Ramyeon Festival at heart of Gumi's transformation into K-food hub

Industry

Published: 22 Feb. 2024, 07:00

Ramyeon Festival at heart of Gumi's transformation into K-food hub

People enjoy the 2023 Gumi Ramyeon Festival held from Nov. 17 to 19, 2023 in Gumi, North Gyeongsang. [GUMI CITY]

The city of Gumi, North Gyeongsang, is home to many manufacturing plants, but few know the region is the main manufacturing place of Shin Ramyun, one of the best-selling Korean ramyeon products.

As it houses the main production facility of Nongshim, the country's largest noodle maker, Gumi is trying to attract foodies at home and abroad with its own ramyeon festival.

Some 100,000 people visited the Gumi Ramyeon Festival in 2023, which became a major tourist attraction.

The year before, Gumi held the festival inspired by the ramyeon factory after being selected by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s project to promote industrial tourism.

Its second ramyeon festival was held from Nov. 17 to 19 of last year.

The number of visitors increased by 443 percent in 2023 compared to the previous year, with 36 percent from outside of the city and 20.9 percent in their 20s, according to a telecommunications big data analysis conducted by Gumi.

The usage rate of public transportation in the region went up 20 percent during the period, and the amount of spending increased 17.2 percent compared to before the festival began.

Nongshim also cited Gumi’s ramyeon festival as part of the major increase in Shin Ramyun’s sales last year, which marked a record high in its domestic and overseas sales at 1.21 trillion won ($ 906 million).

Children try ramyeon during the 2023 Gumi Ramyeon Festival in North Gyeongsang, held in November last year. [GUMI CITY]

Chicken is also another food the city is keeping an eye on.

Gumi is the place where Kyochon Chicken, one of the top fried chicken franchises in Korea, was first introduced to the public in 1991.

Kwon Won-gang, the founder and chairman of Kyochon F&B, opened “Kyochon Tongdak” in Songjeong-dong in Gumi in March 1991, which is the origin of the now-renowned Kyochon Chicken.

The place is still in operation as the first branch of the Kyochon Chicken franchise.

The city plans to create a tourism site around Kyochon Chicken’s first branch and hold events in tandem with the company.

The plan includes a renovation of the store alongside an injection of 1.8 billion won to decorate the area from Gumi Bus Terminal to the Kyochon store, which is about 300 meters (984 feet).

The city will adorn the area with statues, murals, photo spots and media façade walls, naming the streets “1991 Kyochon-ro” and “2023 Kyochon-ro.”

Ro refers to a road or street in Korean.

Gumi also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Kyochon F&B, the operator of the Kyochon Chicken brand, last month.

The two are to hold the 9th Kyochon 1991 Ladies Open, a Korean women’s professional golf competition, in the city in May.

Gumi is also arranging a city tour program that will include the history of Kyochon.

Gimbap is another food that Gumi is investing in promoting.

The head office of Allgot, the supplier of the viral Trader Joe’s frozen gimbap, called Kimbap, is situated in Gumi.

The company sold out its first batch of frozen gimbap in the United States within a month of its launch in August of last year, amounting to a million rolls weighing 250 tons.

Due to the increase in demand, an additional manufacturing line was added to the existing single line.

The company plans to add nine more lines next year and build a second factory in the future to bring the total number of manufacturing lines to 23.

Following the company’s expansion, Allgot plans to hire an additional some 1,000 people on top of its current 105 employees.

The city anticipates such recruitment to positively impact the development of the local economy.

The rice used in Allgot’s frozen gimbap is cultivated in Gumi.

The city is currently in discussion with company officials to sign contracts with local farmers to promote the use of locally cultivated produce in the gimbap's ingredients, such as carrots, spinach, burdocks and danmuji (pickled radish).

“Please look forward to Gumi’s transformation from a ‘no-fun’ to a ‘so-fun’ city through differentiated festivals and tourism products by maximizing the charms of Gumi,” Kim Jang-ho, the mayor of Gumi, said to the Joongang Ilbo.

BY KIM JUNG-SEO, KIM JI-YE [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]