makgeolli

South Korea has a plethora of regional brews that are slowly finding their way internationally. 

Today we speak with Carol Pak, Founder of Sool about her journey creating Makgeolli and Soju for the North American market .  

A Columbia Business School MBA alum, Carol is a native New Yorker who wants to introduce the world to the magic of Korean spirits and elixirs. Previously part of ZX Ventures (owned by AB InBev), Carol developed a new beverage brand in China which opened her eyes to the possibility of introducing a new beverage category to the West. In 2017, she started Sool to globalize Korean alcoholic beverages. 

In this podcast we will dive into the background and culture of the Korean alcohols Soju and Makgeolli, why she’s so passionate about this mission, the rise of K-pop and K-culture in general, and how she created Makku and Soku, the first American-crafted Makgeolli and Soju, respectively. An expert in the art of alcoholic product launches, Carol Pak is here to show that Korea should be top of mind the next time you’re looking to imbibe.

Find out more: www.drinksool.com

Connect with them on Instagram  & Facebook 

Since 2016, Bottled in China brings you into the food and drink scene through conversations with the some of the most happening personalities. Hosted by Emilie Steckenborn, the show is your one spot for all things food, beer, wine and spirits from across the world. Connect with us on LinkedIn or Instagram @bottled.in.china 

Podcast available on iTunes, Spotify , online or wherever you listen to your episodes!

Jen is sick, so Sung Hee is filling in. In this episode, we recap and analyze Episode 14 of It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, the hit K Drama on Netflix. In this episode, the story is The Hand, The Monkfish. We think this story is autobiographical for Meun Young, whose mom thought she was perfect and protected her and kept her in the cursed castle.

We learn that Nurse Park is Meun Young’s mom and turns out that she killed the Moon brothers’ mom. It also appears that she killed Meun Young’s dad by pulling the plug on the machines keeping him alive. Meun Young runs away when she learns who her mom is. We learn more about Meun Young’s mom, including her medical background and how she stayed at the hospital for 20 years to watch her husband suffer. At the end of the show, Do Hui Jae convinces Sang Tae to go with her and they end up at the cursed castle, with Sang Tae unconscious or dead.

We talk about how Gang Tae, Sang Tae and Meun Young are processing the fact that Nurse Park is Meun Young’s mom and how they are protecting each other. The publisher and Ju-ri are starting to show their feelings toward each other. We also get an update on some of the patients at the OK Hospital.

At the end of the show, Joanna and Jen discuss the shows they are considering for Season 3 of K Drama Chat.

References:

• Butterfly by BTS
• What is makgeolli?

My guest  this week is Alice Jun.  Alice is an entrepreneur and founder of Hana Makgeolli, an artisanal korean rice wine, brewed and bottled in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.  Together with her business partner, John, they are making makgeolli using organic rice, a natural wild fermentation process, and traditional methods, creating a complex and nuanced alcoholic beverage.   

Alice learned to brew makgeolli from her father and bringing a longtime family tradition to fruition as a business is not only a labor of love, but a means of staying connected to her family in Korea.   She and John are building a unique business that fuses their heritage, traditional brewing, and innovation to a product category that truly has not developed in the United States.

If you're interested in trying Hana Makgeolli, they are shipping nationwide and available for local pickup at the brewery if you're in there NYC area.  Their website is https://www.hanamakgeolli.com/ 

You can connect with them on Instagram @hanamakgeolli 

Also, if you're interested in trying Dhamaka, the restaurant I recently visited and discussed in the beginning of this podcast, they can be found at https://www.dhamaka.nyc/

Claire Kim and Brandon Sugano join us from Sura Korean BBQ & Tofu House and Fine Feathers Kombucha in Long Beach, CA.  Claire and Brandon recently made news as the new owners of Long Beach’s own Fine Feathers Kombucha. The husband and wife team had purchased Sura Korean BBQ & Tofu House six years ago and were looking to expand their business. We chatted about how they ended up owning two local businesses, Brandon’s craft beer tap list, and some recommended kombucha flavors and Korean dishes. 

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In this fascinating episode, Ms. Yong Ha Jeong, the Korean-American founder of Yongha Brews joins Frank to discuss 술 sool - Korean alcohol. A resident of K-Town in Los Angeles, Yong Ha studied ethnomusicology in Korea, and came upon a renaissance of sool making while there. She apprenticed under masters that were rediscovering a rich heritage nearly lost to Japanese colonialization and the struggles of a poverty-stricken country after the Korean War. Upon her return to LA, Yong Ha has taught classes on traditional makgeolli brewing using a wild fermentation method developed by women like her grandmother.