What does the Shin Ramyun Advertisement Reflect?

The oriental culture has always been something fascinating for a western student. Being from China, the biggest Asian nation with the largest population and longest history, it is, even more, interesting to study the culture of other eastern countries, especially with the background as an American university student. The feelings of familiarity and peculiarity pop up from time to time after taking the classes to learn about Korea society. Sometimes people are so accustomed to the social phenomenon that they seldom realize the root cause or the innate value system it represents. In reviewing the commercial advertisement of Shin Ramyun Black, several core cultural factors of Korea society can be reflected.

I chose the video of Shin Ramyun because I had it at home and tasted it before. I bought it because several of my friends recommended it. After eating, I find that it is not bad, but not as good as other people say. So I am really curious why Ramyun is so popular in Korea. Learning the knowledge of Korean society and history, gradually I understand how and why the Ramyun culture is formed. The setting is misty, which is deliberately arranged as a similar scene can be at home, in the office, or in a dormitory. It is not important to know where exactly the setting is. The essential information is that this is a familiar environment, a commonplace, nothing unusual for anybody. So it is easy and convenient to have it at any time. The character in the ad is a young man. In fact, the characters of young man or father-son are the most commonly presented roles in the ads of this product. It is related to the structure that the father-son relationship as the backbone of a Korean family. Under such value system, for a housewife, the happiness of the son, or the men in the family should be always considered as the top priority. The creation of a positive image due to this product leads to the illusions of the targeted housewives that this product can bring the same satisfactory smiles on their beloved husbands or sons.

Why is the product called Shin Ramyun Black? What is black reflecting? As per the official explanation from Nong shim website (Nongshim as the manufacture), “The ad features famous actor Jang Hyuk at a black table wearing all black, sipping Shin Ramyun Black from a black bowl. You’ll notice there’s a lot of black in the commercial. That’s because to us, the color black represents ‘premium’”(Nongshinusa.com). Shin Ramyun Black was firstly presented in 2011 as a commemoration of 25 years since the first Shin Ramyun made its debut in 1986. In oriental culture, when discussing food, black is usually related to nature, healthy and precious, because many traditional foods with naturally dark color have such feathers, such as black rice, black bean. The product is targeting consumers who value the nutrients and want to lead a healthy lifestyle. The middle class in Korea and the young generation who strive to study hard and work hard to become professionals so as to earn a position as a middle class do not have much time in preparing for daily meals. In the meantime, they do not want to give up the pursuit of a healthy life, so there is always demand for nutritious and easy preparing diet. Under such social background, the instant noodles with great nutrition can best fulfill the desire of the “Gangnam” housewife, who is the meal decision maker for the son or husband, the middle-class-to-be.

The ad only lasts a few seconds. To be concise is not to be simple. Each second is

perfectly designed to attract and targeted clients. From a cultural perspective, it also reflects the

social values and the family traditions.