Makgeolli

Milky, lightly fizzy Korean rice wine with a tangy sweetness — Korea's oldest and most beloved folk drink.

Makgeolli is Korea's oldest alcoholic beverage, a lightly fermented drink made from rice, water, and nuruk (a traditional fermentation starter of wild yeast and mold cultures), with a creamy, off-white color from the unfiltered rice sediment that distinguishes it from clear Korean spirits. Dating back at least to the Three Kingdoms period, makgeolli was historically the drink of farmers and laborers — affordable, nourishing, and made at home throughout the country — and it earned the name nongju (농주, 'farmers' liquor') for its association with rural work culture. Its flavor is complex and layered: sweet from residual sugars, sour from lactic acid fermentation, faintly bitter, and naturally carbonated from active yeasts, with an alcohol content typically around 6–8% that makes it approachable for all-day drinking. The classic pairing in Korean food culture is makgeolli with pajeon (green onion pancake) or haemul-pajeon — a combination said to have developed because the sound of rain made farmers crave both, and the pancake's savory saltiness balances the drink's sweetness perfectly. A craft makgeolli revival has swept Korea since the 2010s, with microbreweries in Seoul's Mapo and Seongsu neighborhoods producing single-origin rice varieties and fruit-infused editions that have brought younger drinkers back to the traditional drink.