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Korea
Spam Giftset, South Korea
Spam Giftset, South Korea
Koreans have some interesting tastes in food – but none more so than their reverence for the processed chunky meatstuff known as spam
On her recent trip teaching English in Korea, my girlfriend Lindy told me that she’d seen a spam giftset in the local supermarket. I demanded photographic evidence. After very nearly getting arrested, (Koreans don’t like people taking photos in supermarkets apparently), she got it.
The spam giftset consists of 10 cans of spam (plus 1 free!) with two bottles of (what looks like) cooking oil, all beautifully combined in a presentation package decked out in full spam livery.
Spam Giftset, Korea
Now we just need to find out who gives this stuff as a genuine gift…
I also thought this was amusing but after having lived here for four years it sort of wore off. Remember that not so many years ago Korea was one of the poorest countries in the world. Starving people were in no position to turn their nose up at any food and as I understand it spam was in the American relief supplies. Spam appears occasionally in some dishes, and although not considered a high end food, doesn’t have the stigma it does in the USA. Why the gift set? During the holidays the whole family often decends upon one household (usually that of the oldest son) and family members bring gifts of daily necessities of things often used in day to day life like toothpaste, oriental medicine, and food items. Spam, as you can see, packages up easily and can be used in a pinch.
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