South Korea ranked as the fifth-largest market for U.S. pork year to date. Andy Tauer, vice president of international market development with the National Pork Board, says strong consumer demand in South Korea is expected to keep growing, potentially moving the country even higher on the global demand scale.

“And through the first seven months of the year, we’ve exported about 134,000 metric tons to that marketplace. So again, a very, very strong market, been a good market for the U.S. pork producers for a while, and it’s one that we continue to invest in and defend and continue to run a lot of promotions in that market, so we can continue to maintain that strong demand pull.”

The Heartland Trip gathered 21 U.S. farmers across commodities to see firsthand the collaborative work being done with the U.S. Meat Export Federation. In South Korea, the quality, taste, and flavor of U.S. pork continue to stand out. With strong consumer demand for convenient home meal replacements, U.S. Pork is well positioned to fill that growing niche in the market.

“Because about 40 percent of Koreans live in single-family households, and they dine and eat alone, and so this is a growing trend. We had the opportunity to taste some of those different products, actually, while we were visiting one of the large retailers. And really, I see this as an opportunity to take some of the learnings out the international market and bring it back stateside, because even in the U.S., I mean, we’re continuing to look for convenience opportunities, and most of these meals are able to be prepared in less than 20 minutes.”

Tauer says convenience is key in South Korea’s food trends. For example, families can place meal orders by nine p.m. and have them delivered right to their doorstep by the next morning.

“Because they use reusable containers to deliver, and so just the technology get those containers shipped in the morning and then picked up in the afternoon so they can continue the cycle. But just that notion of being able to put in your order of an evening and have it at your doorstep for breakfast the next morning was pretty incredible.”

The partnership with the U.S. Meat Export Federation has brought many opportunities to showcase pork globally. USMEF reports that the U.S. exported a record 3.03 million metric tons of pork, valued at $8.63 billion, in 2024. Visit porkcheckoff.org to learn more.