This photo provided by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism shows bottles of “munbaeju,” a distilled liquor made from nonglutinous millet and glutinous sorghum.
SEOUL, Feb. 13 (Korea Bizwire) — The government has issued an English-language book to introduce the beauty of traditional Korean alcoholic beverages to foreigners.
Titled “Hidden Charms of Korea: Sool,” the book introduces various traditional Korean drinks together with their matching Korean dishes and the Korean drinking culture, amid the global boom of Korean pop culture, which includes pop music, dramas and films, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, as well as its affiliate, the Korean Culture and Information Service (KOCIS), said in a joint release Monday.
“Sool” in the title is the Korean word for alcoholic drinks in general.
The book consists of 16 articles and interviews written by reporters of Korea.net, an internet portal that promotes Korea in 10 different languages run by KOCIS, and contributions to the site from experts.
The stories are classified under three categories: “Sool-ution Ⅰ: Soothing the soul,” “Sool-ution Ⅱ: Fusion of traditional and hip,” and “Sool-ution Ⅲ: Loved by Koreans and the world.”
The book introduces various Korean drinks, such as “munbaeju,” “gamhongno,” “makgeolli,” “soju” and microbrews, as well as the past and present of efforts by master distillers of traditional liquors, to keep their brands from being forgotten and disappearing.
It also contains a Q&A, which answers questions on Korean liquor and the local drinking culture that foreigners might be curious about.
Hard copies of the book will be distributed to overseas Korean embassies and cultural centers, and foreign embassies in Seoul, among others.
The book will also be available online on the official website of Korea.net in 10 foreign languages, according to KOCIS.
(Yonhap)
