Part 4: Makgeolli meets culture ? A journey through wineries
The documentary series "Makgeolli" is a journey through the meaning behind each glass of makgeolli, a symbol of life and human experiences. In the fourth installment, we see how a millenium of history has evolved Korea's traditional makgeolli. Set off on a journey to makgeolli wineries.
Makgeolli wineries with music
Chaehwan, a singer-songwriter who has released three albums themed around makgeolli, and American bartender Benjamin take off together on a winery tour.
Flavor deepens with time ? Jipyeong Brewery
In Yangpyeong, people say that the liquor tastes good because the water tastes good. At the traditional five-day market, it's easy to see customers looking to buy some Jipyeong makgeolli, a signature delicacy for locals for the past 90 years.
"I'm seventy years old, and the Jipyeong makgeolli has been around since my grandfather's time."
We drink in the flavors of Jipyeong Brewery, which has been helping to write the history of Yangpyeong with Jipyeong makgeolli since 1925.
A traveling brewery ? Daegang Brewery
In Danyang, famous for its Eight Scenic Views, there is a very old road called Jungnyeonggogae. During the Joseon Dynasty, the road was lined with taverns for traveling scholars and merchants, and those taverns made and sold makgeolli. Daegang Brewery has stood here for nearly a century making the local makgeolli. Today, it has introduced a new trend called "Traveling Brewery," and has become a hot attraction in Danyang.
A village built on makgeolli ? Busan Geumjeongsanseong Fortress Nuruk Village
Makgeolli is made with three things ? water, rice, and nuruk. The most important ingredient, which determines the flavor, is the nuruk (fermentation starter). In the Geumjeongsanseong Fortress Nuruk Village in Busan, the villagers have been personally making nuruk for their makgeolli at home for 500 years. From farming wheat to making nuruk and brewing makgeolli, they do everything themselves here.