U.S. Pork Sausages Paired with Korean Craft Beers at ‘Beer Week Seoul’

Recognizing the growing popularity of craft beer in South Korea as an opportunity to introduce U.S. pork sausages as a perfect paired snack, USMEF participated in “Beer Week Seoul,” a popular event that attracts thousands of young Korean professionals. Funded by the USDA Market Access Program (MAP) and the National Pork Board, the promotional effort included offering tasting samples of Johnsonville and Oscar Mayer sausages to the more than 25,000 visitors.

Visitors to the USMEF booth at Beer Week Seoul pose for a photo in front of the U.S. pork sausages wall to post on social media

A brief USMEF video from Beer Week Seoul can be seen here.

“Our goal was to establish American pork sausages as an easy-to-cook and easy-to-eat choice that goes great with craft beer,” explained Jihae Yang, USMEF director in Korea. “The craft beer industry is booming in Korea. In the past, the local beer market was dominated by two local power brands, but the changing tastes of Korean consumers can be seen in the rapid rise of local craft breweries. Bars and tap houses selling domestic craft beer have started gaining popularity, fueling the creation of more breweries across the country.”

This year’s Beer Week Seoul was held near Kunkuk University where people ages 25 to 40 often visit trendy cafés, restaurants and shops. USMEF set up a display booth to distribute U.S. pork sausage samples and hold consumer social media events. The two brands of sausages offered – Johnsonville and Oscar Mayer – are currently sold in retail stores in Korea.

According to Yang, more than 5,000 visitors uploaded photos on social media, while nearly 600 participated in a special word game event organized by USMEF.

“Beer Week Seoul participants are young professionals who have purchasing power and enjoy exploring cultural and food experiences,” added Yang. “And they are not shy about sharing their experiences on social media.”

“As a result, a large number of U.S. pork sausage photos was generated and posted to popular social media sites,” said Yang. “For example, the hashtag ‘Beersnacks' had more than 100,000 searches alone. ‘American Sausage' started with only four posts but rose to 1,296 by the end of the event.”

The USMEF booth at Beer Week Seoul promoted U.S. pork sausages as the perfect snack with craft beer

USMEF-Korea’s American Meat Story Facebook page gained hundreds of new followers.

Visitors who posted a photo of the U.S. pork sausages with the U.S. pork background wall – or any U.S. pork items on Instagram with hastags #Beersnacks, #Sausage, or #American sausage – were given coupons for free U.S. pork sausages.

A visitor to the USMEF booth at Beer Week Seoul shows off one of the U.S. pork sausages paired with craft beer

“Many photos of the booth and U.S. pork sausages were also featured on the leading social media portal site Naver, and bloggers who visited Beer Week Seoul wrote about the U.S. pork sausages with photos and received a lot of positive reactions,” said Yang. “At the USMEF booth, we emphasized the themes ‘Beer and American Sausages’ and 'Small Happiness with American Sausages,' which delivered a strong message to those visitors who came to our booth.”