Ageing industrial city in S. Korea pivots to K-food like ramyun to reinvent itself

With popularity of K-food surging, Gumi, once seen as the country’s Silicon Valley, is banking on ramyun for a revival.

- Wendy Teo South Korea Correspondent

When Gumi Mayor Kim Jang-ho flew to the United States in 2024 to court investors for his city, he opened with the city’s usual calling cards - Samsung and LG, the industrial giants that built modern Korea.

The audience offered polite applause.

But the room perked up and cheered loudly when he mentioned Shin Ramyun and frozen gimbap — South Korea’s iconic spicy instant noodle and seaweed rice roll.

Little known to most, the southeastern city of Gumi is home to ramyun maker Nongshim’s flagship factory, and the Allgot plant that produces the frozen gimbap sold at American grocery store chain Trader Joe’s, which went viral in 2023.

It is also home to the first Kyochon fried chicken restaurant set up in 1991, that has since expanded to a chain of nearly 1,500 outlets both at home and overseas, including Malaysia.

The warm reactions to Mr Kim's mention of ramyun and gimbap reaffirmed what he believed: K-food would be the answer to the city’s reinvention from an ageing industrial powerhouse to vibrant food hub.

After all, K-food is experiencing a surge in popularity like never before.

Fuelled by the phenomenal success of Netflix’s animation film KPop Demon Hunters (2025), which featured K-foods like ramyun and gimbap prominently, South Korea’s food exports saw unprecedented growth in 2025. They hit a record US$8.59 billion (S$11.2 billion) from January to October, up 5 per cent from the same period in 2024.

Since taking office in 2022, the mayor has been pushing for Gumi’s food industry, with power weights like Nongshim and Allgot, to be the new strategic growth engine for the city.

“Gumi, once a major manufacturing hub, now needs new initiatives to revitalise its economy,” Mr Kim told reporters at a press event on Nov 7 to introduce the city’s fourth edition of its annual ramyun festival.