hankyoreh

Lee Dong-pil, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, announced plans to allow individuals and restaurants to brew and sell makgeolli - Korean rice beer - in an effort to promote premium makgeolli brands.

Legalizing “house makgeolli,” as it is called, would make it possible for restaurants to sell their own makgeolli for the first time in a century.

Lee made the announcement in a New Year’s interview that was published by the Yonhap News Agency on Jan. 25.

“We are planning to legalize ‘house makgeolli’ in a bid to promote premium brands. This is one of the ways in which we hope to transform agriculture, a primary industry, into a ‘sixth industry’ by combining it with processing, distribution, and tourism. We are currently discussing these plans with the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and the National Tax Service,” Lee said in the interview.

“If we legalize house makgeolli, Korean restaurants will be able to produce and sell small amounts of makgeolli under their own brand,” Lee explained.

The term “house makgeolli” refers to makgeolli that is made on a small scale at a restaurant or house. At the beginning of the 20th century, house makgeolli was ubiquitous in Korea, with many ordinary households brewing their own. In 1909, there were 28,404 breweries around Korea.

But after the Japanese colonial authorities issued the Liquor Tax Act in 1909 and the Liquor Tax Ordinance in 1916, small breweries were banned from producing any alcohol, largely bringing the days of house makgeolli to an end.

However, legalizing house makgeolli is not a simple matter. A number of questions are at issue: what the minimum brewery size will be, how to guarantee safety, hygiene, and quality at small breweries, and how to impose taxes. It also remains unclear whether the relevant government agencies - the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and the National Tax Service - will approve the idea.

By Kim Kyu-won, staff reporter

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]