Background Banner

Case Study Spotlights U.S. Beef’s Comeback in South Korea

Published: Nov 06, 2015

Jihea Yang, USMEF director in South Korea, presents a case study on U.S. beef

Those attending the Friday business session of the USMEF Strategic Planning Conference had an inside look into the history of U.S. beef in South Korea, including the rebuilding of Korean consumer confidence following protests over the product’s perceived safety and quality just seven years ago.

A case study titled “Korea: Thirty Years of Challenges for U.S. Beef” was presented by Joel Haggard, USMEF senior vice president for the Asian Pacific, and Jihae Yang, USMEF director in South Korea.

“It really is a tremendous story of a comeback – a comeback that is still in process,” said Haggard, recalling a series of strides and setbacks that occurred over several decades. “Interestingly, people in Korea have always had an appreciation for U.S. beef. Even after the negative false campaigns in the mid-to-late 2000s, U.S. beef is in high demand in Korea today, and that’s the result of aggressive education and promotion by USMEF and the U.S. beef industry.”

Haggard set the stage by going back to the 1980s and describing Korean consumption and trade at that time. He touched upon the country’s financial struggles and eventual emergence of the Korean people’s appetite for U.S. beef, showing the steady increase in Korea’s imports between 1990 and 2003.

Following the discovery of the first U.S. BSE case in December 2003, Korea was among the key export markets most affected. By 2006, U.S. beef imports to Korea had resumed, but numerous issues hampered trade.

After a series of events outlined by Yang, South Korea announced in April 2008 that the U.S. would be able to fully resume beef shipments to Korea and the market reopened in July of that year. Some consumers in Korea met the announcement with reservations, and rumors about the safety of U.S. beef prompted large protests.

“The Korean public was not happy with this agreement, perceiving that government leaders had neglected to consult with proper experts, and viewed it as a concession to the United States,” Yang said. “There was a lot of misinformation being spread, and the media in South Korea was making false reports.”

For its part, USMEF had been communicating with Korean consumers, launching educational campaigns in 2007 that showed Koreans enjoying U.S. beef “without anxiety.” A “To Trust” campaign began in late 2009 and quickly evolved into social media, which have become a valuable platform for USMEF and the U.S. meat industry in South Korea.

Yang and Haggard both pointed out that the result of the promotional and educational campaigns is a steady climb in Korean consumers’ confidence in U.S. beef.

Yang described USMEF’s five-year plan for Korea, which includes further development of branded products, introducing retail-ready packaging, promoting underutilized cuts and expanding retail market penetration by direct sourcing.

“As you may have seen this year, USMEF is promoting American barbecue in Korea, which is becoming very popular,” said Yang. “This will continue, because the market still has room to grow and putting the U.S. brand out there is important.”