Maggie Kang is sharing the unexpected (and hilarious) story behind her viral Oscars moment.
The director of Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters recently revealed that she secretly brought dry ramyeon into the Academy Awards—and even ate it during the ceremony.
Appearing on JTBC’s Please Take Care of My Refrigerator, Kang explained the now-famous photo of her sitting at the Oscars, casually snacking on uncooked ramyeon with chopsticks.
“That’s not edited,” she said. “I actually split a pack of dry ramyeon with Appelhans next to me.”
According to Kang, the move came down to one simple reason: hunger. “They don’t serve real food at the Oscars,” she said. “It’s a really long event—about four hours—and all they give you are popcorn, water, and candy. You get so hungry.”
So she came prepared. “I brought ramyeon with me,” she admitted with a laugh. “I even hid chopsticks inside my dress so I could eat it.”
Kang joked that her outfit helped her pull it off. “Luckily I was wearing a red dress, so it kind of matched,” she said, joking that she carried it in a way that made it look almost like a clutch.
The moment may have been lighthearted, but it came during a major career milestone. Kang took home the Oscar for Best Animated Feature for KPop Demon Hunters, beating out major contenders like Zootopia 2 and solidifying the film’s global success.
In her acceptance speech, she shared a heartfelt message: “To all the fans who got us here and for all of those who look like me, I am so sorry that it took us so long to see us in a movie like this. But it is here, and that means that the next generations don’t have to go longing. This is for Korea and for Koreans everywhere.”
KPop Demon Hunters has since gained widespread popularity, especially among younger audiences, for its vibrant mix of K-pop culture, fandom, and Korean food elements like ramyeon and gimbap—making Kang’s off-screen ramyeon moment feel all the more fitting.
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