The suspension of U.S. beef imports as a result of a failure to meet Korea's quarantine requirements last year has also boosted the consumption of hanwoo, encouraging more local ranchers to breed the native cattle.

The statistical office said the number of hanwoo reached 2.08 million nationwide as of the end of March, up 11.3 percent from a year earlier. Including other types of cattle raised here, the total number increased 9.7 percent to 2.24 million.

The number of households breeding cattle fell 1.1 percent over the one-year period but each livestock farmer raised an average of 11.9 cattle, up from 10.8 a year ago. The price of a bull hanwoo weighing 600kg remained unchanged at 4.68 million won from the previous year.

Source: Korea Times