Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Adventurer]

U.S. beef flies off shelves at local discount stores

November 28, 2008
Save for some protesting civic groups, it was as if there had never been protests over U.S. beef when local discounters yesterday began selling the meat for the first time for around a year.

In leading discount stores all over Seoul, crowds gathered in front of the U.S. beef booths.

As Lotte Mart�s Seoul Station branch opened its doors at 10 a.m. yesterday, 30 customers flocked to the beef corner and stood in line to buy U.S. beef.

Han Gi-gwon, 73, bought 1.4 kilograms (3 pounds) of U.S. chuck eye for 20,000 won ($13.5) and 2 kilograms of galbi, or beef ribs, for 37,000 won on the spot.

�Meat is so expensive these days. I had heard U.S. beef is very cheap,� he said.

At E-Mart�s Yongsan Station branch, there was a similar scene.

�These days, I can�t even trust the quality of hanwoo, in which case, I�d rather eat imports for less money,� said Jung Mi-gyeong, 61.

The main reason for the popularity of U.S. beef is its cheap price. At E-Mart, 100 grams of frozen LA galbi, or tender short ribs, went for 1,880 won while U.S. chuck eye went for 1,380 won. Samgyeopsal, or pork belly, sold for 1,800 won.

But not all shoppers were keen.

�I turn away beef these days because hanwoo is too expensive, Australian beef doesn�t suit my taste and I�m concerned about the safety of U.S. beef,� said Kim Hyeon-su, 38.

As of 2 p.m. yesterday at E-Mart, 7.2 tons of U.S. beef were sold for a total of 67 million won, while 5 tons of Australian beef sold for 56 million won and 1.5 tons of hanwoo made 52 million won.

Homeplus sold 3.4 tons of U.S. beef, compared to 1.9 tons of Australian and 1 ton of hanwoo.

Meanwhile, several civic groups protested in front of select discount store branches yesterday, but on a small scale. They didn�t cause much of a scene, compared to protesters earlier this year.

Joongang

Shopperspicture

[wylies99]

Here's the link to the story and a link to a pic of a crowded meat counter at Lottemart.
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2897909

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2897918

[Adventurer]

[CentralCali]

[seoulsucker]

As I mentioned before, it looks like Korea has its own version of "foot and mouth" disease.

[ernie]

no, korea has its own version of foot IN mouth disease.

[wylies99]

Wanna bet that Koreans mob all of these big stores ALL WEEKEND to get their fill of American beef?

[seoulsucker]

[blade]

[Jandar]

[wylies99]

If you want to buy American beef this weekend, shop early in the day. The stores will be crowded.

[Captain Corea]