South Korea invents hangover-cure ice cream

Curing a hangover has never been so delicious and sweet, as a South Korean company says it has invented an ice cream bar that will nurse you back to your normal self after a night of heavy drinking.

Gyeondyo-bar, which translates to “hang in there” is seen at a convenience store in Seoul, South Korea. (Photo source: Reuters/Kim Hong-Ji)

The grapefruit flavoured ice cream, called ‘Gyeondyo’, which loosely translates as “hang in there”, is infused with a small amount of oriental raisin tree fruit juice, which has been considered a Korean hangover treatment since the 1600s, as reported by Reuters.

A study from 2012 in The Journal of Neuroscience found that raisin tree extract could reduce effects of intoxication in rats.

The country, already having the highest per capita alcohol consumption in Asia, has spawned a 50 billion won ($126 million) industry for hangover cures, ranging from pills and beverages to cosmetics for women to cover up the effects of a long night of drinking.

The ice cream’s name supposedly, “expresses the hardships of employees who have to suffer a working day after heavy drinking, as well as to provide comfort to those who have to come to work early after frequent nights of drinking”, convenience store chain Withme FS, distributor of the ice cream, was quoted as saying.

South Koreans drink 12.3 litres of alcohol per year, the most in the Asia-Pacific region, according to a 2014 WHO report.

The hangover-cure ice cream will hit shelves in the country today (26 May).