From Farm to Table | ‘Hanwoo Culture’ to Become a ‘Third Source of Competitiveness’ Beyond Price and Quality

[Farm Insight = reporter Ok Mi-yeong] Hanwoo beef prices are enjoying an unprecedented boom, but experts diagnose that the industry must find a new source of competitiveness to prepare for the future in order to achieve sustainable growth. Having already turned the tables on imported beef, which once had the price advantage, through "premium quality," the industry now needs a new strategy to move beyond even that.

NongHyup's Livestock Economy Division found that new source of competitiveness for Hanwoo in "culture."

Given that Hanwoo has been part of Korea's 5,000-year history — in farming, folk games, folktales, and food — the division sees an opportunity to create new value by infusing Hanwoo with our people's culture, beyond simply being "premium meat."

On April 29, NongHyup held a symposium themed "Dreaming of a Hanwoo Culture Renaissance," proposing that Hanwoo culture be combined with kimchi and hanbok to create a global K-culture.

If It Doesn't Excite You, Its Meaning Is Halved

CEO Kim Tae-hwan of the Livestock Economy Division explained why Hanwoo must now focus on "culture," and the purpose of the symposium, in his presentation "Dreaming of a Hanwoo Culture Renaissance."

CEO Kim said, "The Hanwoo industry is enjoying its greatest boom since the dawn of the nation, but this could also signal a second crisis. If we overcame the full opening of the beef market in 2000 through (breeding) technology, then to overcome the crisis ahead, we need a new path — a third source of competitiveness."

He named "Hanwoo culture" as the keyword for overcoming that crisis.

He said that buying Hanwoo must go beyond simply purchasing high-quality beef — it should mean buying excitement and enjoying stylish value — and that infusing it with culture and value will be the role of a pioneer.

CEO Kim Tae-hwan said, "NongHyup will take the lead in adding value to Hanwoo through culture," and explained that it will expand information on Hanwoo's culture and value through a Hanwoo documentary, webtoons, YouTube and mobile-based Hanwoo farming games, a Hanwoo restaurant guide called "Wooshlin," and a declaration of Korea as the birthplace of bulgogi.

Hanwoo's Value Must Be Continually Developed and Discovered

At the symposium, cartoonist Heo Young-man gave a keynote speech on Koreans' special love for Hanwoo, Korean painter Kim Hyun Jung spoke on cattle in famous paintings, and Maeil Business Newspaper agricultural reporter Jeong Hyuk-hun spoke on the dignity of Hanwoo. All agreed that Hanwoo's special value must be continually developed and discovered, and passed down and developed as our people's unique heritage.

Honorary professor Lee O-ryeong of Ewha Womans University said in a video congratulatory address, "Koreans' love of Hanwoo is special," adding, "Going forward, the revolution of the future will be created by the hands of farmers, who watch over life most closely" — a remark that drew attention.

By reporter Ok Mi-yeong

Honorary professor Min Seung-gyu of Hankyong National University serves as moderator (far left) as CEO Kim Tae-hwan of the Livestock Economy Division, painter Kim Hyun Jung, and reporter Jeong Hyuk-hun take part in the panel discussion.

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Written by — Reporter Ok Mi-yeong