Pokémon Just Teamed Up With SPAM for a Chuseok Gift Set — And Yes, It Is as Glorious as It Sounds

Stop what you are doing, because the Pokémon Company just announced the most unhinged — and honestly most brilliant — food collaboration of the year. Pokémon Korea has officially teamed up with canned meat legend SPAM to release a limited-edition Chuseok gift set in South Korea, complete with Pikachu packaging. Yes, you read that right. Pikachu. On SPAM. For the harvest festival.

The announcement dropped on September 11 via Pokémon’s official Korean channels, and the internet has been losing its collective mind ever since. The gift sets are sold through KakaoTalk Gift and the CJ The Market online store for 63,700 won (roughly US$47.40), just in time for the Chuseok harvest festival running September 24 to 26. If you thought Pokémon crossovers had peaked, think again.

Wait, SPAM Is a Luxury Gift in Korea?

For anyone outside Korea scratching their head: SPAM is not a joke gift there. It is a genuinely prestigious present. According to Hormel Foods, SPAM first entered South Korea during the 1950–1953 Korean War, when US soldiers handed out tins or civilians scavenged them near military encampments. What started as survival food evolved into a beloved pantry staple — and by the 1990s, during the Asian financial crisis, SPAM gift sets became an affordable alternative to traditional fruit baskets and premium beef sets.

Korean cookery teacher and author Da-Hae West once explained the obsession perfectly: because SPAM is salty and high in fat, it pairs beautifully with the spicy, tangy elements of Korean food — especially kimchi, where the flavors balance each other out. Today, distributor CJ CheilJedang sells SPAM in South Korea under license from Hormel Foods, and Chuseok and Lunar New Year SPAM sets are a full-blown seasonal tradition, stacked in pyramids at every major supermarket.

What Is Actually in the Pokémon x SPAM Set?

While full unboxing details are still trickling out, the set follows the classic Korean Chuseok format: premium SPAM tins bundled in festive packaging, this time plastered with Pikachu and friends. The Korean listing describes it as a Pikachu-edition holiday set, and early product photos show the instantly recognizable yellow mascot grinning from the box. It is the kind of thing that will sit on a shelf as a collector’s item rather than ever getting opened — because who would dare crack open a Pikachu SPAM tin?

Actually, plenty of people will. SPAM in Korea gets sliced, fried until crispy, and served with rice, tucked into kimbap, cubed into budae-jjigae army stew, or eaten straight with kimchi. A Pikachu tin does not change the mission. It just makes breakfast considerably more adorable.

Pokémon’s Collab Game Is Unmatched

Let us be honest: nobody does brand collaborations like the Pokémon Company. From Krispy Kreme doughnuts to luxury fashion houses, from airplanes to manhole covers, Pikachu has slapped his face on just about everything. But a canned meat partnership hits different because it is so deeply rooted in Korean culture specifically. This is not a lazy global licensing deal — it is a product designed for one country’s biggest family holiday, tapping into decades of genuine food tradition.

It also continues a red-hot streak of Japanese pop culture colliding with fast food and everyday groceries. We recently covered Burger King’s Dragon Ball Super menu with its infamous Super Saiyan Sauce, and the pattern is clear: anime and game IPs have fully conquered the supermarket aisle. Pokémon teaming up with SPAM for Chuseok might be the most culturally specific — and most delightful — example yet.

Can You Get One Outside Korea?

Officially, the sets are only sold through KakaoTalk Gift and CJ The Market in South Korea, which means international fans will need a proxy shopping service or a very generous friend in Seoul. Expect resellers to list them at a markup within days — limited-edition Pokémon packaging always appreciates. If previous Korean-exclusive Pokémon food tie-ins are any guide, these will sell out fast and haunt auction sites for years.

So if you have contacts in Korea, now is the time to send that “hey, can you do me a huge favor” message. Chuseok gifting season waits for no one.

What Do You Think?

Is the Pokémon x SPAM Chuseok set a stroke of marketing genius or the wildest crossover you have ever seen? Would you proudly gift a Pikachu SPAM box to your family — or keep it sealed on your shelf forever? And what should Pokémon collaborate with next? Drop your hottest takes in the comments — we want to hear the most unhinged collab ideas you can dream up.