Hoengseong beef earns top halal certification, draws crowds at Seoul tasting event; livestock farmers celebrated back home
Hoengseong beef made its way to Seoul on Friday, drawing an enthusiastic response from Muslim residents gathered in Itaewon.
Hoengseong-gun in Gangwon Province and Hoengseong KC, a local company specializing in livestock product manufacturing and retail, teamed up with the Korea Muslim Federation — the only Islamic religious organization officially registered with the South Korean government — to hold a halal-certified Hoengseong beef tasting event Friday at the Seoul Central Mosque in Hannam-dong, Seoul, for Muslim residents in Korea.
The event was designed to promote the quality of Hoengseong beef, which has received halal certification, and to boost sales.
Working closely with the Korea Muslim Federation, Hoengseong KC plans to expand the reach of halal-certified Hanwoo within the Muslim community by offering beef that meets rigorous halal standards and can be trusted for its safety and quality.
After Friday prayers, organizers served roughly 1,500 portions of premium Hoengseong sirloin, grilled on-site for attendees. Long lines formed as people waited for a taste, and those who tried the beef were generous in their praise. "It's amazing. The Hanwoo is really delicious," several said.
The event went beyond a simple tasting: QR codes on promotional leaflets distributed at the venue linked directly to Hoengseong KC's online shopping mall, channeling attendees into immediate business-to-consumer sales.
The event is also expected to serve as a springboard for expanding business-to-business supply chains with Muslim beef distributors operating in Korea. Organizers also plan to use the occasion to build a premium image for Hoengseong beef among embassy officials from roughly 34 Muslim-majority countries with diplomatic missions in Korea, with an eye toward opening export channels to those markets.
On the same day, back in Hoengseong-gun, a celebration honored the livestock farmers who are, in local terms, the equivalent of a Samsung Electronics division head when it comes to driving the local economy.
The 8th Hoengseong Livestock Farmers Day was hosted by Hoengseong-gun and organized by the Hoengseong Livestock Farming Cooperative Council, whose executive board is drawn from associations representing the county's major livestock sectors — Hanwoo cattle, dairy cows, pigs, chickens and bees. About 1,000 people attended, including local livestock farmers and officials from related organizations.
At the awards ceremony, six individuals received plaques of appreciation from Hoengseong County Chief Kim Myeong-gi and Hoengseong County Council Speaker Pyo Han-sang for their contributions to raising the profile of Hoengseong's livestock industry and to local development: Heo Nam-du (Hoengseong-eup), Kim Geun-bae (Ucheon-myeon), Jeon Gil-seok (Anheung-myeon), Lee Bong-cheol (Dunnae-myeon), Jeong Gang-cheol (Gonggeun-myeon) and Kim Do-jun, a team leader at the Hoengseong Hanwoo Cooperative.
The "We Are One" harmony festival featured a range of team-building activities, including a two-person milk-drinking relay, a two-person running race and a group jump-rope contest. Promotional activities to encourage livestock product consumption were also held alongside the games. This year's event also featured a dedicated booth from the Hoengseong-gun Animal Protection Center, where staff introduced and promoted the county's stray animal adoption policy.
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