Korean Fire Noodle Challenge

History of the Korean Fire Noodle Challenge

The Fire Noodle Challenge was started in February 2014 by popular YouTuber “영국남자 Korean Englishman”.

After receiving mail from fans, Josh (the YouTuber) noticed that many of the mailed packages contained “Fire Chicken Noodles”.

Soon after receiving the noodles, Josh challenged some of his friends in the UK to finish a serving.

Being a YouTuber the cameras were rolling and Josh captured viral video gold as he and his friends tried to make their way through the spicy noodles.

Once the video was edited, Josh uploaded it onto YouTube and thus began the Fire Noodle Challenge!

The Fire Noodle Challenge Goes Viral

The premise of the original Fire Noodle Challenge was simple: just try to finish an entire serving of Samyang’s Buldak-Bokkeum-Myeon aka Korean Fire Noodles.

While a good majority of the challengers in the original video could finish the noodles, it looked far from easy.

Even without trying the noodles myself, the visual and audio cues of the video were enough for me to understand that these noodles were SPICY!

The video was entertaining, so it’s no surprise that people watched and shared the video. It caught on big time in Korea because here was a caucasian male in the UK that fluently spoke Korean.

The challenge became Josh’s first viral video on his channel and laid a nice foundation for him to grow to over 2.4 million subscribers today.

As I write this, the original Fire Noodle Challenge video has garnered over 8.8 million views with over 7.5K comments.

As Josh’s video spread across the internet, people began recording and uploading their own challenge videos.

Doing a quick YouTube search for “Fire Noodle Challenge” videos produces about 736,000 results. That’s a lot of spicy noodle eating!

People even took the challenge to the extreme by eating multiple servings or adding things like chili peppers and chili powder to the already spicy dish.

Which noodles are used in the Korean Fire Noodle Challenge?

The noodles used in the original Fire Noodle Challenge video were from the Korean company Samyang. They are called Buldak-Bokkeum-Myeon which roughly translates to “Hot Stir-Fried Chicken Noodles”.

After the rise in popularity of the Fire Noodle Challenge, Samyang launched other variations of the fire noodles.

This included cheese and stew types before another popular challenge variation arrived — the Nuclear type.

They launched the Haek-Buldak-Bokkeum-Myeon (Nuclear 2X Spicy) to celebrate the beginning of 2017.

While the original version measured about 4,404 SHU, the “nuclear” type measures 8,706 SHU.

That’s about 2X spicier than the original, and is thought to be the spiciest instant ramen on the planet.

Double the heat should equate to double the entertainment of video challenges.

While there aren’t as many YouTube results for the “Nuclear Fire Noodle Challenge,” there are still about 149,000 uploads for this keyword phrase.

The 영국남자 Korean Englishman channel did a follow-up to their original fire noodle challenge video with the nuclear type.

If you’re looking to try the Fire Noodle Challenge yourself, you will need to get your hands on the noodles first.

Due to the popularity of Korean fire noodles, it has become easier and easier to find the packages at local Asian markets and online.

Ordering online is a convenient way to get the spicy Korean noodles delivered to your door, so that’s the way we recommend you choosing.

Here are links to all of the different Samyang Fire Noodles you can purchase online:

Have you tried the Korean fire noodle challenge before? If so, were you successful?