{"id":146777,"title":"Spam: What Is This Canned Meat That’s So Wildly Popular in Korea?","modified":"2026-06-24T19:49:45+02:00","plain":"What is Spam?\n\n\n\nIf you\u2019re not a fan of this food, you\u2019re probably wondering what this unappetizing, dog-food-looking product actually is. Spam is a product made by the American company Hormel Foods. It\u2019s processed pork shaped into a rectangular block, packed in a can with an iconic design.\n\n\n\nWhy am I telling you about Spam? Because, even though the product is American in origin, it\u2019s a food that has enjoyed phenomenal success in South Korea. During the Chuseok festival, it\u2019s even a must-have gift among families. The Spam gift set has already ranked as the 2nd best-selling product in Korean supermarkets during that period (2017).\n\n\n\nSpam with a little mustard\n\n\n\nWhat does \u201cSPAM\u201d mean?\n\n\n\nThere\u2019s a real mystery surrounding the name of this meat\u2026 In reality, nobody really knows what these four letters mean! It\u2019s a question frequently asked on the brand\u2019s website, and the company simply replies that the answer is known only to a small circle of company employees. \n\n\n\nAmong the most credible theories, some say \u201cSPAM\u201d could be the acronym for \u201cshoulder of pork and ham,\u201d or more simply a contraction of \u201cspiced ham.\u201d I even read recently that some claim it could stand for \u201cscientifically processed animal matter\u201d... maybe that\u2019s the reason the brand wants to keep the mystery alive..?\n\n\n\nWhat is Spam made of?\n\n\n\nFortunately, the company  is less secretive about the makeup of its meat than about the meaning of the \u201cSpam\u201d name. On its website, you\u2019ll find the list of the six ingredients that make up Spam:\n\n\n\nraw pork with added hamsaltwaterpotato starchsugarsodium nitrite (a preservative to keep it fresh)\n\n\n\nThese six components are mixed together for 20 minutes. What\u2019s a bit unusual is that the resulting mixture is packed raw into the cans, and it\u2019s these cans, filled with raw meat, that are then cooked and cooled. So the meat cooks right inside its packaging.\n\n\n\nKoreans even use it in hot pots\n\n\n\nThe origins of Spam \n\n\n\nSpam was developed in Minnesota in 1937 by the company Hormel Foods. Between the two world wars, the economic-depression era made it strategic to put a cheap meat on the market. World War II further helped popularize Spam, thanks to how well it kept and traveled.\n\n\n\nIt was precisely when the Americans arrived in Korea in the 1950s that Spam spread throughout the country. At that time, the population could only get hold of meat with great difficulty.\n\n\n\n That explains the value they attached to Spam when American soldiers handed it out to them. Today, Spam is so firmly established in Korean cuisine that South Korea has become the world\u2019s second-largest consumer of Spam (after the USA)!\n\n\n\nWhat does Spam taste like?\n\n\n\nSpam has a fairly salty taste, which is another reason it became popular in South Korea, since it balances out dishes made with sweet ingredients. The dominant flavor is close to ham. You could place its taste somewhere between bacon and a hot dog.\n\n\n\nIs Spam good for your health?\n\n\n\nHonestly\u2026 not really. Even though Spam provides protein, it\u2019s still ultra-processed meat, which is often linked to a higher risk of developing diabetes or heart disease. \n\n\n\nOn top of that, Spam is fairly high in calories, fat, and sodium. Like any good guilty pleasure, you don\u2019t have to deny yourself completely, but enjoy it in moderation!","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146777","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=146777"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146777\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3083"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=146777"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=146777"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=146777"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}