500 cup noodles per minute. That is about twice the output of existing factories. The time required to switch products has also been cut sharply, from around 110 to 120 minutes to 30 minutes, increasing productivity by approximately 17.6%. Adding the Noksan factory's output of 500 million units to the 700 million units of annual export volume produced by the existing Busan and Gumi factories brings Nongshim's annual export supply capacity to 1.2 billion units. Combined with 1.7 billion units from its factories in the United States and China and 3.3 billion units for the domestic market, Nongshim's total production capacity reaches up to 6.2 billion units.

The Noksan export-focused factory follows the same production process as existing factories, but is designed to switch production quickly. To meet both the increasingly diverse global demand for different flavors and formats, such as stir-fried noodles, cup noodles and vegan products, and rising overseas demand each year, it has cut product changeover times to as little as one-fourth of those at existing domestic factories. The speed of the packaging process was particularly striking. Switching the products to packaging for different countries and bundling individually produced finished products in groups of five or six before packing them into boxes were completed in the blink of an eye.

The significant improvement in production speed was made possible by building an "AI-based mass production system (Nongshim-style smart factory)" that integrates artificial intelligence (AI) and new automation technologies throughout the entire production process. Key technologies include an advanced production management system (PMS) and an AI-based predictive maintenance system for equipment. When a work order is generated in the enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, the production equipment is automatically configured accordingly.

AI vibration sensors attached to the equipment and analysis of current data also help predict signs of malfunction and the possibility of equipment failure in advance, and send alerts. For internal logistics, autonomous mobile robots that use sensors to find their own routes without floor guide lines automatically deliver materials such as packaging. At the inspection stage, an AI deep learning-based inspection system further improves quality consistency. As a result of these efficiency improvements, workers were assigned to each production process, but their role was largely limited to removing defective products and checking that the production line was running smoothly. All processes were operated by automated systems.

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A worker inspects instant noodles produced on a production line at Nongshim's Noksan export-focused factory. Photo by Heo Gyeongjun.

Using the Noksan export-focused factory as a springboard, Nongshim aims to achieve KRW 7.3 trillion in revenue and a 10% operating margin by 2030, with overseas sales accounting for 61% (KRW 5.4 trillion). Overseas sales currently account for about 40.2% of Nongshim's total revenue. Overseas markets generated 71% of Shin Ramyun sales in the first half of this year. Products including Shin Ramyun made at the Noksan export-focused factory will be exported to Japan, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa.

"Ramyun is evolving from a snack into a full meal," said Ji Songha, head of global marketing at Nongshim. "The global ramyun market is now seeing Korean-style noodles compete with global companies, including Nestle, amid the influence of K-culture. The market has entered a stage where consumers are moving from trying the products out of curiosity to buying them repeatedly."

According to Nongshim, the World Instant Noodles Association estimated the global ramyun market at around KRW 76 trillion last year. A total of 124.2 billion servings of instant noodles were sold worldwide, with around 340 million consumed each day. The number of new ramyun products launched globally is also increasing every year. Compared with the 1,336 products launched in 2022, the number rose by 52% to 2,036 last year. A record 2,179 products are expected this year. There are 404 "Korean-style ramyun" products from 120 manufacturers in 22 countries, and the share of Korean-style products among new launches has risen from 3.3% in 2021 to 7.3%.

Nongshim has already established itself as a familiar brand overseas. In a consumer survey conducted by the company in August this year among 13,000 men and women aged 16 to 49 in 10 countries, more than 70% of respondents in six countries - Taiwan, the United States, Canada, Japan, Malaysia and Australia - said they were familiar with Nongshim's Shin Ramyun. The survey also found that more than 60% of those who had tried Shin Ramyun at least once said they preferred it.

Nongshim plans to target global markets by maintaining Shin Ramyun's signature flavor while expanding its range with different styles, including soup-based, stir-fried, chicken broth, cream and local spice flavors, to connect with a wider range of consumers. The company has also identified "non-soup noodles" as a new growth engine for ramyun in global markets and plans to put Shin Ramyun Toomba and Shin Ramyun Rose at the forefront of its efforts.

Since its launch in November 2024, Shin Ramyun Toomba has sold a cumulative total of more than 147 million units overseas alone through September this year, over a period of nearly two years. Sales through September this year, at around 88 million units, had already surpassed its total sales for all of last year. Shin Ramyun Rose, developed for export, has been described in Korea as unfamiliar because of its strong tomato flavor, but is attracting interest in overseas markets where consumers have a strong preference for tomatoes.

Nongshim said, "We are researching and developing products with new flavor profiles that combine Shin Ramyun with Korean flavors, such as Shin Ramyun Rose. We plan to introduce one of these products to global markets as early as the first quarter of next year."

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