Editing Korean cuisine (section)

===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''[[Soju]]'' is a clear spirit which was originally made from grain, especially rice, and is now also made from sweet potatoes or barley.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.