The giant 辛 on Shin Ramyun once pushed Korea to change a food-labeling rule

The oversized Chinese character 辛 on Shin Ramyun means “spicy.” When the product launched in 1986, however, printing that character larger than the Korean product name ran into Korea’s food-labeling rules.

WHY MAKE 辛 THE HERO?

Nongshim says the noodle was built around a spicy flavor, so it wanted 辛 to function as the brand’s immediate visual symbol.

THE LABEL BECAME A REGULATORY ISSUE

At the time, product names had to be shown in Hangul and foreign-language text could not be larger. Nongshim challenged treating Hanja the same way, and the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs amended the relevant rule in October 1988.

Sources & context

2026-09-18