A tale of two Jins: Everything you wanted to know about Jin Ramen x BTS Jin

Jin Ramen instant noodle’s collaboration with Jin — the BTS member — was a huge success for Otoki as the company managed to sell out the 1.3 million ramyeon packages featuring Jin’s stickers in just 50 days after its release in March.

Otoki's collaboration with BTS member Jin now comes with larger Jin stickers if you buy the multipack Jin Ramen on Otoki's official online store or on Amazon. [OTOKI]

Jin Ramen’s collaboration with BTS's Jin was a huge success for food maker Otoki, with the company selling all 1.3 million instant noodle packages containing Jin’s stickers in just 50 days of its release in March.

At the same time, sales on Otoki’s official online mall rose 10-fold in March compared to the same period the previous year, which was enough for the Korean company to plan a second collaboration featuring new designs and larger collectibles of Jin.

Fans of BTS, the Army, also enjoyed the collaboration, as many fans tried Jin Ramen for the first time thanks to the endorsement. Searching for Jin Ramen on X, formerly known as Twitter, yields search results almost all from fans of Jin, who are sharing the collaboration information and how they got a hold of the Jin sticker.

The company announced late September that it will update the packaging and introduce new Jin collectible stickers — but the stickers won’t be included in all Jin Ramen packages sold around the world. In fact, they are exclusive to Otoki’s official online mall and Amazon.

The Korea JoongAng Daily is here to clear up any confusion surrounding the Otoki Jin Ramen and BTS Jin collaboration.

Q. How does Jin Ramen’s second collaboration with BTS Jin differ from the first collaboration?

The first collaboration, which began this March, involved new Jin Ramen packages featuring photos of Jin, along with collectible stickers included with the multipack version. In Korea, there were 12 stickers: four featuring different images of Jin; four featuring Jin’s handwriting alongside Jin Ramen products and four with Wootteo, the animated astronaut character designed by Jin.

In foreign markets, only the four stickers featuring photos of Jin were included in the multipack packages.

The second collaboration, which began late September, updates the packaging of the cup noodles and updates the Jin stickers. The stickers are now larger, measuring 5 centimeters (1.97 inches) wide and 7 centimeters in height, to make them more “collectible,” according to the food company.

Can you still buy the first collaboration Jin Ramen packages and instant noodles?

You may still find the original collaboration packages, but as instant noodles typically expire six months after the production date, buyers should be aware of the expiration dates.

Where can you buy the new Jin x Jin Ramen packages and cup noodles in Korea?

The new Jin Ramen instant noodles and cup noodles are widely available in Korean offline and online shops. The multipack featuring Jin stickers, however, is exclusive only to Otoki’s official online mall. Only 100,000 units will be sold and they are currently in stock as of press time.

The mall requires an authenticated Korean phone number, meaning that short-term visitors in Korea will not be able to officially buy items from the site.

Otoki's Jin Ramen sold on Amazon [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Can you buy the new Jin Ramen outside Korea?

The multipack Jin Ramen with the new Jin stickers can be bought from Amazon, sold directly by Otoki America. It is not officially available elsewhere.

Will Otoki expand the sales of Jin Ramen multipacks featuring new Jin stickers elsewhere else?

There are currently no plans to officially sell the package in more countries, according to Otoki.

BY CHO YONG-JUN [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]