Water, time and spice for 12 popular Korean instant noodles — taken from the Korean pack — with a water calculator and a timer.
Short answer: most Korean soup ramyeon needs 500–550 ml of water per pack (about 2⅛–2⅓ US cups) and 4–5 minutes of boiling. Stir-fried kinds like Buldak and Chapagetti boil in 600 ml, then you pour most of it away.
Water for 1 pack of Shin Ramyun
550 ml
about 2⅓ US cups · 2¼ metric cups · 18.6 fl oz
Cook
4 min 30 s after the noodles go in
4:30
Start it when the noodles go in. It beeps when time is up — turn your sound on.
Korean packs count in cups of 200 ml: 500 ml is written “2½ cups” (2컵과 1/2컵) and 550 ml “about 3 cups” (3컵 정도). A US cup is about 237 ml, so measure in ml — or use the US-cup figures on this page.
How to cook Korean ramyeon
Measure the water: 500–550 ml for most soup ramyeon (check your pack), 600 ml for stir-fried kinds like Buldak and Chapagetti.
Bring it to a full boil. (Ottogi’s Jin Ramen and Yeul Ramen put the vegetable flakes in the cold water first.)
Add the noodles, the soup powder and the flakes, in the order your pack says.
Boil for 4–5 minutes. Many Koreans lift the noodles with chopsticks a few times while they cook — they say it keeps them chewy.
Add an egg or green onion in the last minute and eat straight away — the noodles keep softening in the hot soup.
Make it like a Korean
Egg: crack it in for the last minute; don’t stir if you want a soft yolk, or stir for egg-drop strands.
Green onion, kimchi, cheese: the usual extras. A slice of processed cheese on top is a Korean classic.
Rice in the leftover soup: many Koreans finish the broth by adding a spoon of cooked rice.
The pot: a thin, light pot comes back to the boil fast — that is why the thin yellow pot (양은냄비) is the classic ramyeon pot in Korea.
Which Korean ramyeon is the spiciest?
Scoville heat units (SHU) the makers have reported for the ramyeon in this guide:
Figures reported by Nongshim, Ottogi, Samyang and Paldo to Asia Economy (July 2024); Business Watch (February 2024) gave matching figures for Buldak and Jin Ramen. They are the companies’ own measurements. Limited editions run hotter — Asia Economy listed Shin Ramyun The Red at 7,500 SHU. Not spicy at all: Chapagetti.
Snack-bar restaurants (분식집) cook ramyeon to order, often with egg or cheese. Convenience stores sell cup noodles with free hot water and a counter to eat at, and the stores in Seoul’s Han River parks are known for instant-ramyeon machines that boil a bowl for you. More in the convenience store guide and on the ramyeon dish page.
Useful phrases
One ramyeon, please.
라면 하나 주세요.
ramyeon hana juseyo.
Please add an egg.
계란 넣어 주세요.
gyeran neoeo juseyo.
Add cheese, please.
치즈 추가해 주세요.
chijeu chugahae juseyo.
Less spicy, please.
덜 맵게 해 주세요.
deol maepge hae juseyo.
Where is the hot water?
뜨거운 물 어디 있어요?
tteugeoun mul eodi isseoyo?
FAQ
How much water for Korean ramyeon?
Most Korean soup ramyeon uses 500–550 ml per pack (about 2⅛–2⅓ US cups). Shin Ramyun, Neoguri and Ansungtangmyun use 550 ml; Jin Ramen, Yeul Ramen and Sesame Ramen use 500 ml. Stir-fried kinds like Buldak and Chapagetti boil in 600 ml and are then drained.
How long do you cook Korean instant noodles?
4–5 minutes once the noodles are in boiling water — 4 min 30 s for Shin Ramyun, 4 minutes for Jin Ramen, 5 minutes for Neoguri, Chapagetti and Buldak.
How much water for 2 packs of ramen?
Less than double. Nongshim’s figure for two packs of Shin Ramyun is 880 ml (not 1,100 ml), and Ottogi’s for two packs of Jin Ramen is 850 ml (not 1,000 ml). Use the calculator for other brands and pack counts.
Why does a Korean pack say “3 cups” for 550 ml?
Korean packs count in cups of 200 ml — 500 ml is written as “2½ cups” and 550 ml as “about 3 cups”. A US cup is about 237 ml, so 3 US cups would be too much water.
What is the spiciest Korean ramyeon here?
Of the figures the makers have reported, Yeul Ramen is the highest at 5,000 SHU, then Buldak at 4,404 SHU and Shin Ramyun at 3,400 SHU. Hotter limited editions exist.
Is ramyeon the same as ramen?
Ramyeon (라면) is the Korean word. In Korea it almost always means instant noodles, while Japanese ramen is usually fresh noodles in a restaurant broth.
Are Korean instant noodles vegetarian?
Check the pack: the ingredients can differ between the Korean pack and export packs. Vegan or vegetarian ramyeon is marked 비건 (vegan) or 채식 (vegetarian).
Vegetarian, halal and allergies
Ingredients can differ between the Korean pack and packs made for other countries, so check the list on yours. The noodles are made from wheat. On Korean packs, the ingredients follow 원재료명 and allergens follow 알레르기 유발물질 — see the label words. Vegan or vegetarian ramyeon is marked 비건 (vegan) or 채식 (vegetarian).
Sources
Each ramyeon page lists its own sources: the Korean pack instructions as reproduced on Costco Korea’s product listings, the makers’ overseas sites (Samyang America) and listings of export packs. Water for several packs: The Fact, 25 Jan 2025. Scoville figures: Asia Economy, 28 Jul 2024 and Business Watch, Feb 2024.
Checked against the pack instructions on 19 October 2026. Recipes change and packs made for other countries can differ — if yours disagrees, follow your pack.