KPop Demon Hunters characters finally on their favorite foods in real life

A delicious partnership has been struck to better promote the snacks enjoyed by the fictional K-pop girl group in KPop Demon Hunters all in line with the growing demand from fans worldwide.

Our Kim Do-yeon reports.

If you're a fan of Korean food you will know that the ramyeon and the crackers Huntrix couldn't give up even during a fight with demons are actually real.

And, of course this is a perfect chance for the company behind them.

Nongshim announced on Wednesday that Shin Ramyeon and Shrimp Crackers will be collaborating with Netflix to distribute limited editions in markets like Korea, the U.S. and Europe.

“Just as KPop Demon Hunters has introduced K-culture to the world, Nongshim will use this collaboration to genuinely share the taste and value of K-ramyeon and K-snacks with global consumers.”

This is not just limited to Nongshim for Korean food and culture in general.

According to Google Trends, searches for “Korea” worldwide surged to their highest level in nearly three years during the week of July 17th to 23rd.

Interest even surpassed the spike seen last December when then-President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law.

Since the release of KPop Demon Hunters on June 20th, global searches for “Korea” have nearly doubled.

Searches for “Korean food” also jumped to an all-time high — up 75 percent following the show’s debut.

And the government says it's not going to miss this chance.

President Lee Jae Nyung himself met with KPop Demon Hunters Creator Maggie Kang for an Arirang TV special amid the hype, and pledged to create a firm foundation for the culture industry.

There is somewhere to begin.

Despite the Netflix film's global success, the estimated one-trillion-won — or roughly 750 million U.S. dollars — intellectual property value of KPop Demon Hunters will flow to the U.S. platform Netflix and Japan’s Sony Pictures.

None of the world’s top 50 IP holders are Korean firms, according to a recent study by the Korea Chamber of Commerce

By contrast, the U.S. dominates with 32, followed by Japan with seven, and China and France with two each.

The economic stakes are massive: Disney alone generated about 62 billion dollars last year through IP-based businesses like Mickey Mouse and Marvel.

Collectively, America’s top IP companies earned revenues equivalent to around 13 percent of Korea’s entire GDP.

For Korea — still heavily dependent on manufacturing exports — such figures highlight why building a homegrown “super IP” may be crucial to future growth.

Kim Do-yeon, Arirang News.