[Reposted and Trans]At the Hong Ssang Ri ssi's house

2010/03/18 17:21



Mom said that the plum blossom festival was going on nearby and she wanted to go there, so we went. These were the jar stands in front of the Hong Ssang Ri’s plum field.


I regret, because I already had rice and a spicy catfish stew before I arrived there.
We needed to buy the luncheon vouchers to eat the pan-fried food for four thousand won and Makgelli (suehan: Korean traditional rice wine) for two thousand won.

(omitted)


However, we went to the plum blossom festival, but there aren’t any pictures of the blossomed plums... hahaha Why didn’t I take any pictures of them? ..haha

The weather wasn’t so good. But many people came and there are many pictures of her with the celebrities at the souvenir shop of the Hong Ssang Ri ssi’s house. I took a picture of Yonsama to show... hahaha

I saw Hong Ssang Ri nim when I came out from the souvenir shop after browsing only. It looked like she had an interview with Chosun Ilbo and I saw her sending them off.
If you want to know who she is, go to naver.com and search for her. Haha

raingngn/130082621986 SOURCE* POST & REPORT BY SUEHAN SSI/BLOG

05-26-2010 18:29

'Makgeolli' gains nickname 'Drunken Rice'



By Kim Tae-gyu
Staff reporter

"Makgeolli," the country's traditional rice wine, has garnered the nickname "Drunken Rice" through an event aimed at boosting sales of the milky white drink outside Asia's fourth-largest economy.

The Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MOFAFF) said Wednesday that Drunken Rice got the highest score as the nickname for makgeolli in a rivalry with such candidates as Makcohol, a combination of makgeolli and alcohol.

Other contenders included were Koju, Kori, Soolsool, McKorea and Rainydaywine but they failed to beat Drunken Rice.

"Midway through this month, up to 3,910 people offered various English nicknames for makgeolli, which is hard to pronounce and understand for expatriates," MOFAFF official Park Seong-gi said.

"Drunken Rice topped the podium at the screening of the five-member panel, which features a linguist, a food columnist, an alcohol specialist and tourism experts. These names will hopefully help the brisk exports of the wine."

MOFAFF explained that Korean exporters can use any of the above-mentioned nicknames to sell their products offshore because the ministry has the copyright for them.

The Seoul administration has tried to buoy exports of makgeolli that had been highly favored in the past throughout the country thanks to its rich taste as well as inexpensive price.

Its popularity waned in modern times since most Koreans turned to Western wines and spirits but the traditional alcohol has regained popularity of late with premium products hitting the chord with end users.

The MOFFAF estimates the makgeolli market jumped from 300 billion won ($239.3 million) in 2008 to 420 billion won last year despite the global financial crisis.

Its exports are also jumped from $2.9 million in 2007 to $4.4 million in 2008 and $6.2 million last year. Japan is the largest importer as around a third of outbound shipments head toward the neighboring country. China is the second-largest, followed by the United States.

"Both consumption and exports of makgeolli are expected to rise down the road. Based on the easy-to-pronounce names, it will be able to gain more attractiveness among foreigners," Park said.

MOFAFF proposed the cloudy wine as an official beverage for the G-20 summit slated for this November. But it remains to be seen whether there will be an official beverage.

Observers expect that if the country could pick one, the chances are that makgeolli would be the winner.

In the meanwhile, MOFAFF asked 210 foreigners last month in 11 cities including New York, Los Angeles, Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo regarding what is the best English-language explanation of makgeolli. The best one on the list was Korean rice wine

Drunken Rice’ a new nickname for makgeolli
Posted May. 27, 2010 ShareThis
"Drunken Rice” was selected the winner by judges in the contest in search of a creative nickname for makgeolli (traditional Korean rice liquor) according to the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries on Wednesday (May 26).

Makcohol (makgeolli + alcohol) and Markelixir (makgeolli + elixir) were close also-rans. Other interesting names suggested by the public included “Koju,” “Kori,” “Takani,” “Nanuri,” “Soolsool,” “McKorea” and “Rainydaywine."

A total of 3,910 people took part by sending in online submissions from May 3 to 17. Five experts in the fields of linguistics, tourism and Korean liquors formed the judging committee. Drunken Rice received the high score by making it plain where makgeolli comes from.

Meanwhile in similar a survey carried out overseas, this one in search for a nice, short explanation of makgeolli, many chose “Korean Rice Wine” as the easiest.

Other names suggested during the makgeolli survey in 11 cities worldwide -- New York, Los Angeles, Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Beijing and Amsterdam and so on -- included “Korean Milky Rice Alcohol” and “Korean Sparkling Rice Alcohol.”


The agriculture ministry plans to publicize these names on its Food in Korea website and through the Korea Agro-Fisheries Trade Corporation. The names can also be freely used by local makgeolli companies looking to advance overseas with their products.

By Kim Hee-sung
Korea.net Staff Writer

A growing obsession with ‘drunken rice’

June 01, 2010

Makgeolli-making experts participate in a competition hosted by the Food Ministry on May 10 at Korea House in central Seoul. By Oh Jong-taek
A dozen Korean ladies outfitted in pink aprons roll up their sleeves and sterilize their hands with cloths soaked in soju liquor. Then they spend 10 minutes hand-blending steamed sticky rice, yeast dissolved in water and azalea petals, before pouring the mixture into plastic containers. “Don’t forget to put it in the cool shade and stir it every morning and night with a spoon for a week. Think of it as like growing a plant. Those of you who are successful will have your own makgeolli,” said the instructor at the podium.

The group of women - the wives of Korean diplomats - were taking a three-hour lecture on traditional Korean rice wine at the Institute of Traditional Korean Food in downtown Seoul last Tuesday afternoon. What they were making was azalea sticky rice makgeolli.

They volunteered to register for the class to learn more about the beverage, which is now gaining in popularity. Some of the students will soon leave for overseas posts with their husbands.


Colorful cocktails were part of the Lotte Hotel’s “Amazing Makgeolli Bar” last month. Provided by the Lotte Hotel
Lim Sook-do, leader of the diplomat wives’ society, says she intends to show the people at her husband’s future post how to make the milky, lightly carbonated drink.

“What we’ve learned today is going to be very useful overseas,” she said, “just like the lectures I took here years ago about tteok [rice cakes].”

The group lecture provided by the decade-old private institution is just one part of the effort by the public and private sectors to push the regional makgeolli craze sparked last year to a global scale.

According to Lee Su-kyoung, a spokeswoman with the institute, makgeolli-making lectures for individual groups have become quite popular. Two days after the diplomatic wives’ visit, a delegation of Samsung Electronics workers took the same course. “We usually don’t have male students since we are a culinary institute, but men take special interest in makgeolli lectures because they are the actual consumers,” she said.


Lee Sang-kyun, center, a traditional drink specialist, teaches a group of spouses of Korean diplomats how to make makgeolli at the Institute of Traditional Food. By Seo Ji-eun
And it’s not just Koreans, either. In recent months tourist agencies are increasingly booking the rare experience for their clients.

“Before, the majority of tourist groups were Japanese, but the nationalities are getting diverse now. We had a group of scientists from Boston a few days ago,” she said. Any group of 10 to 20 members can apply for the lecture, she said, with each paying 35,000 won ($29). Teachers who speak English or Japanese are available.

Crazy for makgeolli

Makgeolli is made from rice or wheat flour, water and yeast. Its name comes from the Korean words for rough, mak, and filtered, geolli. It was long considered a drink for farmers, laborers and country bumpkins due to its relatively cheap costs, but came into fashion in a serious way last year.

Exports have exploded. In March, $1.53 million worth of the drink were sent overseas, displacing the previous record high of $1.2 million from December 2009, according to the Korea Customs Service. Compared with the same quarter a year earlier, exports of makgeolli in the first three months of this year more than tripled. A flurry of products made of makgeolli have been invented - from cocktails to ice cream, soap and vinegar. In view of the trend, the Samsung Economic Research Institute, a leading private think tank, designated makgeolli one of Korea’s hit products of 2009.

Domestic consumers only caught on to the trend after makgeolli found startling success in Japan, where the Hallyu boom of Korean pop culture has remained strong since 2002, said Hur Si-myung, a travel writer and alcoholic beverage critic. Domestic media coverage and industry-wide efforts to promote the drink followed.

Hur claimed the popularity of the rice wine can be traced back to its vaunted health benefits, which include a massive amount of lactic acid bacteria - 500 times the levels in yogurt - and dietary fiber, both thought to aid digestion. Tourists from Japan, females in particular, were attracted to light and sweet yet tangy taste.

“Those female Japanese tourists who love Korean food tend to prefer mild alcoholic beverages. That’s probably why they took interest in makgeolli rather than the much stronger soju,” Hur said.

Beer typically has an alcohol content of 4 to 6 percent, while soju is about 20 percent and Western wine is 12 percent. Makgeolli is on the lower end, at 6 percent alcohol content.

Optimistic about the prospects for the drink’s continuing popularity, Hur opened a “makgeolli school” for adults last October in Daehangno, where a diverse audience learns about the drink, visits well-known breweries and tastes different types. Those registered for the 10-week course include restaurant and bar owners, alcohol exporters, housewives, university students and even Koreans living abroad.

“Makgeolli is attractive in that it tastes different every time you drink it - just like kimchi does. It’s an organism. Adults in Korea spend so much time drinking alcohol, you need to know more about what goes through your body,” he said.

Over the past year, makgeolli bars have sprouted like mushrooms even in Seoul’s trendiest areas, such as Cheongdam-dong, Apgujeong-dong and Hongik University. Even five-star hotels have jumped onto the bandwagon.

The Lotte Hotel, for example, opened an “Amazing Makgeolli Bar” at its Sogong-dong branch in central Seoul last month, serving makgeolli made from black bean and sweet potato in addition to colorful flavored makgeolli in strawberry, banana, melon and Korean black raspberry varieties. Bartenders have grown bolder and bolder in concocting makgeolli cocktails, adding ginger, ginseng and various liqueurs, such as peach and plum.

The rise of derivative makgeolli products has created a whole new market. While a regular plastic bottle of makgeolli from traditional producers, such as Seoul Takju’s Jangsu Makgeolli, costs 1,000 to 1,300 won, those made by master artisans at fine breweries like Baedari, or by mass producers of alcoholic beverages such as Kooksoondang, Jinro or Baesangmyun Brewery, can cost around 10,000 won or more per bottle.

“High-priced makgeolli has expensive ingredients like domestically grown quality rice, or they have costly packaging. Although rice makgeolli has become fashionable these days as the government encourages drink producers to consume more rice, the majority of existing mass-produced makgeolli is made of [wheat] flour,” said Lee Sang-kyun, a traditional drink specialist and lecturer at the Institute of Traditional Korean Food.

Those people accustomed to flour makgeolli say rice makgeolli tastes stale because the former is seasoned with sweeteners like aspartame in the final stages of production, the expert said. “Originally, the harmony of bitterness and sweetness was the true virtue of well-made rice makgeolli,” he said.

But dragging the cost of makgeolli up to the level of pricey drinks such as sake, wine or whiskey may not be realistic, he added, because makgeolli is highly perishable.