‘Picnic on the Bridge’ Showcases U.S. Beef Steak, Pork Sausages in Korea

U.S. beef chuck eye roll steak and U.S. pork sausages were highlighted by USMEF at a special “Picnic on the Bridge” event at the 2018 Seoul Food Festival in South Korea. Funded by the USDA Market Access Program, the Beef Checkoff Program and the National Pork Board, the innovative sampling promotion was designed to showcase the taste of U.S. beef and pork to more than 60,000 people who visited the event.

USMEF cooks grill U.S. beef steak and U.S. pork sausages for visitors of the “Picnic on the Bridge” event during the Seoul Food Festival in South Korea

A brief video showing USMEF’s efforts can be seen here.

Held on Seoul’s Jamsu Bridge, which spans the Han River and connects the districts of Yongsan-gu and Seocho-gu, Picnic on the Bridge attracted heavy coverage on social media sites and by traditional media, including this TV news segment that featured the festival and a glimpse of cooks grilling steak and sausage at the USMEF display booth.

“For local residents, the lights on Jamsu Bridge symbolize the ever-expanding economic growth of Korea, and the bridge attracts many visitors, especially at night,” said Jihae Yang, USMEF director in Korea. “For this occasion, the whole bridge was blocked off with support from the Seoul Metropolitan Government. USMEF secured a highly visible space and there was a very celebratory atmosphere by the people who came by the USMEF booth. Food is a very big part of the Korean culture and U.S. beef and pork were popular attractions.”

Using the theme “Happiness with American Steak and Sausage,” USMEF’s display was designed to inform Korean consumers about the quality of U.S. beef steak and U.S. pork sausages. Tasting samples were distributed with informational brochures about the products.

A celebrity blogger posted photos taken at the USMEF booth to social media sites

“We also conducted a special event to make the sampling an even more enjoyable experience,” explained Yang. “Visitors competed in a word game that included pronouncing of the names of American steak or American sausage, with the person who correctly pronounced the words declared the winner.”

A Korean family enjoys samples of U.S. pork sausages at the “Picnic on the Bridge” event at the Seoul Food Festival

USMEF also collaborated with a Korean YouTube celebrity who held a “fan meeting” at the event and helped distribute U.S. pork sausage samples.

“Visitors enjoyed the games and the samples and many of them shared their experiences of tasting U.S. beef steak and U.S. pork sausage on social media,” said Yang. “There were photos of our branded booth, along with the U.S. beef steak and sausage items put on Instagram and on blogs of the popular Korean website Naver.”

Visitors to “Picnic on the Bridge” gather at the USMEF booth to sample U.S. beef steak and U.S. pork sausages