Thirteenth International Conference on Food Studies

Abstract

Ramen is well known as an iconic “Japanese” food and has worldwide popularity. From the least expensive of mass marketed convenience food to specialty ramen shops with gourmet specialties, ramen today is everywhere. From the 1980s-early 2000s, ramen was originally a considered a low-status food of poverty associated with college students and even prisons in the U.S. In the last few decades, however, it has taken on special meaning to fans of online gaming, anime, Kdramas, and Kpop. Loving ramen, wearing and displaying ramen merchandise, and being a connoisseur of different ramen brands and preparations is now a part of performative fandom and identity. My observations of Kpop fandoms showed that fans have incorporated ramen into their fan-related activities, even seeking out particular brands and recipes to emulate their idols. Similarly, each genre emulates what they see in media, so that eating ramen is a meaningful way of connecting themselves to a fan identity. This paper presents interview and fieldwork observations of the ways fans sought out, identified, and interacted with ramen and other “authentic” or iconic Japanese and Korean foods as part their fan experience. Anime fans, Kdrama enthusiasts, and Kpop fandoms, overwhelmingly romanticized eating ramen IRL (in real life) as a way of connecting to their parasocial, often online/media-based experiences as fans. I propose that consuming ramen provides a multi-sensory and tactile way of feeling real connections to fandoms that are often mostly viewed solely through social media.