6월 28일 (월) Korea's representative traditional liquor brands selected for 2009

[Nios(임규철)]

Korea's representative traditional liquor brands selected for 2009

The Agriculture Ministry said yesterday it has selected the final top picks of Korea's traditional liquor
products for 2009, as the government aggressively aims to invigorate commercialization of local alcoholic
products.

Of the winners selected from a total of 86 brands in five different categories showcased in the 2009 Korea
Traditional Liquor Competition, the Agriculture Minister prize went to the "Chamsali Makgeolli." It was also
subject to receive the gold prize in the makgeolli category.

Other gold-prize winning brands included "Jinyangju" in the rice wine category, "Darae Wine" in the fruit
liquor category, "Pohang Bulloju" in the distilled soju (white spirit) category, and "Sannaewool Omijaju" in
the miscalleneous traditional liquor category.

The Agriculture Ministry said all the 86 participating liquor brands were based on a preliminary eval‎uation
of recommended products from nine cities and provinces across the nation. The competition began on Oct.
12 at the state-run Korea Agro-Fisheries Trade Corporation.

Of the 86 competing liquor brands, 16 were in the makgeolli category, 17 in the rice wine segment, 24 in
the fruit wine category, another 14 in the distilled liquor category, and 15 in the miscellaneous traditional
liquor category.
The ministry said the winning items will be specially showcased at the 2009 Food Week exhibition. They
will also receive government support for participating in international food exhibitions and liquor fairs
abroad.

The government said it is aiming to create new agricultural product niches, such as with traditional alcohol
and rice. It said it hopes raising the value of agricultural goods would help boost farmers' incomes. Another
aim is to invigorate rural communities by developing representative wines and liquor products that could
be adopted as a tourism asset.
The Korea Agro-Fisheries Trade Corporation, a co-host of the competition, said the latest competition has
acted to set the foundations for developing Korea's traditional liquor industry, paving the way for creating
premium brands and globalizing them.
(sohjung@heraldm.com)

<Question>
1. Do you enjoy traditional liquor products? OR Do you have any stereotypes about them?
2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of Makgeolli compared to others such as wine, beer or soju?
3. Do you think drinking Makgeolli is not cool? If so, how can we improve the quality of Makgeolli as “the
global liquor” on a practical level?