SEOUL, South Korea, June 10, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- South Korea's Hanwoo Board announced plans to conduct a major marketing campaign for Hanwoo premium Korean beef in Hong Kong, one of the world's leading global business centers. The board aims to raise awareness of the importance of recent research findings that a "family style" dining culture of sharing high-quality beef grilled over a communal charcoal plate has a measurable positive impact on business negotiations.
Several recent studies have demonstrated that food culture has a significant impact on business negotiations and relationships, with findings in a number of academic papers indicating that a "family-style" dining culture, as widely practiced in Korea, can measurably improve business negotiations compared with dinners where each individual has their own personal meal.
Prof. Kaitlin Woolley of Cornell University and Prof. Ayelet Fishbach of the University of Chicago recently published a paper in the journal Psychological Science that demonstrates how meals shared "family-style" from central platters can greatly improve the outcome of subsequent business negotiations. As a result of the study, the research team concluded that executives eating a shared meal were able to reach a positive deal on average 34 per cent faster than those who ate individual meals.
One of the most iconic examples of this type of shared food culture is found in Korea. According to a study titled "The Korean Beef Story: The History of Meat-eating Culture and the Identity of the Korean People" (2016), conducted by Prof. Seong Gyeong-il at Kangwon National University, the dining practice of grilling high-quality marinated beef on a brazier was popular among noblemen during Korea's Joseon dynasty (1392–1897).
Korea's rapid economic expansion in recent decades has seen this food culture spread to all levels of society, and now friends, families, and business associates gathering to eat charcoal-grilled cuts of prime beef has become one of the most iconic aspects of modern Korean food culture. Prof. Seong's analysis concludes that sharing meat while sitting around a charcoal grill is reminiscent of hunting in ancient times and therefore likely appeals to the fundamental human emotion of social harmony and bonding.
The Hanwoo Board, a government-linked organization, plans a full-scale Hanwoo marketing campaign in Hong Kong, to raise awareness of premium quality Korean beef in this a global business center, in tandem with the research findings of the positive effects on business negations stemming from Korean "family-style" dining culture.
Underscoring the popularity of this trend, recent market data shows a marked increase in the number of Korean restaurants serving premium Korean beef in Hong Kong. The 2017 Overseas Korean Restaurant Survey showed that the number of Korean restaurants in Hong Kong jumped annually from 111 in 2014, to 297 in 2016, and 418 in 2017. Many of these Korean restaurants offer private rooms for business events, which is expected to make a significant contribution to facilitating business negotiations.
October has therefore been designated Korean Culture Month, and the Hanwoo Board will actively promote Korean-style dining culture and etiquette, with an emphasis on showing consideration for others. The upcoming event will showcase the demonstrated benefits to business negotiations of sharing Korean beef grilled over charcoal at the table.
The Hanwoo Board will also participate in the "Restaurant & Bar Hong Kong 2019" event and the "Wine & Dine Festival" to promote the superiority of Korean beef to world's leading food and beverage service providers, including Hong Kong, along with promotional events targeting potential customers.
"Sharing Korean beef grilled on charcoal is a unique aspect of Korean family-style dining culture," said a Hanwoo Board official. "We hope that a full-fledged marketing and promotion campaign for this unique food culture in the global business center of Hong Kong will help bring positive outcomes for business negotiations."
"The Hanwoo Board is planning to promote the superiority of Korean beef in terms of exceptional taste, tenderness, and healthfulness through a variety of marketing activities in Hong Kong throughout this year," he added.
