US Frozen Potato Products Penetrate Korean Nightlife

US Potato Board and Wa Bar, a popular Korean beer pub chain, teamed up to conduct an ‘In House Cooking Contest’ using frozen U.S. potato products. Ten finalists were selected from more than 50 recipes submitted by Wa Bar chef teams and participated in an on-site contest on March 30, 2011. The goal of the contest was to develop practical usage of US frozen potatoes with good marketability for Wa Bar’s 265 kitchens.

A judging team consisting of Wa Bar R&D director, and local food experts, USPB Korea representative and US Embassy ATO director evaluated the dishes for taste, creativity, practicality and application of frozen potatos and marketability. The winning entries included:

Grand Prize - Potato Festival
Gold Prize – Oriental Express
Silver Prize – Potato Waffle Sandwich
Bronze Prize – Potato Tart
Bronze Prize 2nd – Potato Tiramisu

Winning dishes will be launched in Wa Bar pubs throughout Korea with US Potato Board promotional support.

U.S. Pavilion Draws Large Crowds at Seoul Food & Hotel 2011, April 26-29, 2011

American exporters enjoyed a successful show at Seoul Food & Hotel 2011. Almost 40 U.S. exhibitors occupied the U.S. pavilion organized by ATO Seoul. Ambassador Kathleen Stephens participated in the opening ribbon cutting ceremony and later toured the U.S. pavilion to meet with exhibitors.

In addition to making more than 525 serious contacts, 4 companies reported on site sales exceeding $2 million and 15 U.S. suppliers project 12 months sales of more than $20 million as a result of the show.

U.S. exhibitors reported that the pending Free Trade Agreement with Korea is drawing strong interest in American food products. A St. Louis based processed meat company sees growing Korean consumer interest in Italian style salami and believes sales would be further stimulated by the elimination of duties on processed pork products under the FTA.

ZAS International, a California based trading company supplying U.S. agricultural products stated, “We cannot over emphasize the importance of the USA/Korean FTA for our business and U.S. agriculture as a whole. Korean interest in our products such as corn on the cob and canned fruits is tremendous, but we are bound by duties of 30% and as high as 50% on some items. When the FTA takes effect these duties will be phased out over 5 and 10 years, respectively. With the Korea-EU FTA taking effect soon, our company and all American suppliers will be put at a severe disadvantage in the market.”

For more information on the U.S. Korea FTA please click here.

For more information on the Seoul Food & Hotel 2011 please click here.

Ambassador Kathleen Stephens opens a People's Garden at Gwacheon National Science Museum, April 23, 2011

On April 23, Ambassador Kathleen Stephens, opened a permanent People's Garden in vibrant Seoul, Korea, one of the largest cities in the world. The 700 square meter site was provided by the Gwacheon National Science Museum. Dr. Shang-Hi Rhee, president of the Gwacheon National Science Museum hosted the inaugural event. He and the Ambassador, who arrived together at the Museum by bicycle, were joined by 70 volunteers including Boy Scouts and Junior Master Growers – Korea (JMG-Korea). The Boy Scouts eagerly ponied up 600 service hours necessary to prepare and design the garden site, build the garden arbor and raise the beds for growing vegetables and flowers. In her remarks, Ambassador Stephens emphasized the importance of volunteerism to the success of the People’s Garden initiative.

The People’s Garden at Gwacheon Museum not only connects the American and Korean communities through a spirit of volunteerism but also enables urban children to learn gardening skills and gain understanding of growing food and healthy eating. Elementary school children affiliated with the JMG-Korea planted vegetable seedlings including red lettuce, green lettuce, oak lettuce, romaine lettuce, eggplant, Korean red pepper, cucumbers, and cherry tomato. The produce that will eventually be harvested by the children will be donated to charity.