Alcoholic drinks in Korea

Do you like alcoholic drinks? Do you want to drink Korean alcholic drinks? I will introduce Korean alcoholic drinks: soju and makgeolli. Soju (in Korean "소주") is the most popular Korea drink. It is clear and slightly sweet taste. It is a distilled drink containing ethanol and water. It is traditionally made from grains such as rice, but now it is made from starches like tapioca. The strength of soju is usually around 20% alcohol by volume. The drink is usually served neat and in a shot glass. In convenience store, a bottle of soju costs about 1,600 won, less than 1.5 US dollar now in Jan 2016.

Fig 1. Korean alcoholic drink Soju (소주) and a glass of soju.

Makgeolli (in Korean "막걸리") is also one of the most popular alcoholic drink in Korea. It is a milky and sweet alcoholic drink made from rice. It is the traditional Korean rice wine. The strength of makgeolli is usually around 6% to 7% alcohol by volume. It is fermented naturally and unfiltered which gives it its milky white color and makes it chalky at the bottom. It is served in a bowl. In convenience store, a bottle of makgeolli costs about 1,500 won, less than 1.5 US dollar now in Jan 2016.

Fig 2. Korean alcoholic drink Makgeolli (막걸리) and a bowl of makgolli.

If you want to get drunk quickly, I recommend to drink soju. Soju is cheap and realtively high alcohol content than beer or wine. So, you can get drunk with few bottles of soju. On the other hand, if you want to enjoy taste of korean alcoholic drink, I recommend to drink makgeolli. Makeolli is also cheap and so sweet taste, but if you drink it a lot, you will have a massive hangover because it is not distilled drink. Fortunately, in Korea, there are many foods that relive the hangover that I will write later.

In addition, there are various tastes of  soju and makgeolli. I will show you these alcoholic drinks in next article.

Thanks for reading! Enjoy Korea!