Image source: Special Vietnam Plus
The Korean culture is rich in its history and variety. Consumers from all over the world get mesmerized by how Koreans are able to keep their culture while incorporating it with popular culture. In bars and leisure places, a traditional drink is making waves among young entrepreneurs and consumers.
Makgeolli is a traditional rice wine more preferred for its price — not the taste. The drink is milky and sweet and was often opted for by Korean drinkers when they didn’t have enough cents to buy a more hefty one.
Kim Kyung-seop, a Makgeolli entrepreneur, recalls how they bought the drink for only 40 cents. He was a young college student at the time, 1948. Kim and his mates would sit around a table and drink Makgeolli as part of the Koreaon tradition.
“When we were with women, we would drink beer. But among the boys, we drank Makgeolli,” Kim said, describing the drink as something ‘unfit to impress women’ before. But today, Makgeolli has gained traction and is now trending — mostly in the eyes of on-the-rise entrepreneurs and brewers.
Kim is the CEO of Boksoondoga, a premium makgeolli brewery established in 2009. “We worked very hard to get rid of the established images people hold of makgeolli,” Kim said.
Even before, his father had to scold him numerous times because he had more interest in brewing the wine than finishing his Architecture degree at Union Cooper in New York City.
But his father’s musings did not discourage the then-young Kim — he continued with his passion. And several years later, became a CEO of a company that would inspire young people to take in his footsteps.
During the Japanese colonization, many cultural practices of South Korea were phased out. Taxes were imposed on alcohol-making. Further, the Korean War and the Second World War brought even more complications to traditional brewers in Korea.
Food shortage was rampant during the 1960s prompting the government to ban the production of wine using rice — Makgeolli’s key ingredient.
When the ban was lifted in 1995 because of economic recovery, alcohol-making was then again legalized. But the tradition of makgeolli-making was lost.
Fortunately, initiations to revive the almost-lost tradition were made. For example, researcher Park Rock-dam went around Korea to gather information about Makgeolli and its production.
The movement was amplified after the government asserted its position on the preservation of cultural practices such as brew making of traditional Korean beverages.
Since then, many have followed suit. Kim Kyung-seop is one example. His classes are composed of younger members in their 30s and mostly entrepreneurs.
According to the National Tax Service data, the number of licensed makgeolli brewers grew to 43% since 2009. And this number is expected to grow as Makgeolli penetrates the mainstream.
Opinions expressed by CEO Weekly contributors are their own.
