{{short description|Korean cattle breed}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2026}} {{Infobox cattle breed | name = Hanwoo | image = Hanu 4.jpg | image_alt = head of a pale-coloured cow | image_caption = | status = FAO (2007): not at risk | altname = {{ubl|Hanu|Korean Brown|Korean Native}} | country = Korea | distribution = | standard = | use = meat | maleweight = 466 kg{{r|dad}} | femaleweight = 355 kg{{r|dad}} | maleheight = 124 cm{{r|dad}} | femaleheight = 117 cm{{r|dad}} | skin_colour = | coat = brown{{r|dad}} | horn = horned in both sexes | subspecies = | note = ''Bos taurus'' }} {{Infobox Korean name/auto |hangul=^한우 |hanja=韓牛 |}} The '''Hanwoo''' ({{Korean|한우}}), also '''Hanu''' or '''Korean Native''', is a breed of small cattle native to Korea. It was formerly used as a working animal, but is now raised mainly for meat.{{r|cabi}} It is one of four indigenous Korean breeds, the others being the {{Ill|Chikso|ko|칡소}}, the {{Ill|Heugu|ko|흑한우}} and the Jeju Black.{{r|dad3}}
== History == ===Origin=== No clear consensus has been established on the origins of native Korean cattle breeds. Ancestry studies have proposed that they are a cross between zebu and taurine cattle or between zebu and aurochs.{{r|Lee2014|p=2}} They share a common origin with the Japanese Black and Yanbian cattle, though geographical selection and selective breeding for different purposes have lead to genetic divergence.{{r|Lee2025|p=1253}}
===Early history=== Korean cattle were selectively bred for more than 5,000 years. They were originally bred as working animals for transportation and agriculture. Their small bodies and well-developed forelimbs were suited for Korea's mountainous terrain.{{r|Lee2025|p=1253}} They were sometimes sacrificed in religious ceremonies.{{r|Chung2018|p=952}}
In the late 16th and early 17th centuries, Joseon-era Korea faced multiple invasions in the Imjin and Chŏngyu Wars, the 1627 Jin invasion, and the 1636 Qing invasion. The displacement of livestock during the invasions may have introduced diseases such as rinderpest from Manchuria, against which Korean cattle had little resistance. An outbreak of rinderpest began in October 1627, possibly transmitted by the livestock of the invading Jin army.{{r|JoongAn2019}}
A more severe outbreak began in 1636 in Pyongan Province, spreading throughout Joseon. Fatalities from the outbreak were widespread; Pyongan Province reported that not a single cow had survived, and chroniclers recorded that in many villages only a few breeding stock were left. In response to the outbreak, the royal court of King Injo decreed that the slaughter of cattle was strictly prohibited in Joseon. Cattle from Jeju Island was imported, but by the winter of 1637 the outbreak had spread there, killing roughly half of its 21,000 cattle. The Joseon court then sought to import Japanese cattle from Tsushima Island, but these plans were halted when a devastating rinderpest outbreak began in Japan's Kansai region. The Joseon court ultimately sent a delegation to Mongolia in 1638, which was by then rinderpest-free, to negotiate the purchase of cattle. The delegation returned with 185 heads of cattle, and breeding programs allowed the cattle population in Korea to recover.{{r|JoongAn2019}}
The last outbreak of rinderpest in Korea was recorded in 1931,{{r|APHIS2008|p=6}} and the disease was declared globally eradicated in 2011.{{r|FAO2011}}
===Post-war history=== In the 1940s, the population of Hanwoo cattle again collapsed from 1,740,000 in 1940 to 393,000 by 1950.{{r|Song1994|p=61}}
A herd book was established in 1968.{{r|dad}} Hanwoo beef has since become a premium product.
The Hanwoo was listed by the FAO as "not at risk" in 2007.{{r|barb|page=93}} In 2003, the total population was reported to be about {{nowrap|1 240 000}}; in 2014, it was reported as {{nowrap|2 670 000}}.{{r|dad}}
In 2001, the Hanwoo was suggested to be a hybrid between taurine and indicine cattle.{{r|hur}} A mitochondrial DNA study in 2010 found it to be closely related to two taurine breeds, the Holstein and the Japanese Black, and distinctly different from the indicine Nelore and {{interlanguage link|Zwergzebu|de}}.{{r|jas}}
== Characteristics == The Hanwoo is a small breed. The coat is brown; both sexes are horned. Cows have good maternal qualities, but milk production is low, with little more than {{nowrap|400 L}} produced in 170 days.{{r|dad}} The cattle are fed rice straw as their principal source of roughage.{{r|dad}} A rare white variant of the Hanwoo has been bred since 2009; in 2014 there were 14 head. It is reported to DAD-IS as a separate breed.{{r|dad2}}
== Use == Despite its high price, Hanwoo beef is preferred in Korean cuisine, as it is typically fresher and of better quality than cheaper imported substitutes. One 2001 journal article wrote "Hanwoo is regarded as a premium beef because of its high palatability and desired chewiness".<ref>{{cite journal|title=Early postmortem processing conditions on meat quality of Hanwoo (Korean Native Cattle) beef during storage|author=B.C. Kim |author2=M.S. Rhee |author3=Y.C. Ryu |author4=J.Y. Imm |author5=K.C. Koh |journal=Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences|volume=14 |issue=12 |date=December 2001|pages=1763–1768|doi=10.5713/ajas.2001.1763|doi-access=free}}</ref> Since Koreans consider Hanwoo beef a cultural icon, it is used in traditional foods, popular holiday dishes, or as a special-day gift.<ref name=hur/> Hoengseong County is best known for its Hanwoo cattle, where the environment is well-suited for cattle farming. The county began a marketing campaign to brand itself as the origin of the highest quality beef in Korea, selling meat as a "premium product".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/Article.aspx?aid=3009853|title=Fall colors and fine food await in rural county|date=2015-10-03|publisher=Korea JoongAng Daily|access-date=2016-06-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160804041223/http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/Article.aspx?aid=3009853|archive-date=2016-08-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2016/04/123_29275.html|title=Hanwoo Beef Goes Premium|date=2008-08-13|access-date=2016-06-27|publisher=The Korea Times}}</ref>
== Gallery ==
<gallery mode="packed" heights="220" style="text-align:left"> File:So (Korean cattle) 2.jpg|A cow, in 2011 File:Hanu 5.jpg|Lowing File:서산 9미 한우.jpg|Marbled hanu beef (한우소고기) </gallery>
== References == {{commonscat}} <references>
<ref name=barb>Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (2007). [https://web.archive.org/web/20200623201209/http://www.fao.org/3/a1250e/annexes/List%20of%20breeds%20documented%20in%20the%20Global%20Databank%20for%20Animal%20Genetic%20Resources/List_breeds.pdf List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources], annex to: [https://web.archive.org/web/20170110125634/http://www.fao.org/3/a-a1250e.pdf ''The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture'']. Rome: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. {{isbn|9789251057629}}. Archived 23 June 2020.</ref>
<ref name=cabi>Valerie Porter, Lawrence Alderson, Stephen J.G. Hall, D. Phillip Sponenberg (2016). [https://books.google.com/books?id=2UEJDAAAQBAJ ''Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding''] (sixth edition), p. 193. Wallingford: CABI. {{ISBN|9781780647944}}.</ref>
<ref name=dad>[http://dad.fao.org/cgi-bin/EfabisWeb.cgi?sid=09b0652f6097530984c308f3bb64921d,reportsreport8a_50001689 Breed data sheet: Hanwoo/Korea, Republic of]. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed January 2017.</ref>
<ref name=dad2>[http://dad.fao.org/cgi-bin/EfabisWeb.cgi?sid=09b0652f6097530984c308f3bb64921d,reportsreport8a_2221 Breed data sheet: Hanwoo White/Korea, Republic of]. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed January 2017.</ref>
<ref name=dad3>[http://dad.fao.org/cgi-bin/EfabisWeb.cgi?sid=09b0652f6097530984c308f3bb64921d,reportsreport12_50000153_50000024 Breeds reported by Korea, Republic of]. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed January 2017.</ref>
<ref name="Song1994">{{Cite journal |last=Song |first=Chan - Won |date=April 1994 |title=The Korean Hanwoo Beef Cattle |url=https://www.fao.org/4/v5280t/v5280t03.pdf |journal=Animal Genetic Resources Information |language=en |volume=14 |pages=61–71 |doi=10.1017/S1014233900000341 |issn=1014-2339}}</ref>
<ref name="APHIS2008">{{cite report |title=APHIS Evaluation of the Status of the Republic of Korea Regarding Foot-and-Mouth Disease and Rinderpest |date=October 2008 |url=https://downloads.regulations.gov/APHIS-2009-0091-1519/attachment_23.pdf |access-date=2026-05-30 }}</ref>
<ref name="FAO2011">{{cite press release|title=Rinderpest eradicated, what's next?|url=http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/80894/icode/|publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)|date=28 June 2011|access-date=30 June 2011|archive-date=3 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110703233318/http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/80894/icode/|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name=hur>{{cite journal|title=A Comparison of the Meat Qualities from the Hanwoo (Korean Native Cattle) and Holstein Steer|author1=Sun Jin Hur |author2=Gu Boo Park |author3=Seon Tea Joo |journal=Food and Bioprocess Technology|volume=1|number=2|date=June 2008|pages=196–200|doi=10.1007/s11947-008-0061-2|s2cid= 95534385}}</ref>
<ref name=jas>{{cite journal |last1=Kim |first1=E. |last2=Cheong |first2=H. S. |last3=Bae |first3=J. S. |last4=Chun |first4=J. |last5=Park |first5=T. J. |last6=Lee |first6=K. |last7=Yun |first7=Y. |last8=Shin |first8=H. D. |title=Identification of genetic polymorphisms in bovine mitochondrial deoxyribonucleic acid |journal=Journal of Animal Science |date=2010 |volume=88 |issue=8 |pages=2551–2555 |doi=10.2527/jas.2009-2235 |pmid=20418455 |url=https://www.animalsciencepublications.org/publications/jas/pdfs/88/8/2551 |archive-date=2017-01-11 |access-date=2017-01-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170111001118/https://www.animalsciencepublications.org/publications/jas/pdfs/88/8/2551 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
<ref name="Lee2014">{{Cite journal |last=Lee |first=Seung-Hwan |display-authors=etal |date=2014 |title=Hanwoo cattle: origin, domestication, breeding strategies and genomic selection |journal=Journal of Animal Science and Technology |language=en |volume=56 |issue=1 |pages=2 |doi=10.1186/2055-0391-56-2 |doi-access=free |issn=2055-0391 |pmc=4534185 |pmid=26290691}}</ref>
<ref name="Chung2018">{{Cite journal |last1=Chung |first1=Ki Yong |last2=Lee |first2=Seung Hwan |last3=Cho |first3=Soo Hyun |last4=Kwon |first4=Eung Gi |last5=Lee |first5=Jun Heon |date=2018 |title=Current situation and future prospects for beef production in South Korea — A review |url=http://ajas.info/journal/view.php?doi=10.5713/ajas.18.0187 |journal=Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences |language=en |volume=31 |issue=7 |pages=951–960 |doi=10.5713/ajas.18.0187 |issn=1011-2367 |pmc=6039330 |pmid=29879831}}</ref>
<ref name="Lee2025">{{Cite journal |last=Lee |first=Da Young |display-authors=etal |date=2025 |title=Study on the history and characteristics of Korean native cattle: Hanwoo |journal=Food Science of Animal Resources |volume=45 |issue=5 |pages=1251–1264 |language=en |doi=10.5851/kosfa.2025.e35 |issn=2636-0772 |pmc=12965266 |pmid=41821703}}</ref>
<ref name="JoongAn2019">{{Cite web |last=유성운 |date=2019-10-05 |title=[유성운의 역사정치] "병자호란보다 무섭다" 조선 경제 거덜 낼뻔한 소 전염병 |url=https://www.joongang.co.kr/article/23589703 |access-date=2026-05-30 |website=중앙일보 |language=ko}}</ref> </references>
Category:Korean cuisine Category:Beef cattle breeds Category:Cattle breeds originating in Korea