Mokdo Brewery keeps makgeolli traditions alive

Korean Heritage

Published: 10 Jul. 2022, 19:24 Updated: 19 Jul. 2022, 16:45

Mokdo Brewery keeps makgeolli traditions alive

Lee Suk-yl, left, and Yoo Gi-ok, owners of Mokdo Brewery in Goesan, North Chungcheong, pose for a photo with one of the earthen jars used decades ago to make makgeolli, fermented rice wine. Many of the unused tools and equipment are displayed at the brewery so that visitors can learn about the transformation of Korea's makgeolli (traditional Korean rice wine)-making tradition. [YIM SEUNG-HYE]

GOESAN, North Chungcheong — Mokdo Brewery, a makgeolli (fermented rice wine) brewery that was established more than a century ago in Mokdo-ri, Buljeong-myeon in Goesan County, North Chungcheong, will soon be registered as a cultural property of the province, the Cultural Heritage Administration announced on June 3. Two more of its annex buildings — the hanok (traditional Korean house) and the warehouse, are also included in the designation.

The governor of North Chungcheong recognized the buildings for “well-preserving the original structure and design since establishment as well as housing many of the traditional equipment, tools and materials that had been used during the past decades.” The governor stated in the designation certificate that Mokdo Brewery “allows the future generation to witness the change of the makgeolli-making process and how it is traditionally made today as the brewery is still in business.”

Mokdo Brewery's three buildings - the main brewery, the hanok and a warehouse, were designated as a cultural property of North Chungcheong on July 3. [MOKDO BREWERY]

Lee Suk-yl, 68, and Yoo Gi-ok, 64, the owners of Mokdo Brewery, jumped with joy when they heard the news of the designation.

“It’s been difficult running the brewery for years, competing against large companies,” said Yoo. “But we kept on going because we wanted to leave behind a legacy. We don’t aim to earn much money from running this brewery. In fact, we often have to use our own savings to keep it running. We have to because it’s not only my family business but because we also wanted to leave something behind for the future generation. The designation is like a medal for us — a pat on the back in acknowledgement.”

The exact year of establishment of the brewery building is not officially recorded, but the researchers at the National Folk Museum of Korea found a historical document stating that a Japanese man began a brewery business in the building in 1920.

According to a Dong-A Ilbo article published on May 20, 1939, Yoo’s grandfather Yoo Jeung-soo expanded the brewery that he had acquired in 1937. The article states that he “invited about 200 people to hold a ceremony of expansion.” The grandfather turned it into a share company in 1939.

The logo of Mokdo Brewery is stamped on one of its warehouses that currently functions as an exhibition hall. [YIM SEUNG-HYE]

Old documents, tools, bottles and equipment are displayed in the brewery’s former guksil, a room that was used to create nuruk on rectangular wooden trays. [YIM SEUNG-HYE]

The Stock Certification that Yoo’s grandfather purchased for 500 won is displayed in the brewery’s former guksil, a room that was used to create nuruk, the fermentation starter used in the production of makgeolli. The couple said the room looks exactly like it did at the time of establishment. There are narrow shelves installed along the walls, where rectangular wooden trays that were used to make nuruk were placed. Yoo uses them as exhibition shelves to display old documents, tools and equipment made of wood and straw that were used to make makgeolli decades ago.

“Mokdo Brewery is a living museum,” said Yoo. “We’ve been trying very hard to collect old items and organize them in our unused rooms so we could show the history of makgeolli making. We want this whole place to be used as a museum, where people visit and see the history of making makgeolli.”

Visitors to the Mokdo Brewery can witness the whole process. [MOKDO BREWERY]

Lee checks the container to see if enough bubbles are being created on June 22. [YIM SEUNG-HYE]

The hundreds of items displayed in different rooms that are no longer being used may look like old junk to some, but they are significant artifacts as makgeolli-making was designated as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage on June 15, 2021.

After Yoo’s grandfather passed away, his son, Yoo’s father Yoo Jong-hee, took over the brewery. During the process, the era under the Japanese colonial rule (1910-45) had come to an end and the Korean War (1950-53) broke out, dividing the nation in two. The brewery became a family business once again and the name was changed to Mokdo Brewery. Yoo’s father passed away in 1960, so it was Yoo’s mother Lee Soon-geun who ran the brewery for more than 40 years.

Yoo said she and her brother had never thought about inheriting the brewery, let alone learning how to make makgeolli, when their mother was alive. Yoo’s older brother was studying in the United States and Yoo had left her hometown Mokdo at age 12 and was living in Seoul with her husband.

Yoo's mother, Yoo and her brother are featured in this black-and-white photo. [MOKDO BREWERY]

“I think my mother will jump out of her grave if she knows that I’m now running the brewery,” said Yoo. “She didn’t want me to inherit the brewery because running the brewery was really laborious for her. The demand was very high back then so it must have been very difficult for her to churn out bottle after bottle. After my mother passed away in 1997, I hired a manager who used to work for my mother for a long time to look after the brewery. Sadly, my older brother passed away before my mother did.”

But over the years, the business suffered a slump with the rise in modern versions that taste a lot sweeter — “more like spirits,” said Lee, critically. Making matters worse, the manager said he would have to retire as he was getting too old to make makgeolli anymore. Yoo had to make a decision — close it down or come back to Mokdo and rescue the family business.

Yoo’s husband Lee is a radiology doctor and back then, he was working at Soonchunhyang University Hospital. Lee enjoyed, and still does, drinking makgeolli, but did not want to quit his job and become a full-time makgeolli maker. Yoo returned to her hometown alone in 2013 and continued the family business.

“Selling this family business that has a rich history or just shutting it down just because it’s not doing well just didn’t seem right,” said Yoo. “It wasn’t the right thing to do to my parents and my grandfather.”

Lee visited Mokdo after work every Friday to help out and went back to Seoul on Sunday night.

“I don’t know how I did it,” he said. “We were just so into keeping this business afloat. I was literally working round the clock.”

Mokdo Brewery opens from Thursday to Sunday. It’s a decision the couple has made after feeling “too tired.” Lee is now working at the Korea National Tuberculosis Association as a radiologist from Monday to Thursday, so he can come down to Mokdo after work while Yoo arrives a day early to prepare for the opening.

Mokdo Brewery in the 1940s [MOKDO BREWERY]

Mokdo Brewery in the 1980s [MOKDO BREWERY]

Mokdo Brewery's main entrance today [YIM SEUNG-HYE]

Lee and Yoo produce 300 bottles of makgeolli per week. That’s the maximum number of bottles the couple can make by working four days a week. Most get sold within the area. It has two distributors in Donui-dong and Daehagno in central Seoul. If there are special orders from other parts of the country, the couple works overtime and sends them by parcel service.

It wasn’t easy learning how to make makgeolli from scratch as Mokdo Brewery still uses traditional method to produce its makgeolli line.

“I studied makgeolli like I studied for med school back in the day,” said Lee. “I read a lot of books, visited a lot of makgeolli breweries and picked up skills by watching over the shoulders of veteran makgeolli makers across the country.”

Lee said he tried different recipes, from traditional to modern, and landed on creating “the perfect recipe for Mokdo Makgeolli.”

“I call it the ‘brewing technique of the transition to the modern era.’ In other words, I’ve maintained the great techniques used traditionally while boldly getting rid of unnecessary and unsanitary methods from the past.”

Yoo said there are about four different types of makgeolli produced in Mokdo Brewery, including Mokdo Makgeolli, takju, a cloudy alcohol, and yakju or cheongju, relatively clearer alcohols.

“We try very hard to maintain the original taste of the rice wine that was produced in this neighborhood decades ago,” said Yoo.

Lee's new fermented rice wine brand Neuti, priced at 27,000 won [MOKDO BREWERY]

Makgeolli is made with just three ingredients — rice, water and a starter called nuruk. Mokdo makgeolli uses rice produced locally from Goesan. Lee’s now known to make “one good makgeolli,” say the fans of Mokdo makgeolli. Lee produced his own line of makgeolli called Neuti this year.

Mokdo Makgeolli comes in 1.2-liter bottles at 3,000 won ($2.30). [YIM SEUNG-HYE]

At Mokdo Brewery’s brewing room, visitors can see the large earthen jars that have been used for decades. Yoo says there are hardly any breweries that still use earthen jars as many have switched to stainless steel that automatically adjusts the temperature. Mokdo Brewery also has two stainless steel containers. They use them to fulfill their weekly orders but when things get busy around the brewery, especially during traditional holidays when orders surge, they have to make use of the earthen jars.

“We still keep the jars to show visitors how it was laborious to make makgeolli before the invention of the automatic stainless steel containers,” said Yoo. “There’s not much difference in the taste. It’s only the extra labor as it’s really difficult to clean the jars after use and we have to keep an eye on the temperature at all times.”

Old chimneys are still used when making makgeolli at Mokdo Brewery. [YIM SEUNG-HYE]

Though Yoo could’ve transformed the place to make it easier to produce makgeolli, it was her philosophy to “do as much as we can to leave it as it is. Don’t change anything, even the mind of the creator.”

Yoo said unless it goes against today’s sanitary standards, she tried very hard to preserve tradition. In fact, Yoo said there are not many makgeolli breweries that open up to invite visitors and show them around for a tour.

“We also plan to start a hanok-stay for travelers by opening up one of the rooms in our hanok,” said Lee. “I think both Koreans and foreigners will enjoy learning about makgeolli-making, having tasting sessions and experiencing a night in a traditional hanok that’s designated as a cultural property.”

The couple has two children who both work as civil servants.
“It’s our biggest concern,” Yoo said. “They are not that interested in inheriting the brewery and we don’t want to force it. So I’m kind of brainwashing my son these days,” she added, chuckling.

It takes about two hours from Seoul to get to Mokdo Brewery by car. To get there by public transportation, Yoo recommends getting an express bus from the Express Bus Terminal that’s on line No. 3 and getting off in Goesan, where you can take a 10-minute taxi to the brewery. Mokdo Brewery is closed on Monday through Wednesday. For more information or tours, call (043) 833-7010.

BY YIM SENG-HYE [yim.seunghye@joongang.co.kr]