[THE INVESTOR] Exports of South Korean instant noodles showed major gains on-year, up more than 18 percent in the first half of 2016, apparently with some help from the international popularity of Korean pop music and TV dramas.

Overseas shipments of instant noodles came to US$123 million in the January-June period, up 18.3 percent from $104 million a year earlier, according to the data by the state-run Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp.

By volume, exports stood at 33,300 tons in the six-month period, up 29.5 percent from the 25,700 tons a year earlier.



China was the largest destination, with exports to the world’s most populous nation skyrocketing 48.2 percent on-year to $23.5 million, which accounted for 19.1 percent of the total.

The United States was the second-largest export market with $18.1 million, trailed by Japan with $9.2 million and Taiwan with $8.3 million.

Nongshim, South Korea’s largest noodle-maker, saw its overseas sales climb 13 percent on-year to more than $300 million in the first half, despite sluggish domestic sales. In particular, sales of its spicy instant noodle “Shin Ramyeon” in China surged 16.6 percent to $126 million.

(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)