MANILA, Philippines – South Korea’s “soft power” — the popularity of its K-dramas, K-pop, and other Korean content — continues to transform its economic status, as new billionaires made it to Forbes’ 2025 list of Korea’s 50 Richest.
With many Korean actors and performers promoting spicy Korean noodles, enticing viewers to try it out, this food has become one of Korea’s rising exports. As a result, it has brought fortune to a number of its manufacturers.
Among them is the couple behind Samyang Foods — Kim Jung-soo and Chun In-jang — makers of spicy Buldak noodles. Buldak means “fire chicken” in Korean, and is one of Korea’s many spicy dishes.
The couple is one of three newcomers on Forbes’ Korea’s 50 Richest 2025, ranking 21st with a net worth of $1.3 billion, the online publication said on Tuesday, April 15.
Forbes said Samyang Foods “got a lift from buoyant overseas sales of its spicy Buldak noodles.”
“Kim was a stay-at-home mom until 1998 when she joined the ramen giant founded by her father-in-law,” Forbes said. “Inspired by crowds at a Buldak restaurant in Seoul, Kim launched the spicy noodles in 2012. Sales took off after social media posts with K-pop icons, such as BTS, tucking into bowls of Buldak ramen went viral.”
Many Filipinos have been challenged to try and eat spicy Korean noodles and other dishes. (READ: The role of ramyun in Korean dramas)
“Samyang 2x, still can’t eat the whole pack without crying,” quipped netizen Rewin Enverga on Samyang Philippines’ Facebook page.
“Oh my G!! I underestimated this. My mouth is burning,” said Nine O., an e-commerce buyer of spicy Buldak ramen in the Philippines.
Samyang Foods’ noodles are available in most Korean groceries, as well as in many Philippine retail outlets plus e-commerce sites.
Samyang Foods began exporting ramen in 1969, and it claims to be the current leader in the “K-food craze” by exporting products to over 90 countries.
“Samyang Foods’ overseas expansion, which started with $1.6 million, became full-fledged with the popularity of the Buldak brand, leading to rapid growth in the overseas business sector,” the company’s website says.
Samyang Foods’ founder, chairman Jeon Joong-yoon, thought of introducing ramen to Korea in the 1960s when its other staples, especially rice, were in short supply. He visited Japan and later brought the machinery and technology needed to make ramen in Korea. Korea’s first ramen, Samyang Ramen, was produced in September 1963, the company says.
Korean beauty
The rise of Korean celebrities worldwide, putting them at par or even higher than Hollywood stars, has increased demand for Korean beauty products.
One of the new additions to Forbes’ 50 Richest Koreans is dermatologist Jung Sung-jae, founder of medical aesthetic device maker Classys.
Jung, who set up Classys in 2007, was No. 43 on the list with a net worth of $760 million.
Forbes said Classys’ shares surged “50% thanks to the growing K-beauty craze.”
“Classys’ flagship product is Ultraformer MPT, a high-intensity focused ultrasound device that provides a noninvasive way to tighten and lift skin by regenerating new collagen,” Forbes said.
Classys claims to be the global leader in medical aesthetics. Its flagship product, Ultraformer MPT, is used for skin tightening and lifting, and improves “skin quality through collagen remodeling and rejuvenation,” the company’s website says.
The Ultraformer MPT device is being used by some beauty clinics in the Philippines, such as One Nadela Medical Group.
Video game
Kim Hyung-tae, founder of game developer Shift Up, is the third newcomer on Forbes’ 50 Richest Koreans with a net worth of $725 million and ranking 46th on the list.
His company went public in July 2024 and raised $320 million from South Korea’s stock market.
Its most famous game is Goddess of Victory: Nikke, a role-playing video game with “anime-style graphics,” said Forbes. Another popular game of Shift Up is Stellar Blade.
Kim “set up the company in 2013 after working as a game artist at NCSoft, where he oversaw the design of the company’s flagship online game Blade & Soul,” Forbes said.
A recent report by the United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in March 2024 said South Korea’s creative sectors had an annual growth rate of 4% to 5% and generated $12.4 billion in export in 2021, almost three times its consumer electronic equipment exports.
“As K-pop, K-drama, and films continue attracting people around the world, the Korean wave is expanding into other cultural areas such as food, tourism, and language. In particular, K-pop stars contribute to enhancing demand for goods produced in the Republic of Korea and stimulated interest in K-culture, including traditional food, tourism, and local language,” the report said.
“The growth of the content-based industry of the Republic of Korea and the international spread of K-content contribute to enhancing the Republic of Korea’s brand, image, and the reputation of the cultural content production of the Republic of Korea abroad, which ultimately generates ‘soft power’,” the report added.
Forbes’ 50 Richest Koreans 2025 is led by Michael Kim, owner of private equity firm, MBK Partners, and of hypermarket chain Homeplus.
Samsung Electronics’ executive chairman Jay Lee was second on the list followed by Meritz Financial Group chair Cho Jung-ho at third spot.
Seo Jung-jin of Celltriaon was fourth with Mong-Koo Chung of Hyundai Motor in fifth place. – Rappler.com
