U.S. Steak Restaurant in Korea Gets Rave Reviews

U.S. Steak Restaurant in Korea Gets Rave Reviews

If two rave reviews for a Seoul restaurant that serves only U.S. prime beef are to be taken as a sign, the public cold shoulder given to U.S. beef in South Korea over the past 18 months may finally be thawing.

Goo STK 528, which owner Ian Kim opened earlier this year with the daring business model of serving only U.S. prime beef, has been surprisingly popular in a country that only last summer saw huge street protests against U.S. beef. 

As recently as this spring, Korean newspapers would not accept paid advertising to promote U.S. beef, so the publication last week of a positive restaurant review for Goo STK 518 in one of Seoul’s largest newspapers, the Chosun Ilbo, which boasts a 2.2 million circulation, was a welcome sign.  The review read in part:

 

 

"If you go to a famous steakhouse in the U.S., the refrigerated display for dry aging, which is used for thick steaks, is placed at the restaurant entrance.

"At the restaurant ‘Goo STK 528,’ chunks of beef are displayed in the refrigerator compartment of the kitchen. All of the beef is U.S. Prime Grade, which is the highest grade given to only 2 percent of all U.S. beef… I ordered a dry aged steak and a regular prime steak. I could taste the condensed juicy flavor oozing out with every chew. The fat part of the meat was not greasy but tasty like butter. The taste of both steaks was excellent.”  

In addition, a leading South Korean gourmet food blogger published a glowing review of the restaurant online, complete with photos.

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The U.S. Meat Export Federation (www.USMEF.org) is the trade association responsible for developing international markets for the U.S. red meat industry and is funded by USDA, exporting companies, and the beef, pork, corn and soybean checkoff programs.

For more information, contact Jim Herlihy at jherlihy@usmef.org.

USMEF complies with all equal opportunity, non-discrimination and affirmative action measures applicable to it by contract, government rule or regulation or as otherwise provided by law.

U.S. Steak Restaurant in Korea Gets Rave Reviews

If two rave reviews for a Seoul restaurant that serves only U.S. prime beef are to be taken as a sign, the public cold shoulder given to U.S. beef in South Korea over the past 18 months may finally be thawing.

Goo STK 528, which owner Ian Kim opened earlier this year with the daring business model of serving only U.S. prime beef, has been surprisingly popular in a country that only last summer saw huge street protests against U.S. beef. 

As recently as this spring, Korean newspapers would not accept paid advertising to promote U.S. beef, so the publication last week of a positive restaurant review for Goo STK 518 in one of Seoul’s largest newspapers, the Chosun Ilbo, which boasts a 2.2 million circulation, was a welcome sign.  The review read in part:

 

 

"If you go to a famous steakhouse in the U.S., the refrigerated display for dry aging, which is used for thick steaks, is placed at the restaurant entrance.

"At the restaurant ‘Goo STK 528,’ chunks of beef are displayed in the refrigerator compartment of the kitchen. All of the beef is U.S. Prime Grade, which is the highest grade given to only 2 percent of all U.S. beef… I ordered a dry aged steak and a regular prime steak. I could taste the condensed juicy flavor oozing out with every chew. The fat part of the meat was not greasy but tasty like butter. The taste of both steaks was excellent.”  

In addition, a leading South Korean gourmet food blogger published a glowing review of the restaurant online, complete with photos.

# # #

The U.S. Meat Export Federation (www.USMEF.org) is the trade association responsible for developing international markets for the U.S. red meat industry and is funded by USDA, exporting companies, and the beef, pork, corn and soybean checkoff programs.

For more information, contact Jim Herlihy at jherlihy@usmef.org.

USMEF complies with all equal opportunity, non-discrimination and affirmative action measures applicable to it by contract, government rule or regulation or as otherwise provided by law.