Wangjike Brewery

How It Began

Wangjike Brewery is in Gosan-ri, Hangyeong-myeon, Jeju-si. "Wangjike" is the old name of Gosan-ri. It is said to have been so called, meaning "the place where kings arise," because the kings of Tamna came here to hold rites. Known for its produce and clear water, the village has long had a strong tradition of gayangju (home-brewed liquor).

The brewery is run by the agricultural corporation Jeju Wangjike Co., Ltd. The Jeju Tourism Organization describes the company as a manufacturer making regional specialty liquor from produce of the Gosan area. A 2019 Monthly Interview article described the brewery as the traditional liquor production facility of the Jeju Boncho Cooperative. It was recognized as a village enterprise in connection with the government's sixth-industry policy and was established with the tourism industry in mind.

On January 25, 2019, the brewery won the sixth-industry category of the "K-Wellness Brand Awards." The award recognized the path it had taken as a village enterprise, and the win was reported in an April 2019 Monthly Interview article.

How the Liquor Is Made

Wangjike Brewery makes and uses its own nuruk. The Jeju Tourism Organization highlights this as a defining feature of the brewery. A 2019 Monthly Interview article called this nuruk Gosan-ri's "red nuruk," explaining that a master of Jeju traditional liquor makes and ferments it himself using methods handed down through generations.

Ingredients are chosen in Jeju. Those mentioned in the 2019 article are pesticide-free leaves of hwangchil trees more than 30 years old, bisuri (yagwanmun) gathered in unpolluted areas, and red beets grown in Gosan-ri. The ingredients and nuruk are placed in traditional Jeju earthenware jars and aged at an even temperature for more than 45 days to complete the liquor.

CEO Lee Seong-hun has called this process a slow liquor with "the aesthetics of waiting." He explained that natural Jeju ingredients are blended with red nuruk found only in Jeju and aged for more than 45 days. The remarks came from a 2019 Monthly Interview article.

Signature Liquors and Lineage

The Sool lists "Mubakiil" and "Eouya" as Wangjike Brewery's liquors. Mubakiil is a 14% ABV liquor brewed with yagwanmun. Its registered ingredients are whole dried bisuri (yagwanmun), purified water, glucose and yeast. The product description explains that it reaches 14% ABV through natural fermentation with nuruk alone, without adding chemical alcohol.

The Mubakiil description also explains the name yagwanmun: "the gate that unbolts the night." It adds a story that eating yagwanmun lets you see light from a thousand ri away.

Eouya is also a yagwanmun liquor. Its registered ingredients are Jeju yagwanmun, purified water, glucose and yeast. The Sool describes it as a 100% fermented liquor brewed over 45 days with yagwanmun grown in the sea breeze of Jeju, and notes that the method has been handed down for three generations.

The Sool describes it as releasing aromas of grass, pear and cinnamon, with a sweet yet light taste. The 2019 Monthly Interview article called its taste clean, like white wine. The Sool adds that it is a fermented liquor made with yagwanmun, just as the feel of the name "Eouya" suggests.