Fire noodle sale: Coupang orders for spicy Nongshim cup noodles surge on pricing error

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Fire noodle sale: Coupang orders for spicy Nongshim cup noodles surge on pricing error

Published: 22 May. 2025, 18:13

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

A 36-pack of Nongshim's Yukgaejang cup noodles was briefly posted on Coupang at 11 a.m. on May 21 for just 5,040 won ($3.64), which is about 140 won per cup. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

It was too cheap to be true — an error on Coupang’s online marketplace selling instant noodles in bulk at a fraction of the regular price caused a rush of orders on Wednesday, according to industry insiders on Thursday.

A 36-pack of Nongshim's Yukgaejang cup noodles was briefly posted on Coupang at 11 a.m. for just 5,040 won ($3.64), which is about 140 won per cup.

The same item is priced between 27,000 and 28,000 won on the site. The steep discount, though unintentional, quickly went viral across online forums and social media, triggering a flood of orders.

The company,however, later confirmed that the pricing error was not part of a promotion or a surprise event, but the result of a mistake in setting the unit price. The glitch remained on the site for only about 10 minutes but generated tens of thousands of purchases in that short window.

Since the wrong price went up by mistake, Coupang said it would send out all the orders where inventory was available, shipping them at the mistakenly discounted price. For customers in regions where supply could not meet demand, the company said it would cancel orders and compensate affected users with 5,000 won in Coupang Cash.

Coupang's online notice telling its customers that it would cancel orders and compensate affected users with 5,000 won in Coupang Cash for those who could not receive the product. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Screenshots of the company’s compensation notices circulated widely online following the incident.

Coupang is estimated to have incurred losses amounting to several hundred million won as a result of the error.

“There was a temporary issue where an incorrect price was displayed,” the company said in a statement. “But we are responding in accordance with our commitment to maintaining customer trust.”

BY CHO MUN-GYU [[email protected]]