U.S. Beef Shines in Korea’s Booming Home Meal Replacement Sector

Fueled by inflation and the rise in single-person households, Korea's home meal replacement (HMR) industry continues expanding, having nearly doubled in size over the past decade. High-quality U.S. beef has successfully penetrated this product category through new product development and promotional partnerships with Korean importers, processors, restaurants and retailers.

One such partnership is with Samihun, a prestigious barbecue restaurant brand widely recognized as a market leader in the HMR sector. Renowned for its top-selling galbitang (beef rib soup) and marinated beef barbecue, Samihun utilizes high-quality U.S. beef in many of its HMR products to deliver gourmet experiences to consumers. Although Samihun sources some domestic beef for its HMR products, U.S. beef products account for more than 90% of its total HMR sales.

Galbitang has established itself as Samihun's flagship product, ranking first in HMR and soup categories on major online sales platforms like Kurly and Coupang for several consecutive years with its galbiang sales exceeding 20 million packages from 2018-2025. At the 2026 Korea First Brand Awards, Samihun was awarded first place in the HMR (Soup/Stew) category.

"This award presented us an opportunity to celebrate U.S. beef's usage in this and 17 other Samihun HMR products," says USMEF Korea Director Junil Park. "We are promoting U.S. beef's quality and versatility for use in this wide range of top-quality dishes."

A promotional campaign was rolled out featuring 18 of Samihun's HMR products that utilize U.S. beef. With a target customer base aged 30-50, the promotion rewarded purchasers with diverse lifestyle products depending on their spending level. A wide range of social media and online ads promoting this event were also launched.

The HMR promotion was made possible through the Beef Checkoff Program.