The life of a Korean brewmaster

Korea’s ancient brewing culture is being revived thanks to a few dedicated brewmasters passing on their centuries-old methods, writes Rhiannon Shepherd.

Korea boasts a thriving eating and drinking culture, with a diverse history of culture and tradition. Etiquette and hierarchies still play an important role when eating and drinking out in Korea – for example, the younger generation must always make sure to refill the glasses of their seniors and one should never accept a drink from someone older or higher in rank with only one hand.

Despite the prevailing prevalence of some traditional drinking customs, however, many fear the imminent disappearance of traditional, bespoke alcohol brewing methods. Commercial soju-making giants rule the modern market, with crates of the most popular brand, Jinro flying off shelves in their millions.

There are a few artisans, however, who dedicate their lives to insuring Korea’s traditional brewing culture lives on. Gastro Tour Seoul’s Brew Master Tour offers a unique peek into the life of one such artisan. Nestled among the back streets of Seoul’s ancient quarters, Mr. Taek-Sang Kim works to keep Korea’s traditional brewing culture alive.

Taek-Sang Kim is a 10^th generation artisan alcohol brewer with a traditional Korean hanok house-style studio, tucked away in Bukchon, Seoul’s old town, and specializes in the three main Korean traditional alcohols – makgeolli (rice wine), yakju (refined rice wine) and soju (distilled liquor). His studio is called Samhae Sojuga. ‘Sam’ in Korea means ‘three’, after the three-step soju-making process, ‘hae’ means ‘pig’, and ‘ga’ means ‘house’. According to tradition, soju should be distilled on the Day of the Pig, because pigs’ blood is seen as the clearest of all animals – and thus bodes well for the clarity of the resulting soju.

Mr. Kim carefully explains his alcohol brewing processes to Gastro Tour Seoul guests before allowing them to taste each of the beverages in turn. Attendees also have to chance to see and smell the alcohol in their various stages of fermentation.

Sincerity, said Mr. Kim, is the key to brewing perfect alcohol. That, and a cultural and spiritual significance to the brewing process inherited through hundreds of years of tradition on his mother’s side.

“As a child, my family made sure to go to the mountain very early in the morning to collect pure and clean water from the well for brewing, before anyone else had been there.” He says, “We also bathed before coming into contact with the alcohol.

“Traditionally, Korean alcohol should also be made using the first rice harvest of the year, and always washed and mixed over and over, only by hand.”

It is aspects of the brewing process like this, ignored and substituted for mass-market by modern-day corporations, which Mr. Kim says makes his alcohol so special. Mr. Kim has been certified Seoul’s sought-after National Treasure Number 8 for his contribution to educating young Koreans on the traditional alcohol brewing process, and helping continue the country’s brewing legacy.

“Traditional Korean alcohol culture and brewing is very different from the alcohol culture of today – it is a way of showing respect to our ancestors, ceremoniously, and with a clean, spiritual mentality.”