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.”
What began as a makgeolli brewing business at age 26 has now entered its fourth year. Han left her company job in 2022 and registered her business that same year. In September of the following year, she rented a space and opened the Haeil Makgeolli shop — a place where she brews, sells and hosts tasting workshops. Recently, she also published a memoir about her startup journey.
How did she make the bold decision to quit her job and open a brewery?
There was no dramatic “destined encounter” with makgeolli, she says. “It was closer to running away.”
“Like most college students, my goal was employment. By the end of my freshman year I had decided on marketing as my career path, completed three internships and finally landed a full-time marketing position. But I couldn’t adapt."
What she struggled with most was the organizational culture. She ended up resigning at the conclusion of her probationary period, just three months after finally landing the full-time job she had worked so hard for.
Source: Korea Times News
