Buldak Tops 10 Billion Packs Sold — and 7 Trillion Won in Lifetime Sales
🔥 Ten Billion Packs, Fourteen Years
Buldak, the spicy ramyeon brand from Samyang Foods, has passed 10 billion cumulative packs sold as of the end of May 2026 — fourteen years after Buldak Ramen (Buldak Bokkeum Myeon) first reached shelves in 2012. Cumulative sales over that period come to roughly 7 trillion won 🌶️
Ten billion is hard to picture. There are about 8 billion people on Earth, so that is a pack for everyone with 2 billion still left over.
📈 From 1 Billion to 10 Billion
Buldak’s cumulative sales went from 1 billion packs in 2017 to 10 billion in 2026, and the pace picked up along the way.
• 2017 — 1 billion packs (five years after launch)
• 2022 — 4 billion packs
• 2025 — 9 billion packs
• May 2026 — 10 billion packs
Buldak took five years to reach its first billion packs. The jump from 9 billion to 10 billion took about six months.
🌏 100+ Countries. 63 Packs Every Second.
Buldak is sold in more than 100 countries as of 2026. In 2012 it shipped to three: Japan, Germany, and New Zealand.
Buldak sells roughly 2 billion packs a year in overseas markets alone. Divided across a year (about 31.5 million seconds), that is about 63 packs every second. Buldak also makes up more than 60% of all Korean ramyeon exports. ✨
Explore the full Buldak lineup 🔍
🌶️ It Started at a Restaurant in Myeongdong
In 2011, Kim Jung-soo — then president of Samyang Foods, now its chairwoman — stopped at a restaurant in Seoul's Myeongdong district and watched a table of young diners work through a plate of fiery buldak chicken. The idea of putting that heat into a pack of ramyeon started there.
Buldak Ramen launched in 2012 after about a year of development. Fourteen years on, in May 2026, it passed 10 billion cumulative packs.
🐤 The Next Face of Buldak: PEPPO
Alongside the milestone, Samyang introduced PEPPO as the new face of the Buldak brand. Succeeding original mascot HOCHI, PEPPO is a red chick with a flame burning above its head.
PEPPO is rolling out across packaging, starting with Buldak Sauce and the Original and Carbo lines. The character also lives at Peppo World, an online space with card collecting, a drawing studio, downloadable GIFs and wallpapers, and the Peppo Messenger game. 🎁
🔍 Buldak 10 Billion — FAQ
Q. When is the 10 billion packs figure measured from?
Buldak passed 10 billion cumulative packs as of the end of May 2026. The figure covers domestic and overseas sales since the 2012 launch, and cumulative revenue over the same period is approximately 7 trillion won.
Q. Is the 10 billion figure for Buldak Ramen alone, or the whole brand?
The 10 billion figure covers the whole Buldak brand. It starts with the Original Buldak Ramen and includes the full lineup it grew into, from Carbo to Cheese and beyond.
Q. How many countries is Buldak sold in?
Buldak is sold in more than 100 countries as of 2026. Exports began in 2012 with three markets — Japan, Germany, and New Zealand — and overseas sales now run about 2 billion packs a year.
Q. How is “63 packs per second” calculated?
The figure of 63 packs per second comes from Buldak’s annual overseas sales of roughly 2 billion packs, divided across a year of about 31.5 million seconds.
Q. When was Buldak Ramen launched, and by whom?
Buldak Ramen was launched in 2012 by Samyang Foods, a South Korean food company, after about a year of development that began with an idea formed in Seoul’s Myeongdong district in 2011.
🔥 On to the Next Milestone
Buldak is already counting toward its next milestone.
The new PEPPO packaging is reaching shelves now — pick one up and find out what the rest of the world is lining up for. 🌶️
Explore the full Buldak lineup 🔥
