Cycle 15 – Item 94

8 (Mon) April 2024

Jumbo Doshirak

2.5

at home

-Changgok, Sujeong, Seongnam, Gyeonggi, Republic of Korea-

with the Family

Doshirak is a Korean food product by local company Paldo.  Instant ramyeon in a rectangular lidded box.   The name means “lunchbox,” in reference to the tin boxes in which people used to pack their lunches (e.g., for school).  Launched in 1986 – one of the classics.

As far as I can recall, I’ve never tried one.

Recently, a jumbo version was released as a promotional item.  Contains 8 portions – total of 3,269 calories.  8,500 won – oddly, a single portion costs 1,000 won.  Sold exclusively at GS25 convenience stores.  Curiously, “Paldo” is nowhere to be found on the label, only YOU/US, a food brand under the GS25 umbrella, which makes me wonder whether the Doshirak name alone was licensed out, while the product itself is different – as I’m unfamiliar with the brand, I’d have to do a side-by-side taste test with the single box, though that would involve a total of 8 + 1 = 9 portions.

Now that I think about it, the name of the product is dumb, for at least 2 reasons.  First, a dosirak typically contains a simple Korean meal comprising steamed rice with a few side dishes (see for example 3.224 Godeungeo Jorim Dosirak); while dosirak on occasion might include stir-fried noodles (e.g, japchae), dosirak never involves noodles in soup – which wouldn’t work because the broth would leak out and the noodles would go soggy – so there’s no logical association between the dish and the vessel, like serving a burger in a coffee mug.  Second, even though “dosirak” is used synonymously with the meal inside of it (i.e., “I’m eating dosirak for lunch” means to eat a meal of rice and sides contained in a box, not the box itself), the term technically refers to the box, which seems overly broad and vague for a product name (and incongruous, as per the first reason), like selling a burger in a cookie tin and calling it “Cookie Tin” (as opposed to “Cookie Tin Burger”).  (I can’t believe how much time I spent constructing this inane paragraph.)

At IZ’s birthday party yesterday (see generally 15.093 Birthday Bolognese), one of his friends gave him a box of Jumbo Doshirak as a birthday gift.  I said to the friend, “So thoughtful of you to drop by GS25 on the way here.”  Although objectively the cheapest and subjectively the crappiest gift of the party, it was actually the most memorable.

Just for laughs, we ate it for dinner tonight.

Who’s the target audience for this product?  8 portions = 8 people (more or less), which is a lot.  Where and when and under what circumstances would 8 people share instant noodles together?  The only situation that comes to mind is some kind of gathering involving students, like a school picnic.  Camping might also work, though typically Korean campers (“glampers”) go all out, especially on the food.  Other than an initial bump from bloggers who cover the product just for content, I don’t really see growth in the mainstream market.

Another problem is the amount of water needed.  A Korean home might be equipped with an electric kettle, which has a maximum capacity of 1 liter; so, to get 2.2 liters of water, one would have to boil it in 2.2 batches; or, boil the water simultaneously in several vessels; or, boil it in one big pot (as we did), though not all Korean kitchens have one.  In any case, very cumbersome for what is intended to be a convenience item.

It was okay.  Pretty much like any other Korean instant noodle.  If I never encounter it again – the single or the jumbo – I wouldn’t care.

(See also HANSIK)