Makgeolli gains nickname Drunken Rice

By Kim Tae-gyu
Staff reporter

"Makgeolli," the country's traditional rice wine, has garnered the nickname "Drunken Rice" through an event aimed at boosting sales of the milky white drink outside Asia's fourth-largest economy.

The Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MOFAFF) said Wednesday that Drunken Rice got the highest score as the nickname for makgeolli in a rivalry with such candidates as Makcohol, a combination of makgeolli and alcohol.

Other contenders included were Koju, Kori, Soolsool, McKorea and Rainydaywine but they failed to beat Drunken Rice.

"Midway through this month, up to 3,910 people offered various English nicknames for makgeolli, which is hard to pronounce and understand for expatriates," MOFAFF official Park Seong-gi said.

"Drunken Rice topped the podium at the screening of the five-member panel, which features a linguist, a food columnist, an alcohol specialist and tourism experts. These names will hopefully help the brisk exports of the wine."

MOFAFF explained that Korean exporters can use any of the above-mentioned nicknames to sell their products offshore because the ministry has the copyright for them.

The Seoul administration has tried to buoy exports of makgeolli that had been highly favored in the past throughout the country thanks to its rich taste as well as inexpensive price.

Its popularity waned in modern times since most Koreans turned to Western wines and spirits but the traditional alcohol has regained popularity of late with premium products hitting the chord with end users.

The MOFFAF estimates the makgeolli market jumped from 300 billion won ($239.3 million) in 2008 to 420 billion won last year despite the global financial crisis.

Its exports are also jumped from $2.9 million in 2007 to $4.4 million in 2008 and $6.2 million last year. Japan is the largest importer as around a third of outbound shipments head toward the neighboring country. China is the second-largest, followed by the United States.

"Both consumption and exports of makgeolli are expected to rise down the road. Based on the easy-to-pronounce names, it will be able to gain more attractiveness among foreigners," Park said.

MOFAFF proposed the cloudy wine as an official beverage for the G-20 summit slated for this November. But it remains to be seen whether there will be an official beverage.

Observers expect that if the country could pick one, the chances are that makgeolli would be the winner.

In the meanwhile, MOFAFF asked 210 foreigners last month in 11 cities including New York, Los Angeles, Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo regarding what is the best English-language explanation of makgeolli. The best one on the list was Korean rice wine

막걸리 애칭 ‘술 취한 쌀’

외국에 홍보를 위해 한국의 전통 쌀 술인 막걸리의 별명 짓기 대회에서 ‘술 취한 쌀’ 이 최다득표를 했다. 이는 막걸리와 알코올을 혼합한 막코올, 코주, 코리, 술술, 맥코리아, 레이니데이와인을 제치고 1위를 했다.

농림수산식품부는 이들 모든 별명의 저작권은 농식품부에 있어 회사들이 수출할 때 어느 것을 써도 문제가 없다고 했다. 정부는 예부터 국민에게 인기 있던 우리의 전통술의 수출 증대를 위해 노력했다.

막걸리의 매출은 2008년 3,000억 원에서 지난 해 4,200억으로 뛰었고 수출액은 2007년 290만 달러, 2008 440만 달러에서 작년 620만 달러로 뛰었다. 수입국가로는 미국이 1위이고 뒤이어 중국, 일본이 각각 2위 3위를 차지했다.

농식품부는 오는 11월에 열릴 G-20에서 막걸리를 공식 주류로 지정하고 제안했지만 술이 식탁에 올라 갈지는 아직 불분명하다.

한편, 농식품부는 뉴욕, LA, 홍콩, 싱가포르와 일본에 있는 외국인 210명에게 막걸리의 영어식 이름을 조사한 결관 ‘rice wine’ 이 가장 적합한 것으로 나타났다.

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