Provincial news 600 makgeolli varieties offer taste of the good life
By Woo Ji-won
If you believe a good festival always includes good drinks, then get ready to drink till you drop during the first week of September.
The“Jara Island Makgeolli Festival,” sponsored by the Korean Makgeolli Association and Gapyeong County in Gyeonggi Province, will be held from Sep. 1-3 ― the third such event since 2015.
The nation’s only festival introducing Korean traditional rice-fermented liquor will feature drinks from 150 breweries across the country offering up to 600 craft-brewed makgeolli varieties.
Local food specialties include galbi (Korean-style barbecue) in Idong, salted mackerel in Andong, jjageuri (boiled pork soup) in Cheongju, and nut-crusted chicken skewers in Gapyeong.
The festival features guitar performances by “oldies” in their 50s to 60s, a cooking contest for campers, a kettle-squashing competition, lessons on how to make bread out of makgeolli, and quizzes about the drinks.
Promoting the liquor as a drink for outdoor camping, the three-day festival is held next to a 30,000-square-meter camping ground. A camping spot ground can be booked on the festival’s website at makfe.co.kr.
Visitors can also try cosmetics made from makgeolli and its draff, known for its whitening and restorative effect on tanned skin. Visitors also can check out a photo gallery exhibiting 130 kinds of makgeolli bottles from across Korea.
After the festival, visitors can enjoy a scenic ferry ride around Nami Island below Jara Island.
"We will continue contributing to the consumption of Gyeonggi rice by promoting makgeolli,” a province official said.
“We look forward to developing the event into a global drinks festival like Oktoberfest, a German beer festival.”