Spam was introduced in 1937, and its popularity all over the world including Asia, Europe, and the United States caused it to influence millions of people’s daily diet until the present day. It is a canned product made by the Hormel Foods Corporations; its main ingredient is pork’s shoulder meat. It has been continuously popular in Asia in the 1940s and 50s, especially in South Korea and Japan because of the U.S. army base there. I believe Spam has been a significant food product in human history because of the following reasons: it transformed and created many Asian countries’ food, it dominates part of Asia’s food industry, and it shows which Asian countries had been impacted by wars.
Spam has definitely created innovative foods in Asia because many Asian countries have at least one food that is cooked with Spam. For example, South Korea keeps producing Spam in its own factory and has been one of the most popular industries in the country. Most Korean families have Spam cans on their kitchen shelves and cook different kinds of food with them. As a Korean who lived in Korea for many years, I ate Spam with rice, fried eggs, and ketchup when there was no other food to eat. During school picnics, parents make kimbab, a Korean traditional rice roll with assorted vegetables and meat, and the children love having Spam in them.
During the Korean War (1950-1953), many U.S. army soldiers lived in Korea and their presence gave Spam its popularity in Korea. Because Spam was a convenient way to eat meat, U.S. brought many Spam products to the army base. Because Korea was in jeopardy at the time and many Koreans lived in poverty, their only way to get valuable resources and food was from the U.S. army. Among those valuable resources, Spam was very popular because meat was almost non-existent and very expensive at the time. The stew that was created with Spam is called Budae Jjigae*. Koreans who lived in poverty literally mixed everything that was available to them and because the U.S. army enjoyed Spam, their major ingredient became Spam. Because Budae Jjigae mixed everything (including rotten and spoiled food) that was available, it was also known as the “pig’s soup.” However, budae jjigae eventually transformed into a popular and healthy food that many Koreans enjoy in the present time. It mixes kimchi, tofu, vegetables, assorted hams, noodles, and most importantly, Spam.
After doing some research on Spam in Asia, I found out that some people give Spam cans in gift sets during holidays. Many other Asian countries such as Japan, China, Hong Kong, and Philippine, also blend their own cultural food with Spam.
Spam’s popularity has widened greatly and Asians who immigrated to America continue to consume Spam greatly. I believe Spam shows Asia’s history of wars because if the U.S. army had not been in Asian countries, Spam had not been able to enjoy such popularity as is today. Spam represents Asian’s life in poverty and hope during the war.
Hawaiian Spam(?)
Someone made a really cute box out of an empty Spam can!
Insun Cheon.
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