Practical Information about Drinking in Korea

From InsideDaejeon

All your Western staples can be had in Korea, and often go by their Western names. However there is a whole world of uniquely Korean drinks as well. Many of these are hand-made or regional specialties, and others are found only in certain kinds of restaurants. So not every drink listed will be readily or widely available, but I have tried to give a hint as to where you might find it along with a description. Key Korean words to look out for are the suffixes: Cha/ 차 (tea), Ju/ 주 (alcohol-wine), Sul/ 술 (alcohol-wine) and Su/ 수 (water).

Eum-ryo Su/ 음료수: Typically seen displayed on restaurant menus, eum-ryo su means soft-drinks. 90% of the time this will simply be Cola or “Cider”. Korea “cider’ should not be confused with apple cider (alcoholic or otherwise). It is just a clear ‘lemonade’ soda-pop.Sometimes available are Fanta, Mountain Dew and 7-Up…but not often.

Milkis/ 밀기스: is a milk and soda combi drink, that is widely available in shops and vending machines.

Maekju/ 맥주: One of the 1st words many ex-pats learn. It of course means BEER. It Korean it usually sold in bottles (byeong/ 병), less commonly in cans (can/ 캔) or from the tap in 500cc “pints” called Oh-Baek See-See (Oh-Baek = 500). There are only about 5 common Korean brands of beer. Cass, Hite, OB, Max and Stout. Less common local beers are Cafri, 2X, Cass Red and Red Dog. By many ex-pats standards local beers are a bit poor, but they are a lot cheaper than the typical imports (Heineken, Budweiser, XXXX, Leffe, Tsingdao, Asahi etc)

Soju/ 소주: Sometimes called Korean Vodka or Korean Gin it is THE drink of choice for most Koreans, so much so it’s price is used as a national inflation indicator! It’s the typically 330ml green bottle of alcohol seen everywhere. It runs at about 19-21% alc/vol and is dirt cheap. A regular 330ml bottle being 1200won in a shop or 3000won in a restaurant. Most soju is not actually distilled, but simply mixed from food grade chemicals…or so I’ve heard. Easy to drink but deadly.

So-Maek/ 소맥: The mixing of soju ( usually a shot) in a glass of beer = So-Maek.

Soju Cocktail/ 소주 칵테일: This is just soju mixed with fruit flavoured syrups etc…don’t expect a mini-umbrella and a Tom Cruise bar tender making it.

Yangju/ 양주: Whiskey or Scotch. Yang (양) actually means western, so it’s really western alcohol. Often still thought of as a luxury drink, and outrageously priced in many bars and nightclubs. Not served in restaurants.

Bokbunjaju/ 복분자주: The bokbunja is the “wild” blackberry of Korea (also mislabeled as a raspberry). So you have blackberry wine. Typically about 15-18%alc/vol and sweet. Famed in folk mythology for the story of a guy who having had a few cups of it, gained such enormous urination power he knocked down a tree and a brick wall when he needed to relieve himself! So you might see plenty of phallic references about where this is sold/ made. Famous area is Gochang Gun in North Jeolla Province (전라북도 고창군).

Baek-Se Ju/ 백세주: A traditional herbal wine with an earthy slightly bitter-root taste and pale yellow colour. Supposedly helps you live to 100yo due to the medicinal herbs in it.

Makkoli/막걸리: This is a real old time traditional “rice wine”, though at about 5-7% alc/vol it’s more like a beer. It’s easily identified as being a milky beige, grey, white or brown colour – depending on the recipe. It is sold in cheap white plastic 1.7L bottles and served in bowls with a ladle – never in cups or glasses! It has a slightly sweet hint on an earthy-yeasty base and is a great drink for rainy days with savory pancakes.

Dong Dong Ju /동동주: Makkoli’s more robust brother! This is also a popular traditional wine, sometimes clarified as a amber tea coloured drink, or milky brown like makkoli. Be careful though, for it packs a hidden kick! It’s about 13-18% alc/vol and like makkoli is usually sold in country areas, rustic styles restaurants or around national parks. Most is hand made on site and the flavours varied with special ingredients (ginseng, corn, blackbeans, pine needles, oriental medicine, etc).

That’s it for me! There are many more foods and drinks out there, but hopefully this primer will get you started on discovering them for yourself.