A friend of mine shared a link with a great article today about a guy who I haven’t heard from in a while. Ramen Conqueror Piki! He saw what I was doing and decided he needed to do the same over in South Korea! Below is an interview I did with him in 2017 – he was kind enough to include pictures of me and my family in the book . This is from six years ago. Hope he’s doing well!
About a year ago I was contacted by a man in South Korea. He was very interested in knowing my story – he also wanted me to help him and contribute to a book he was writing. He seemed like a nice guy so I figured hey – sounds like fun!My only stipulation was that when done, that he would send me three copies.Well, the book is finished! It’s in Korean and I can’t read it unfortunately, but I’m hoping someone will be able to help me out on that soon.
Here’s a pic of Ji Young Jun, the author.
He included a very nice letter with the copies (click to enlarge).
I asked him a few questions – here they are. Also included below is where you can purchase copies.
THE RAMEN RATER> Why did you write?
JI YOUNG JUN> In divided country korea, every male must serve two years of military service.
I also had to serve in the military for two years.
I was drafted into service in 2012, just like another Korean man.
Since the army was disconnected from society, I felt so bored after finishing my duties during the army career.
So I thought about what was interesting.
When I went to the snack bar in the army, there were various kinds of ramen.
I started eating them one by one.
I first learned that there are countless kinds of ramen in Korea.
Then I decided to eat all the noodles that were released in Korea.
So I searched the internet for anyone who specializes in instant noodles.
However, there were only people who introduced ramen for fun in Korea, but there was no one who introduced ramen professionally.
I happened to see a newspaper article at the time.
It was an article that introduced ‘Hans Lienesch’
When I heard his story, I found out he was the one I was looking for.
But in Korea, I wondered why there were no such people as ‘ Hans Lienesch’
Since there are countless kinds of ramen in Korea, it is much more regrettable.
So, I decided to eat countless Korean noodles and introduce them to people.
Since 2013, he introduced instant noodles via blogs and introduced them more aggressively after being discharged from the military in 2014.
Thanks to my steady efforts, Koreans have come to know me and my blog.
(my blog address http://pikich89.blog.me/)
The South Korean press interviewed me and invited me on TV.
A publishing company has also suggested writing a book to me.
Thanks to my lucky break, I started writing books since June last year.
And fortunately, a book was published in May this year.
My book name is ‘ramen complete conquest’
My book name come from my blog nickname ‘ramen conqueror piki’
This book is a book aimed at the Michelin Guide in the field of ramen.
The book contains a rating of Korea’s various instant noodles and tastes.
That is the subject of the book.
In addition, books contain the history of ramen, various ways to enjoy instant noodles, and various ramen stories.
So, if you are interested in Korean ramen, I recommend this book to you.
Someday I want to eat ramen around the world like ‘Hans Lienesch’ and I also want to publish books about ramen all over the world.
To do so, I will study hard and try hard.
Hans Lienesch gave me a dream, and also helped me write a book.
Meeting Hans Lienesch was a great blessing to me.
TRR> Where can people buy it {a link would help)
JI YOUNG JUN> My book is easy to buy in Korea.
If you buy books in other countries besides Korea, you will have to use the Internet.
Interpark global page
aladin us page
bandibook us page
Price is high if purchased abroad.I regret that there is no foreign translation yet and that I can not purchase it at a foreign bookstore.
TRR> How long did it take to write?
JI YOUNG JUN> I started writing books since last June. and I finished writing the book in February this year.
After that, I edited the design of the book.
And in May this year, the book was finally published.
The first time I tried to write a book, I had quite a bit of trouble.
Wow – I am truly honored to have been a part of this book! Good luck to you, Ji Young Jun – you’ve got a great book I hope to learn to read someday!
