Nongshim (004370.KS) is holding a cooking competition in which teenagers create original recipes using Shin Ramyun, marking the 40th anniversary of the instant noodle brand.
The company said on the 9th that it will hold "High School Chef Season 2," a ramyun cooking contest open to teenagers across the country. The program invites young people interested in cooking to present recipes they have developed using Nongshim noodles.
This year's theme is "my own original ramyun using Shin Ramyun." Any high school student in the country, or any teenager born between 2008 and 2010, can enter. Applicants must submit their recipes on the Jiggle Jiggle Club website by the 27th.
Nongshim will review the submissions and select six finalists. The main round will be held in Seoul on the 9th of next month, where contestants will face off one-on-one using the recipes they submitted in the preliminary round. Three winners from the three matchups will advance to the final, and the final task will be revealed on site.
New this year is one-on-one mentoring that pairs each finalist with a Nongshim research and development (R&D) researcher. Contestants will refine their existing ideas and cooking methods with the researchers before the last round.
On-site judging will be handled by professional chefs and Nongshim R&D officials. After the final, the contestants' recipes will be turned into content for an online vote. Nongshim plans to determine the final rankings by combining the judges' scores with the online voting results.
Total prize money is 6 million won. The winner will receive 3 million won, with 2 million won going to the runner-up and 1 million won to third place. Last year's inaugural edition was won by "basil tomato ramyun," which used Shin Ramyun soup powder to add heat to tomato pasta sauce and ratatouille.
"We hope participants will experience new possibilities for ramyun through a creative cooking competition using Shin Ramyun and mentoring from our researchers," a Nongshim official said.
Separately, Nongshim will take part in "HYBE India Pop-up Park," a K-culture festival running in four Indian cities from the middle of this month. The company will operate a "Shin Ramyun snack bar" booth at the venue to promote the brand to local consumers.
