The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Minister PARK Bo Gyoon, MCST) and the Korea Culture and Information Service (KOCIS) published an English book “Hidden Charms of Korea: SOOL”, to introduce Korean alcoholic drinks to foreigners. This 112-page book introduces Korean  unique drinks and drinking culture that are not yet well known to the global K-culture fans, and Korean food that goes well with it. The book also shows about Korean drinking culture as well as  traditional liquors such as Munbaeju[1] and Gamhongro[2], as well as diluted soju known as “green bottle” to foreigners and unique craft beer.

The KOCIS compiled articles and interviews conducted by reporters from the government's representative multilingual portal Korea.net (www.korea.net), as well as expert contributions to make this English-language book. The book has three main chapters: “Sool-ution Ⅰ - Soothing the soul,”  “Sool-ution Ⅱ: Fusion of traditional and hip,” our “Sool-ution Ⅲ: Loved by Koreans and the world” with 16 articles under the above three categories.

In “Sool-ution Ⅰ - Soothing the soul”, stories include Munbaeju and Gamhongro mentioned in “Byeoljubujeon”, a Korean fairytale about terrapin luring rabbits to palace, the past and present of Makgeolli, (a representative type of cloudy alcoholic drinks), and yakju (a leading type of pure liquor). In particular, the book also tells stories of food masters struggling to preserve their own alcohol in the crisis of losing traditional liquor.

The second chapter, “Sool-ution Ⅱ: Fusion of traditional and hip,” deals with diluted and distilled soju, Korean beer that challenges craft beer, and premium traditional liquor that has received attention as a local specialty with new experimental manufacturing technique.

The third chapter, “Sool-ution Ⅲ: Loved by Koreans and the world,” explains food that goes well with Korean alcohol and Korean drinking culture. Jay PARK, CEO of One Spirits, and Sook-Ja YOON, director of the Institute of Traditional Korea Food, gave guidance on how to enjoy Korean alcoholic drinks, and organized questions and answers that foreigners might be curious about Korean alcohol and drinking culture.

“The Hidden Charms of Korea: SOOL” will be published and shared with diplomatic missions abroad, Korean cultural centers abroad, foreign press, foreign embassies, and foreign cultural centers in Korea. Moreover, it will be posted on the KOCIS official website Korea.net with ten translated versions, including English, Chinese, Japanese, and Spanish. For those who want to read the article and information can visit the website of the KOCIS (www.kocis.go.kr).