Nongshim (농심, "Farmer's Heart") was founded in 1965 in Seoul by Shin Choon-ho during Korea's post-war industrial reconstruction. Where early Korean instant noodles imitated milder Japanese broths, Nongshim built its identity around bold, spicy Korean flavour traditions — a decision that eventually defined the category worldwide.
The Shin family is the flagship: Shin Ramyun (1986) is Korea's best-selling instant noodle and moves more than 4 billion packages a year; Shin Black adds a richer bone broth; Shin Red turns the heat further up. Neoguri introduced a thick udon-style seafood noodle; Chapagetti took jjajangmyeon (Korean black-bean noodles) into the instant category; Ansungtangmyun, Yukgaejang, Kimchi Ramyun, and the vegan Soon Veggie round out the range.
Shin Ramyun's seasoning blend — Korean red-chilli flakes, beef broth, garlic, mushroom extract, and dried vegetables — became a template for the global "spicy Korean ramyeon" shelf. Nongshim has held the #1 position in Korea for more than 35 years, operates plants in Korea, the US (Los Angeles, 1994) and China, and is sold in more than 100 countries. The brand reached a broader cultural audience in 2019 when Chapagetti + Neoguri appeared as "jjapaguri" in the film Parasite.