Vol. 10, Issue 02 February 2010 
Makkoli: New Incarnations of a Traditional ’Ju
Food
If you have been living in Korea for a while and haven’t had a chance to try makkoli or some of the other traditional alcohols, now is a chance to check out part of Korean culture that has been morphing into a new fusion eclectic lick.
By Maria Lisak
Makkoli is gaining popularity overseas, and especially in the Japanese market. It is also enjoying a resurgence as the brew of choice among youth these days, as it is cheap and easy to add fruit to for a cocktail-like spin. If you have been living in Korea for a while and haven’t had a chance to try makkoli or some of the other traditional alcohols, now is a chance to check out part of Korean culture that has been morphing into a new fusion eclectic lick.
My first experiences of traditional rice alcohol were with dongdongju and flower wine, or hongju. Hongju was served like a herbal tea, in western teacups; not really a traditional Korean experience, but more of a high-end wine and tea combination experience.
My next experience introduced me to a dongdongju house in Chong-no sam-ga in Seoul. Long gone now, this DDJ was the coolest treehouse of a place to hang out. The interior was entirely made of wood; the wood floors were the same as the wood walls and low wood ceilings. The wooden tables were low but since we sat on tree stump stools, no problem. With an order of dongdongju we’d of course get anju – dried fish, meat, fruits, veggies, and nuts and seeds along with rice crackers. But the best anju was the pajeon. Back in 1996 there were still several traditional places like this in Seoul, even in Gangnam, but in rural areas they were everywhere. Now, they are nearly impossible to find and have been ‘fusionized’ for trendiness.
An example of this trendiness was part of my life in Kunsan back in 2004. My friends and I used to go to a makkoli house which served pineapple and strawberry makkoli. Cold, cheap and delicious, it was an excellent choice instead of a social beer after work. This place too has bitten the dust.
If you just want to drink makkoli or dongdongju, no problem. Go to the local mart and pick up a plastic bottle of this booty for a couple of chunners.
|
Ministop |
Mountain Mart |
7 11 |
Mart |
| 1800 won
In the beer cooler. |
1800 won
In the alcohol fridge |
1300 won
Located in the juice & yogurt section |
1300 won
Located between the water and boxed juice, under the savory mu and sausages. |
But makkoli and dongdongju are about the full experience, not just the alcohol. I encourage you to locate your neighborhood makkoli house.
These days my quest for a makkoli or dongdongju house have turned up very few selections. Actually none at first, except tiny little sikdangs with no ambiance at all. I asked several of my Korean friends about famous or popular makkoli houses or even a makkoli factory. Nada. Zilch. Nothing. However, I was able to hit a local makkoli house. Fabulous pajeon and makkoli! And a factory in Hwasoon. But the closest I could find to my good ol’ days are in Chondae Humun.
For a toss back to the old treehouse style of my 1996 Chong-no sam-ga days, you can hit Chonnam Uni’s back gate district.
| For Makkoli, go to Chunhyang’s Mom’s place:
Wol Mae Ne Ju Mak (don’t know Chunhyang? Check out the Namwon love story) |
For DongDongJu, holler out: Ul Su (Cheers! Like JiHwaJa) |
| From Dunkin’ Donuts, go up to the first road, turn left. It is on your left at the next intersection. | From Dunkin’ Donuts, go up to the first road, turn left. Walk to the next intersection, turn right. It is on your right, across from the walled park. |
Traditional alcohol has different levels of importance in traditional Korean living.
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| However, this Confucian ranking is a bit different than the distilling levels of ju. In the fermentation process, makkoli is the sediment which settles at the bottom. The rice grains and deep yellow color make the best makkoli. Above makkoli is the clearer, yet still milky-looking,dongdongju. More distilled than the makkoli, it has a little bit of sediment, but no rice floaters like makkoli has after a good stir or shake. The very top of the fermented alcohol rice is the clear chongju. This is the best tasting and is much more expensive because of its pure nature within the distillation process. |
