GONGJU, Oct. 7 (Korea Bizwire) – The “Korea’s Longest Injeolmi Making Challenge” happened last Saturday in Gongju, Chungcheongnam-do, the place where injeolmi is originally from. It was a successful event.
Injeolmi is a type of traditional Korean rice cake that’s covered in yellowish bean flour. It’s quite popular and a common choice among Korean rice cakes.
The image from Instagram ‘sulbing.official’
In recent years, injeolmi has gained popularity as a trendy fusion dessert. Injeolmi toast and injeolmi spreads have become favored choices, frequently enjoyed alongside bitter tea or coffee
During the event, they set an official record by making an injeolmi that stretched a whopping 1,624 meters. This happened right in front of a large crowd of spectators.
To pull this off, the city set up 180 tables on top of the Geumgang Iron Bridge. They made five trips back and forth on the bridge to create this super long injeolmi. It took a team of over 200 citizens and tourists and 3 tons of glutinous rice to make it happen.
The number 1,624 was chosen to honor the year 1624, which is when injeolmi originated. It was during the reign of King Injo in the Joseon Dynasty. King Injo had a memorable encounter with this delicious treat when he was staying briefly in Gongju’s Gongsanseong Fortress.
A kind villager gave him rice cakes dipped in bean paste. Hungry and curious, King Injo asked what they were called. He was told they were called “Jeolmi” because they were made by folks with the Im surname, and “Jeolmi” means they have an excellent flavor.
The name later got changed to ‘Injeolmi’ for easier pronunciation, and that’s how it became known.
Interestingly, in Korea, people sometimes use the term “Injeolmi” as a cute nickname for a golden retriever puppy.
Gongju City proudly announced that during the same festival on Geumgangcheol Bridge, they managed to set a record for making the longest injeolmi at one location.
After checking everything carefully, including the rules, the injeolmi-making process, and its length, the Korean National Archives officially recognized their achievement and awarded Gongju City an official certificate.
Image credit: Gongju-si, Pixabay, Sulbing (Instagram) / photonews@koreabizwire.com
