Success of 'Parasite' spurs popularity of noodle dish

SEOUL, Feb. 21 (UPI) -- A noodle dish is getting newfound appreciation after it was featured in the South Korean film Parasite, which won four Oscars, including Best Picture at the 92nd annual Academy Awards.

The instant noodle dish, called Jjapaguri, which was translated as "ram-don" in the English subtitles of the film, is in demand.

Jjapaguri is a mixture of Jjapaghetti black bean instant noodles and soup-based Neoguri instant noodles. South Korean food company Nongshim manufactures the two products.

When South Korea President Moon Jae-in invited Parasite director Bong Joon-ho and actors to the Blue House for a luncheon meeting on Thursday, first lady Kim Jung-sook served the dish.

CJ ENM, which distributed Parasite, served Jjapaguri at its cafeteria as soon as Parasite won big at the Oscars.

Meanwhile, the Marriott Hotel in Seoul's Yeouido district introduced a package to customers that offers Jjapaguri and other beverages featured in the movie.

Encouraged by the success of Jjapaguri, Nongshim released a YouTube video clip this month explaining how to cook the instant noodle dishes, with subtitles in 11 languages -- English, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai, Indonesian, Taiwanese and Burmese.

Although Nongshim rolls out two ingredients of Jjapaguri, the dish is not its brainchild. Parasite did not show the Jjpagaguri-eating scene as an advertisement.

The recipe for the dish was first presented by a web user in the late 2000s.