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The Cultural HeritageAdministration has a new listing on the national intangible heritage list: thetraditional Korean alcoholic beverage makgeolli and its associatedculture. It incorporates the skill of making this milky and lightly effervescentrice wine and the cultural practices associated with its sharing. Makgeolliis conventionally brewed by cooking rice, mixing it with water and nuruk(a fermentation starter which contains sacchrogenic enzymes and natural yeast),and running the mash through a sieve after a few days of fermentation. ‘Mak’ in makgeolli means ‘right now,’ ‘just then’ and ‘geolli’ mean ‘to filter.’ Not only is the word pure Korean, but thename itself reveals the method of making the beverage and its characteristics.

Makgeolli is an alcoholic beverage made from rice or other grainsthat is purported to date back to the introduction of farming on the KoreanPeninsula. Histories on the Three Kingdoms period, such as Samguk sagi (Historyof the Three Kingdoms) and Samguk yusa (Memorabilia of the ThreeKingdoms) include terms such as mion, jiju, and ryoye thatpresumably refer to what is known as makgeolli today. Baekju andother terms purported to denote makgeolli appear in Donggukisanggukjip (Collection of Works by Minister Yi of the Eastern State) andother literary compilations from the Goryeo Dynasty. Books from the Joseon period,such as the novel Chunhyangjeon (The Story of Chunhyang) and theencyclopedia Gwangjaemulbo (Information on Comprehensive Things) containmentions of mok-geolli or mak-geolli. Joseon-era cookbooks suchas Gyuhap chongseo and Eumsik dimibang contain alcoholic beveragesthat would have been enjoyed as a cloudy makgeolli.

Makgeolli can be made easily and at low cost simply with rice andthe fermentation starter nuruk. As a result, it was easily affordable,and it became the alcohol that soothes the sorrows of ordinary people. Makgeolliquenched the thirst of farmers throughout the working season. Korean farmlaborers used to say, "If it all pays the same, I'd rather offer a hand tothe farmhouse serving the most delicious makgeolli." As a result, it waseasily affordable, and it became the alcohol that soothes the sorrows ofordinary people.

Makgeolli was also an indispensable element in ritual ceremoniesand celebrations or mourning. Many traditions featuring makgeolli as aritual drink have been transmitted to the present. The milky rice wine is stillpresented as an offering in diverse modern ceremonies commemorating, forexample, the completion of a building, purchase of a new car, or opening ofshops.

A popular drink widelyconsumed nationwide, makgeolli was one of the fermented foods made byindividual households up to the end of the Joseon era. Along with other definitiveKorean fermented foods such as kimchi and soybean-based sauces, makgeolliwas brewed in individual households, meaning a distinctive taste could bepassed down in each one. Starting in the 20th century, makgeolli productiongradually switched to commercial breweries and the ingredients underwent anatural course of change. Makgeolli has evolved as it adapted tosociocultural conditions. The popularity of this traditional Korean rice wine hassurged since 2000s. There is also a growing number of people brewing their ownthese days. (As the liquor tax law strengthened during the Japanese colonialperiod, homemade alcohol became a crackdown target as moonshine. From 1995, themanufacture of homemade alcohol for self-consumption was legalized.)

In a nutshell, thetradition of making and sharing makgeolli has been evaluated as worthentry onto the national intangible heritage list for the following reasons: itstransmission across the Korean Peninsula for eons; its historicity supported bydocuments; it serves as an interesting subject of study in diverse academicfields such as history, food sciences, and folklore studies; its associationwith a wide range of farmers' songs, folkloric sayings, and literary works,contributing to deepening the understanding of Korean culture; exhibiting distinctivelocal characteristics based on the makgeolli breweries dispersed acrossthe country; and the fact that it is actively practiced today by diverse communities suchas local breweries, research organizations, and individual families.

As a form of popular culture, this element will bedesignated as National Intangible Cultural Heritage without the usualrecognition of its holders. There are 12 elements on the national intangibleheritage list (including kimchi making and traditional sauce making) that havebeen so registered without recognized holders.

The designation of makgeolli making andsharing as National Intangible Cultural Heritage is particularly meaningful asits impetus came from a public proposal. In 2019 the Cultural HeritageAdministration made a widespread call for candidates for the nationalintangible heritage list by organizing a public contest and through theestablished online channel for civil petitions. It is the first case of thelisting of an intangible heritage element initiated by civic participation.This makgeolli case was awarded a Prime Minister's Prize as anoutstanding example of serving the public interest. 

To celebrate the designation of ‘Makgeolli’ the Cultural Heritage Administration will host acommemoration event on June 26th (Sat) at 5 pm at Hwaseong Haenggung Palace,Suwon City, Gyeonggi-do, co-hosted with the Korean Makgeolli Association,Korean Traditional Liquor Manufacturers Association. In addition, the KoreanMakgeolli Association, Korean Traditional Liquor Manufacturers Association willrun brewery tours and hands-on makgeolli making programs for two days on June26-27(Sat-Sun) in  26 makgeolli breweriesacross the country. Anyone interested in makgeolli can sign up on a first-come,first-served basis. The details can be found on the 'K-Intangible Heritage'Instagram page.

* 'K-IntangibleHeritage' page: Instagram (instagram.com/k_intangible_heritage_u)