People walk in Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul on Oct. 12 during what was recorded as the hottest mid-October temperature, at 29.6 degrees Celsius (85.28 degrees Fahrenheit), since weather observations began in 1907.YONHAP
It's Monday! We're back, and we're ready for another week! Here are the stories you need to know in Korea.
In today's news, exports of Korean noodles are set to surpass $2 billion this year as appetite for the products grows abroad. In other stories, Charlie Puth played in Korea on Sunday evening accompanied by Twice's Nayeon. And President Lee is facing backlash after praising the late Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, who was previously accused of sexual harassment. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Today's top story
BUSINESS
Korean ramyeon nears spicy $2 billion export milestone
Korean instant noodles could top $2 billion in exports for the first time this year, and the boom has spread well beyond Samyang Foods’ fiery Buldak ramyeon.
Ramyeon exports hit a record $935.4 million in the first half, up 27.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT). That is already about 62 percent of last year’s full-year total of $1.52 billion.
A few years ago, the global craze centered on Samyang Foods’ Buldak ramyeon. Now a wider range of spicy noodles from Nongshim, Otoki and Paldo is selling abroad as well.
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Seoul tops Tokyo as world’s best big city, say U.S. Condé Nast readers
A Condé Nast Traveler poll of U.S. readers named Korea's capital the world’s best international city for 2026, ending Tokyo’s two-year reign atop the list.
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Seoul Station plaza to ban public drinking
The district will educate the public about the change and issue warnings until Feb. 28, 2027, before fully enforcing the ban on March 1. Anyone caught drinking in the designated alcohol-free zones will face a 50,000 won ($37.50) fine.
