The 100-Won War Begins: 880-Won Pork Belly Hits Shelves as SamSam Day Nears

Hypermarkets and Convenience Stores Compete on Discounts for Domestic and Imported Pork
Emart Offers Ultra-Low Prices on Imported Pork Belly and Pork Neck
Lotte Mart and Homeplus Also Offer 990 Won per 100g
Two Major Convenience Chains See

With March 3 "SamSam Day" just around the corner, a price war over pork belly has kicked off in the retail industry. SamSam Day originated when the livestock cooperative designated every date containing the number "3" as a day to eat pork belly, in order to increase the income of pig farms. Sales channels such as hypermarkets and convenience stores are going all out to attract customers by emphasizing price competitiveness down to units of 10 to 100 won.

An employee is trimming pork belly at a butcher shop in a traditional market in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Cho Yongjun

According to related industry sources on the 25th, Emart will hold a large-scale discount event called "Goraeit Festa" from the 26th to March 4, during which it will sell imported pork brand "Tantan Pork" pork belly and pork neck for 880 won per 100g. This is 10 won lower than the 890 won offered during the same event in December last year. It will also offer "Crispy Outside, Tender Inside Square Pork Belly (100g)" for 1,080 won and "Frozen Thinly Sliced Pork Belly (2kg)" for 17,580 won. For "Domestic Chilled Pork Belly and Pork Neck," from the 28th to March 3, customers paying the full amount with an event card will receive a 50% discount; the price per 100g will be released at the start of the promotion.

Lotte Mart will sell "Imported Kkeutdwae Pork Belly" for 990 won per 100g when paid with an event card for two days from the 26th, and "Domestic Pork Belly" for 1,390 won per 100g with an event card from February 28 to March 3. Homeplus will also offer U.S. "Okmokdwae Pork Belly and Pork Neck" from the 28th to March 3 at offline stores for 990 won per 100g, limited to 1kg per person. The price of domestic "Handon Ilpoom Pork Pork Belly and Pork Neck" is set at 1,990 won per 100g, while Canadian "Bomokdwae Pork Belly and Pork Neck (100g)" will be sold for 1,290 won to membership customers from the 26th to March 4. In addition, Nonghyup Distribution, which operates Nonghyup Hanaro Mart, will also sell pork belly at discounted prices from the 28th to March 3. Reflecting all discounts, including the Handon Checkoff partnership event card discount and in-house discounts, Hanaro Mart members can purchase pork belly for as low as 1,290 won per 100g, up to 62% cheaper than the regular price.

The convenience store industry has also prepared inventory for SamSam Day promotions. GS25, a convenience store chain operated by GS Retail, is conducting a SamSam Day pre-order sale through the Woori Neighborhood GS application (app) through today, offering 500g of domestic Handon pork belly at a promotional price of 10,900 won, equivalent to 2,180 won per 100g. GS25 has expanded the event volume by 200% compared to last year, taking into account that sales of SamSam Day promotional products in 2024 increased by 121.4% year-on-year.

CU, a convenience store chain operated by BGF Retail, is selling 300g each of domestic Handon pork belly and pork neck for 6,600 won, or 2,200 won per 100g. In addition, Spanish frozen thinly sliced pork belly (800g) is offered at 10,900 won, and 500g packs of Canadian barley-fed pork belly and pork neck are each priced at 9,900 won. During the SamSam Day period, CU's chilled meat sales grew 8.3 times (737.2%) year-on-year in 2023, followed by growth rates of 49.8% in 2024 and 64.5% in 2025.

Attention is focusing on whether the SamSam Day discount promotions in the retail sector will help stabilize pork prices. Around Lunar New Year, both wholesale and retail prices of domestic pork have been trading at higher levels than in previous years. According to "KAMIS," the agricultural and fisheries distribution information system operated by the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT), as of February 23 the wholesale price of 1+ grade pork was 5,371 won per kg (571 won per 100g), up 18.3% from the average year and 4.6% from a year earlier. During the same period, the retail price of pork belly compiled in the livestock distribution information of the Korea Institute for Animal Products Quality Evaluation stood at 2,678 won per 100g, 13.6% higher than the average year and 5.43% higher than a year earlier.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs pointed out that although the slaughter volume of pigs has increased, prices have temporarily risen due to movement bans following outbreaks of African swine fever (ASF). In response, the government is using checkoff funds to sell pork belly, pork neck, and other cuts at about a 20% discount, and is also considering applying tariff quotas to 15,000 tons of imported pork shoulder (front leg) and ham (hind leg) in order to curb price increases for processed pork products.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.