Han Ji-hye, CEO of Haeil Makgeolli, speaks during an interview with the Hankook Ilbo in Seoul, May 22. In front of her sit bottles of tradional Korean alcohol sold at her store. Korea Times photo by Park Ji-yeon
“By now the rice should be fully steamed.”
Inside the Haeil Makgeolli shop earlier this month in Gwanak District, Seoul, CEO Han Ji-hye opened a small door while wearing sanitary clothing and rubber gloves. Behind the door was a tiny brewing workspace of about 6.6 square meters.
That day’s task was to cool down freshly steamed rice before adding it to a prepared starter mash — a process known as deot-sul, or secondary fermentation. As Han spread the rice across the worktable, she explained:
“If you don’t cool the rice first, the yeast dies from the heat.”
