'Makgeolli,' Korea's traditional rice wine, looks to restore its old glory

By Lee Youkyung

SEOUL, June 14 (Yonhap) -- Soju has built a reputation as Korea's representative liquor, being dry, hard and served in a tiny shot glass. Two bottles are enough to leave a grown man crocked.

But soju, which looks like water but bites like sake with an alcohol content of
20-25 percent, is being taken over by a lesser-known underdog, "makgeolli,"
though the beverage was once looked down upon as too old-fashioned and too
"country" to be hip.
Based on rice with an alcohol content of 6-7 percent, makgoelli was the liquor of
Korea's working classes and the national beverage until the 1960s. But this
cloudy, fluffy alcoholic drink was nearly driven out of the market by Western
drinks like beer and whiskey, as well as its Korean rival, soju.
Now, a reversal is happening.
"I still like soju in general, and I drink it a lot," said Han Ik-hee, a
52-year-old sports equipment businessman, as he gulped down a bowl of makgeolli
in a shabby back alley pub near Pagoda Park in central Seoul. "But as I got
older, I started to choose makgeolli over soju."
Makgeolli is gaining popularity among young Koreans as well.
"I drink makgeolli with friends as often as I grab beer with them," Kim
Min-kyung, a 26-year-old college student, said as she led a few Japanese friends
to a makgeolli bar near her school in western Seoul. "It tastes like soda, and I
like how it doesn't feel like drinking other strong liquors."
Some even say the drink has entered a renaissance, earning the title of "rice
wine" as the Eastern counterpart to a Cabernet or Merlot.
According to the National Tax Service (NTS), consumption of makgeolli edged up in
2008, while the economic downturn ate into sales of wine and whiskey. The
nation's three largest retail stores reported an increase of 45-60 percent in
sales in 2008.
"The makgeolli boom started about six months ago," said Lee Sang-kyun, a Korean
alcoholic beverage specialist. "It reflects a clear shift in drinking culture.
People are more concerned about taste and nutrition than simply getting
hammered."
Some argue that it's premature to say makgeolli has stamped its status as the
liquor of the moment in South Korea. But many agree that the drink, once a staple
for peasants, is retrieving its old popularity by rebranding itself as
urban-chic, expensive, and healthy as well as tasty.
For those who remember makgeolli as a commoner's beverage that was cheap and
filling, its entry into high-end restaurants and pricey hotels seems foreign.
"Makgeolli was food that kept my stomach full even without real meals," said Cho
Keun-ho, 58, as he drank out of a plastic bowl at an old-fashioned pub in Seoul.
"Hotel makgeolli doesn't make sense to me."
The five-star Lotte Hotel in central Seoul is one of those high-end retailers
that offers makgeolli. Its Korean restaurant manager, Chi In-kyu, said it's a
natural response to the demands of customers from Japan, where Korean food and
culture is a fad.
"We introduced makgeolli in April to coincide with a Japanese holiday to give
Japanese guests a chance to experience genuine Korean food," Chi said. "But the
sales were much better than expected, so we included it on our perennial menu."
The hotel offers three different brands of the drink, but with the same price tag
of 20,000 won (US$16) for a 750 milliliter bottle.
Another of the beverage's traits that detracted from its appeal in the past was
its taste.
When poverty was widespread in South Korea in the 1950s and 1960s, makgeolli's
heartiness and low alcohol content made it an important part of the national
diet, and it was favored over other expensive and strong liquors.
But tastiness was not exactly a character that belonged to makgeolli, which was
then made at home using rice mixed with other grains to cut down on cost.
"Makgeolli in the old days had the stigma of having a sour and unpleasant taste
and leaving a terrible hangover," said Sung Gi-wook, a director of Seoul Takju,
one of Korea's leading makgeolli producers.
"But today's makgeolli has improved. Thanks to the reliable rice supply,
makgeolli's taste is much better and consistent," Sung said.
The makgeolli boom is not limited to Korea. In Japan, which imported 90 percent
of its makgeolli from South Korea last year, the beverage is building a
reputation as a healthy and light alcoholic beverage that Korean culture
enthusiasts young and old alike can appreciate.
"Japan also has similar rice wine, but it has a stronger alcohol content," Osaka
native Suritani Mahoko said. "Makgeolli is soft and easy to gobble down."
"Makgeolli is known as a well-being drink in Japan, where sake and beer continue
to dominate," said Ko Bong-hwan, a public-relations manager at Kooksoondang, a
Korean liquor manufacturer that exports to Japan.
Riding on the popularity of Korean food and culture in Asia known as the "Korean
Wave," exports of makgeolli rose last year by 27 percent, with 5,457 kiloliters
or 7.27 million bottles sent to 13 countries, according to the report from NTS.
Experts say there are cultural barriers and other challenges for Korea's
makgeolli to overcome before it can become as widespread in the world as Japan's
sake.
For instance, makgeolli is best drunk out of a bowl.
"Foreigners don't have large serving bowls to drink makgeolli from," said Park
Sang-tae, the sales director of Seoul Takju. "Other liquor containers like wine
glasses are too small for makgeolli."
Others say exported makgeolli is sterilized for preservation, and that inevitably
compromises taste.
"Just like draft beer taste better than from a bottle or can, makgeolli is best
when it's consumed raw," Lee, the Korean liquor specialist, said, adding that
that makes makgeolli an attractive must-try local food for foreign visitors.
"It has the potential to draw foreigners who visit Korea. It could be the Korean
liquor to taste on its soil," he said.