Pocheon City’s "Dongjeongchun Makgeolli" Wins Excellence Award at Korea Traditional Liquor Competition

Pocheon City in Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Baek Younghyeon) announced on August 7 that "Dongjeongchun Makgeolli," produced by the local traditional liquor manufacturer "Sulbijeuneonjeongane" (CEO Jeon Giboh), won the Excellence Award in the Takju category at the 2025 Korea Traditional Liquor Competition.

'Dongjeongchun Makgeolli' Wins Excellence Award at the 2025 Korea Traditional Liquor Competition. Provided by Pocheon City

"Dongjeongchun Makgeolli" is a modern recreation of "Dongjeongchun," one of the three most renowned liquors of the Joseon Dynasty. The amount of water used is reduced to one-quarter of that used in ordinary Makgeolli, resulting in a strong sweetness and a rich aroma of tropical fruits. Its alcohol content is about 6%, and the rice content reaches 36%.

The brewing process uses the "Iyangju" method, in which a steamed rice cake is made from rice and then mashed, after which nuruk is added to make the base liquor, and then glutinous rice godubap is added as an additional fermenting agent.

With this award, "Dongjeongchun Makgeolli" has now been honored three times in total, including the Grand Prize in 2018 and the Excellence Award in 2024. Winning three times in the highly competitive Takju category demonstrates the excellence of traditional liquor brewed with Pocheon's pristine rice and water.

It has also achieved results in overseas markets. Since 2024, it has been exported to Hong Kong, and its outstanding quality has been recognized globally, as it is served as the signature drink at "Hanshingu," a Michelin-listed Korean restaurant in Hong Kong.

Baek Younghyeon, Mayor of Pocheon, stated, "Traditional liquor, which creates high added value by utilizing local agricultural products, is an important processing industry that grows together with agriculture. We will continue to discover outstanding local breweries and promote the excellence of traditional liquor."

Pocheon City is implementing support policies to vitalize the local traditional liquor industry, including strengthening online and offline promotion, improving brewery facilities, and subsidizing ingredient costs.

In addition, in 2025, the city is promoting several projects: a support project to boost traditional liquor consumption (4 locations), a facility improvement support project for food tech companies and others (2 locations), and a project to subsidize the price difference for purchasing Gyeonggi rice (2 locations).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.