Korea’s national and cultural history is interwoven with the story of its traditional alcoholic drinks, including distilled spirits, fruit-based wines, and the most nostalgic, evocative, and unpretentious of all: the rustic, rice-based, mixed fermentation known as makgeolli. Commercial varieties are often diluted, bright white, highly carbonated, artificially sweetened, labeled as wine, or all the above. These modern incarnations can obscure the drink’s authentic nature, its fond place in people’s hearts, and the craft brewing revival underway today. How is it consumed? That depends who you ask.

Makgeolli has been many things over the centuries: the nourishing refreshment of farm laborers and blue-collar workers, not unlike saison; the product of a spontaneous blend of yeast and bacteria, not unlike lambic; the second-runnings tipple of commoners, not unlike small table beers or the pub’s mild; and the O.G. unfiltered hazy celebrated for its rich yeast character. Its story is steeped in history and change—from depictions in ancient folk art, to the banning of domestic homebrewing under decades of 20th century occupation and oppression, to taking its rightful place in Korea’s popular cultural identity. This talk with Sujin Park and Adam Wojciechowicz - both with the Korean Culture Center, Washington, D.C., a branch of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea - aims to tell the story of a nation reborn through its national folk drink.

Sujin Park is a certified Korean Alcoholic Beverage Sommelier and an avid makgeolli homebrewer. She is also a former staff member at the Korean Cultural Center Washington, D.C., a branch of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea, where she coordinated various cultural programs and visitor experiences, including workshops on traditional Korean brewing.

Adam Wojciechowicz is a Public Affairs Specialist at the Korean Cultural Center Washington, D.C., a branch of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea, where he has worked on a wide range of public diplomacy and cultural programs for 18 years, specializing in outreach, education, and strategic communication. He is also an avid homebrewer and BJCP judge.