When the bone-aching cold starts and the year-end stress gets unbearable, there’s nothing like a few glasses of good traditional wine to settle you down.
Take some time from your work and head for Seocheon, in Chungcheongnam-do, where the Korean traditional liquor “sogokju” allures visitors with its relaxing taste.
Hansan Sogokju brewery makes one of Korea’s best sogokju. The light drink, which has a hint of sweetness and scent of wild chrysanthemum, is said to have been favored by the Baekje Royal Family some 1,300 years ago.
Various ingredients are needed for sogokju, including glutinous rice, whole wheat, chrysanthemum leaves and a pinch of red chili pepper.
Brewers explain that the most important factor in making good sogokju is the water, and then the yeast, followed by just the right temperature for the drink to ripen.
To make the drink, whole wheat has to be cultivated for a month to become yeast. Then wash and grind some non-glutinous rice to make it sticky. Pour some wheat water in it, and leave it there for four to five days.
When it is ripened, mix it with some hard-boiled rice made of glutinous rice. Add some chrysanthemum leaves, red chili pepper and sesame oil, and let it ferment for 100 days in a cool spot. When it is done, gently scoop up the clear liquid, and the sogokju is ready.
Enjoy the sight while you are there. From the end of November, Seocheon is famous for its scenery of golden fields filled with reeds. It is also a favorite navigation point for migratory birds, which fly over the reeds, creating a spectacle both for the eyes and ears.
The morning or near sunset are the best times to get great views. To get a better view of the flocks of migratory birds, visit the estuary’s observatory tower.
For information on traveling in Seocheon, call the tourism division at (041) 950-4224. To contact Hansan Sogokju, call (041) 950-0290 or visit www.sogokju.co.kr
By Park Min-young
KOREA, January 2009
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