Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate changes in Korean meat consumption as well as meat consumption trends. During the Japanese occupation period, the supply of meat was considerably insufficient. However, meat consumption mainly in large cities has gradually increased. Especially, 'Pyeongyang cow', a specialty of Pyeongyang, started being raised as edible beef cattle in 1933. During the chaotic period following liberation from Japan, the price of meat sharply increased. However, as the meat supply stabilized, the 'beef grade system' was introduced in 1967. Since then, beef has sold according to region. During the early economic growth period of the mid-1970s, meat consumption rapidly increased, and foreign beef was first imported in 1976. The preference for beef was somewhat attenuated due to the outbreak of mad cow disease and economic slowdown of the 1990s, resulting in an increase in the consumption of pork, a replacement meat. During the recent period of economic development, meat consumption has somewhat fallen and remained low. In late 2003, with the occurrence of mad cow disease in the US, the demand for pork, and especially pork fatback, has sharply increased.
