According to Netflix, “K-Pop Demon Hunters” has been on top of the movie list for two weeks since its release on Netflix on April 20. Set in Korea, K-Pop Demon Hunters is a story about a trio of K-pop groups “Huntrix” including Lumie, Joy and Mira secretly playing the role of “Demon Hunters” who catch ghosts. In the movie, Huntrix members eat Korean food such as gimbap, cup noodles, and snacks. At that time, foods similar to Nongshim products are introduced, which is gaining free advertising effect, analysts say.
First of all, the name of the cup noodle is Shin Ramen. The brand also says Dongsim, similar to Nongshim. The difference is that instead of Shin, which means spicy, there are new Chinese characters that mean ghosts. The members also pronounce the Korean expression “ramen” correctly. As a post emphasized by Kim Da-hye, the art director of the film, on social networking services, “Please don’t say ramen. It’s ramen,” interest in ramen in the film increased. Netflix also actively promoted K-pop Demon Hunters and Korean ramen culture by holding an event to distribute cup noodles in New York City before the release of K-pop Demon Hunters. In the beginning of the play, there is a scene where “Joy” rips the snack bag at once and eats up the snack as much as he likes, and in the movie, the bag says spicy potato chips, but the snack was like a shrimp cracker.
Nongshim, however, has reportedly not signed a PPL advertisement or promotion contract with K-pop Demon Hunters. Netflix said it never asked for cooperation when distributing cup noodles in New York.
It is the second time this year that Nongshim has unexpectedly enjoyed such a global promotional effect. Earlier in March, the group Black Pink Jenny appeared on the famous American talk show “The Jennifer Hudson Show” and introduced Nongshim’s “Banana Kick” and “Shrimp Gang” as her favorite Korean snacks, which led to a great promotional effect that it was called “5 Seconds Magic.” At that time, the stock market capitalization rose by 260 billion won in just four days. K-pop Demon Hunters is more exposed to Nongshim products. Since its release on the 20th, it has ranked first in more than 40 countries, including the United States, Canada, Germany, Portugal, Thailand, the Philippines, and Taiwan, ranking first in the Netflix film category.
SALLY LEE
US ASIA JOURNAL
