Korean Journalists Offer Inside View of U.S. Pork Industry

Interviews at the National Pork Board were a key element of the Korean media coverage

Readers of four influential South Korean publications are getting an extremely positive and unprecedented insider’s view of the American pork industry following a lengthy tour of the U.S. by a team of reporters. The visit was developed with funding from the USDA Market Access Program (MAP) and the Pork Checkoff.

Journalists representing one of Korea’s largest newspapers (the JoongAng Ilbo), lifestyle and food magazine Casa Living, culinary and lifestyle magazine Essen and women’s lifestyle magazine Woman Chosun were part of a U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) team that visited an Iowa hog farm, retail outlets and restaurants in Iowa and San Francisco, the Better Homes and Gardens/Meredith Corporation test kitchen, and met at length with National Pork Board (NPB) staff to better understand the steps the U.S. pork industry takes to ensure product quality and safety.

The inquisitive reporters covered a broad range of topics from sustainability and animal health to pork quality assurance and transport quality assurance during their meeting with senior NPB staff. After the discussions – and many meals featuring American pork ranging from ribs, pulled pork and sausage to a pork and beer pairing event at a local brewery – the journalists recreated the highlights of their visit for their readers in extensive and very favorable articles.

The first coverage was a full-page article in the 1.3 million circulation JoongAng Ilbo – the first major Korean daily newspaper to run a lengthy article on U.S. meat. The story reported on NPB’s challenge to chefs to develop new and creative pork recipes, and featured a recipe by renowned chef Chris Consentino of Incanto in San Francisco that utilizes pork intestines – a recipe that would be of interest to Korean readers.

“Traditionally, pork has not been seen as a center-of-the-plate entrée at high-end restaurants in Korea, but these reporters had the opportunity to see and taste a variety of pork dishes that opened their eyes to how good pork – specifically U.S. pork – can be,” said Min Park, communications manager for USMEF-Korea. “While Koreans may tend to overcook pork, the message that ‘moderately cooked pork is delicious’ was adopted by these reporters and helps position U.S. pork differently for readers.”

Korean lifestyle magazine Woman Chosun examined U.S. pork trends at retail and food service, including the popularity of bacon-wrapped food

The JoongAng Ilbo reporter also described a variety of pork trends in the United States, ranging from the “crispy outside and soft inside” of pork barbecue at restaurants such as Des Moines’ Smokey D’s BBQ, and the popularity of bacon-wrapped food – ranging from tenderloins to asparagus to chicken breasts – featured at the large regional Hy-Vee supermarket chain and the smaller, local Fareway supermarkets in Urbandale, Iowa.

Casa Living magazine’s four-page feature included a lengthy interview with NPB CEO Chris Novak on subjects including sustainability, animal welfare, pork quality assurance (PQA) and transport quality assurance (TQA) certification. It too reported the message that cooking pork to an internal temperature of 63 degrees Centigrade “allows the meat to be softer with juiciness.”

The Essen and Woman Chosun articles were similar, both six-page photo-intensive pieces that provided extended coverage of the care the U.S. pork industry takes to raise animals sustainably with a scientific approach that demonstrates great care for animal welfare.

“Meeting NPB’s Chris Novak, Director of Animal Welfare Sherrie Niekamp and Director of Animal Science Chris Hostetler was very instructive for the reporters,” said USMEF’s Park. “Combine that with a tour of Sheehan Farm, a nursery hog farm in Resmen, Iowa, along with the many retail and restaurant visits, and these reporters came back with a complete and very positive picture of the American pork industry that has since been widely reported throughout Korea.

“The journalists’ articles and photos of cornfields, tidy hog barns, clean piglets and mouthwatering pork dishes will strengthen U.S. pork’s image and position it as a wholesome, desirable product,” noted Park.

South Korea is a key market for U.S. pork exports. Through July, Korea has purchased 63,624 metric tons (140.3 million pounds) of U.S. pork valued at nearly $173 million, making it the No. 5 export market for American pork.