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The canned luncheon meat Spam, considered barely fit for human consumption in its country of origin, the U.S., is seen as a delicacy in Korea, to the bafflement of the LA Times.
Spam, originally made by the U.S. firm Hormel, is produced in Korea by distributors CJ, which bought the rights and started making its own version from 1987. CJ-made Spam is adapted to suit Korean tastes, with less salt than Hormel-made Spam.
¡°The luncheon meat might be the subject of satire in the U.S., but in South Korea it is positively classy,¡± the daily said Monday. In Korea the pink, stringy processed meat is expensive, costing $44 for a set of 12 cans, so that on the Chuseok holiday alone, ¡°eight million cans of Spam change hands.¡±
¡°With $136 million in sales, South Korea is the largest market in the world for Spam outside the U.S.,¡± the paper reports. ¡°Not coincidentally, Spam is also popular in Hawaii, the Philippines, Okinawa, Guam and Saipan, all places with a history of a U.S. military presence.¡±
The paper said the reconstituted meat in the post-war years ¡°was a special treat for South Koreans, who could rarely afford meat and did not have refrigeration at home,¡± but could not ¡°explain its cachet today in the world¡¯s 11th-largest economy, where there is no shortage of fresh meat and [other] things associated with the U.S. military are considered low class.¡±
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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