G-20 leaders may toast with 'makgeolli' in Seoul Summit

By Kim Tae-gyu

Staff reporter

U.S. President Barack Obama and Korean President Lee Myung-bak may toast with "makgeolli," the nation's representative traditional rice wine, along with other heads of state at the G-20 summit in November.

The Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MIFFAF) said Thursday that it had proposed the cloudy wine as an official beverage for the meeting, which will bring a large number of political leaders, bureaucrats and business people to Seoul.

"We have delivered a list of the best makgeolli products available to the organizing committee of the G-20 meeting. We hope that makgeolli will be picked as the official wine of the gathering," ministry official Kim Jong-sil said.

"It is not certain yet whether the heads of state will have a toast at the G-20 event. But if they do so, in my view, the traditional wine of Korea would be a perfect fit."

There is a concern that makgeolli, the milky white drink, would not be in line with international protocol of using a transparent wine for the toast. Yet, the ministry muted those worries.

"We have a knack in producing makgeolli. Instead of the pale white color, we can make it transparent so that it looks like regular white wine. Remember that we have even created makgeolli champagnes," Kim said.

Makgeolli has already debuted in the official diplomacy of Asia's fourth-largest economy quite successfully. Last October, when the Korean presidential couple hosted lunch for Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and his wife, Miyuki, the menu included makgeolli.

They toasted with the rice wine. Although other Western wines were also available, Hatoyama proposed to proceed with makgeolli, which is also enjoying soaring popularity in Japan, according to presidential spokeswoman Kim Eun-hye.

In the past, the traditional wine was highly favored throughout the country thanks to its rich taste as well as inexpensive price. Its popularity waned in modern times as Koreans turned to Western wines and spirits such as whiskies or simply stuck to soju.

Its drawback was that many complained of terrible hangovers the day after drinking it due to low quality ingredients.

Yet, such criticism is almost gone now as makgeolli makers use better ingredients. This has prompted a renaissance as an increasing number of people here, including the younger generation are enjoying the traditional drink more frequently.

These days it is all the rage and the popularity seems to be contagious as more and more people turn to the drink even in neighboring countries such as Japan.
voc200@koreatimes.co.kr