Not coincidentally, Spam is also popular in Hawaii, the Philippines, Okinawa, Guam and Saipan, all places with a history of a U.S. military presence. The "Miracle Meat in a Can," as it was touted after its launch in 1937, was a staple of the GI diet during World War II and the 1950-53 Korean War.
Until 1987, South Koreans had to buy black-market cans of Spam that had been diverted from U.S. military bases. Then CJ Corp. bought the rights from Hormel and began producing its own version at a factory south of Seoul.
In the postwar years, Spam was a special treat for South Koreans, who could rarely afford meat and didn't have refrigeration at home. It is harder to explain its cachet today in the world's 11th-largest economy, where there is no shortage of fresh meat and things associated with the U.S. military are considered low class.
Hint: It's nostagia. And if you aren't a snob, and you didn't have to eat it in K rations, the dirty little secret is....that it's delicious...
And here in the Philippines, in the past, if you were a visitor, you would be given SPAM which was for holidays and guests...
Here is a link to Dan Garcia's Spamworld page:
Lots of poetry like:
SPAM, SPAM a wonderful food,
It looks like it's already been chewed.
If it once was alive,
I hope it's not now.
Maybe I'll feed it to my cow.
And if my cow dies,
Then I'll know,
Spam is the way to go...
and links to the SPAM museum...
Yum...hog fat...
