Global ramyeon craze turns factory towns into festival hot spots

Korean instant noodles are enjoying a record export streak, and the cities that make them are cashing in at home. Ramyeon exports reached $1.41 billion from January through September, up 25.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp. That pace puts them on course to surpass last year’s record of $1.52 billion. That fervor has sparked a string of local festivals, with factory towns teaming up with instant noodle makers Nongshim and Samyang Foods to cour