K-Drama Ramen Revelation

Dining out on instant noodles?

I’m slowly making my way through the Netflix drama Divorce Attorney Shin. The family law cases are often touching and cleverly resolved. Actor Cho Seung-woo is fun to watch as Attorney Shin. Until he breaks out into song in the middle of an episode or has a scene where he gets drunk with his buddies, and then my attention starts to wander. 

However, I learned something that surprised me in this series: They serve instant ramen in Korean noodle shops. 

In Episode 4, Attorney Shin and one of his employees go to the neighborhood ramyeon shop where he has eaten for years. This place is great, he declares, because it has tradition. But right there, plain as day, are shelves filled with red packets of instant noodles. 

The owner of the local noodle shop in Divorce Attorney Shin is not shy about showing off the instant ramen that she serves up.

Am I the only K-drama fan who didn’t know this?

I was shocked. I live in Chicago, and no ramen place here would get away with peddling a bowl of instant noodles. It’s like having Campbell’s Soup on the menu.

I did some research and learned a few things about ramen in Korea. First, ramyeon (or ramyun) is a Korean word that refers to what I call instant ramen–pre-cooked noodle blocks that come with a packet of flavoring powder. Instant noodles are curly. 

Restaurants both in the U.S. and Korea sell ramyeon. A few weeks ago, I went with my child to a Korean fast food place, and I asked if their noodles were instant. The guy at the counter admitted they were. 

“Do you use the spice packets that come with them?” I asked, thinking that maybe they at least ditched the packets and used their own special blend instead. 

But no, the guy said they used the packets. He might have been embarrassed. My child most certainly was. 

Ramen in Korea usually refers to fresh (or fresh-frozen) noodles that are served in broth. There are also dried ramen noodles that are not ramyeon (instant) because they are not pre-cooked. Both the fresh and dried versions of ramen are not curly. 

I looked back at noodle shop scenes from some of my favorite Asian dramas and got eye strain trying to figure out if the ramen was curly or not. Verdict? Most of them curled.

Cho Seung-woo, who portrays Divorce Attorney Shin, also starred in the outstanding crime drama Stranger. In this scene from the 2017 series, his dinner companion’s noodles are curly.

Boys Over Flowers? That’s definite curl hanging out her mouth.

I reflected on why this was such a popular menu item in Korea. It doesn’t taste as good as fresh ramen. A package of instant ramen costs anywhere from 80 cents to $1.75, so it’s cheap and easy to make yourself. But then I remembered the teenage girl I used to mentor insisting that I make birthday cupcakes for her from a mix. Scratch cakes to her were like home sewn clothes–kind of old-fashioned and definitely not cool. 

So it goes with ramyeon too?

I topped my bowl of ramyeon with green onion, nori, edamame, and a 8-minute soft boiled egg.

Any way, I’m off to make myself some instant ramen. Looking at all those noodle-eating scenes has given me a huge hankering for a steaming bowl of ramyeon.

I’m in an Asian drama slump. Nothing is really captivating me right now so tell me what you’re watching now in the comments below.