Editing Korean cuisine (section)

==Beverages==
===Non-alcoholic beverages===
{{main|Korean tea}}
{{see also|List of Korean dishes#Types of non-alcoholic beverages}}
[[File:Korean.tea-Daechucha-01.jpg|thumb|right|''Daechu cha'' (jujube tea)]]
All Korean traditional nonalcoholic beverages are referred to as ''eumcheong'' or ''eumcheongnyu'' (음청류 {{linktext|飮|淸|類}}) which literally means "clear beverages".<ref>(in Korean) [https://archive.today/20120701135148/http://alldic.nate.com/search/handic.html?search_select2=on&category=&cm=c&q=%EB%E6%F4%E8%D7%BE 飮淸類] Nate Hanja Dictionary</ref> According to historical documents regarding Korean cuisine, 193 items of ''eumcheongnyu'' are recorded.<ref name="Baek Un-hwa">Baek Un-hwa, The industrialization of Korean traditional beverages</ref> ''Eumcheongnyu'' can be divided into the following categories: ''[[Korean tea|tea]]'', ''[[hwachae]]'' (fruit punch), ''[[sikhye]]'' (sweet rice drink), ''[[sujeonggwa]]'' (persimmon punch), ''tang'' (탕, boiled water), ''jang'' (장, fermented grain juice with a sour taste), ''suksu'' (숙수, beverage made of herbs), ''galsu'' (갈수, drink made of fruit extract, and Oriental medicine), honeyed water, juice and milk by their ingredient materials and preparation methods. Among the varieties, tea, ''hwachae'', ''sikhye'', and ''sujeonggwa'' are still widely favored and consumed; however, the others almost disappeared by the end of the 20th century.<ref name="KAFT">Introduction of Eumcheongryu, Korea Agro-Fisheries Trade Corporation</ref><ref name="Sohn Gyeong-hee">Sohn Gyeong-hee, Historical overview of Korean traditional eumcheongryu</ref>

In Korean cuisine, [[Korean tea|tea]], or ''cha'', refers to various types of [[herbal tea]] that can be served hot or cold. Not necessarily related to the leaves, leaf buds, and [[internode (botany)|internode]]s of the ''[[Camellia sinensis]]'' plant, they are made from diverse substances, including fruits (e.g. ''[[yuja-cha]]''), flowers (e.g. ''[[gukhwa-cha]]''), leaves, roots, and grains (e.g. ''[[bori-cha]]'', ''[[hyeonmi-cha]]'') or herbs and substances used in [[traditional Korean medicine]], such as [[ginseng]] (e.g. ''[[insam-cha]]'') and ginger (e.g. ''[[saenggang-cha]]'').<ref name="Cha">{{cite web |url=http://100.nate.com/dicsearch/pentry.html?s=K&i=241842&v=42 |script-title=ko:차 |trans-title=Tea (cha) |publisher=[[Nate (web portal)|Nate]] / [[Encyclopedia of Korean Culture]] |access-date=2009-10-23 |language=ko |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610072510/http://100.nate.com/dicsearch/pentry.html?s=K&i=241842&v=42 |archive-date=2011-06-10 }}</ref>

===Alcoholic beverages===
{{main|Korean alcoholic beverages}}
{{see also|Beer in North Korea|Beer in South Korea|List of Korean beverages}}
[[File:Makgeolri.jpg|thumb|A bowl of ''[[makgeolli]]'', a type of ''takju'']]
While ''[[soju]]'' is the best known liquor, there are well over 100 different alcoholic beverages, such as beers, rice and fruit wines, and liquors produced in South Korea as well as a sweet rice drink. The top-selling domestic beers (''maekju'' in Korean) are [[lager]]s, which differ from Western beers in that they are brewed from rice, rather than barley. Consequently, Korean beers are lighter, sweeter and have less head than their Western counterparts. The [[South Korean beer]] market is dominated by the two major breweries: [[Hite Brewery|Hite]] and [[Oriental Brewery|OB]]. [[Taedonggang]] is a [[North Korean beer]] produced at a brewery based in [[Pyongyang]] since 2002.<ref>Reuters, "North Korean beer: great taste, low proliferation risk", Mar 9, 2008</ref> [[Microbrewery]] beers and bars are growing in popularity after 2002.<ref>The Korea Economic Daily, 2006-12-01</ref>

''[[Soju]]'' is a clear spirit which was originally made from grain, especially rice, and is now also made from sweet potatoes or barley. ''[[Soju]]'' made from grain is considered superior (as is also the case with grain vs. potato [[vodka]]). ''Soju'' is around 22% [[ABV]], and is a favorite beverage of hard-up college students, hard-drinking businessmen, and blue-collar workers.

''[[Yakju]]'' is a refined pure liquor fermented from rice, with the best known being ''cheongju''. ''[[Takju]]'' is a thick unrefined liquor made with grains, with the best known being ''[[makgeolli]]'', a white, milky rice wine traditionally drunk by farmers.<ref name="Jontongjoo">Food in Korea, "Jontongjoo&nbsp;– Kinds of Traditional Liquors"</ref>

In addition to the [[rice wine]], various fruit wines and herbal wines exist in Korean cuisine. Acacia, ''[[prunus mume|maesil]]'' plum, [[Pseudocydonia|Chinese quince]], cherry, [[Conifer cone|pine cone]], and pomegranate are most popular. ''Majuang wine'' (a blended wine of Korean grapes with French or American wines) and ginseng-based wines are also available.