K-Day: Korean Drinks, Culture, and Special Moments
- Numaru Prague
- 5. 6. 2025
- Minut čtení: 3
K-Day: Korean Drinks, Culture, and Special Moments
A few weeks back, we hosted something special at NUMARU - our very first K-Day event,
with Korean alcohol tasting as the main focus. Our manager planned and hosted the entire evening, and since we'd never tried anything like this before, there was definitely excitement and nerves
in the air that night. But this wasn't just about the drinks - we wanted to share Korean culture and
the stories that come with every glass.
The Selection of Drinks
We'd lined up five different Korean drinks for the evening: classic soju, sweet bokbunja (that's black raspberry wine), fruity soju, traditional rice wine makgeolli, and the ever-popular somaek - beer and soju mixed together. Each drink came with Korean dishes that we'd carefully matched to complement the flavours. Before each tasting, we shared a bit about what made each drink special - how soju changes completely depending on which region it's from, why bokbunja is considered something of a health drink, what makes fruity soju such a hit with younger folks and visitors to Korea, and the fascinating fermentation process behind makgeolli. Our guests were great - much more engaged than we'd expected, asking lots of thoughtful questions that had us sharing stories we hadn't planned to tell. The feedback on how well the drinks paired with our food was wonderful to hear. Every time we moved to a new drink, the whole room would shout "짠!" (cheers!) in Korean and clink glasses together. You could feel the energy building with each round.
The Somaek Show and an Unexpected Star
One of the evening's highlights was watching our bartender demonstrate the art of mixing the perfect somaek. He explained how completely different the taste becomes depending on the ratio and the order you mix things in, then made it right there in front of everyone. Several guests were so interested they wanted to try it themselves.
Later, one of the guests made their own Korean-style cocktail using the drinks we'd been sampling. Initially, everyone was a bit unsure about this spontaneous creation, but it turned out to be delicious. People were genuinely surprised by how good it was, and one guest declared it the drink of the night!
Korean Drinking Customs
Throughout the evening, we naturally wove in some of the traditional Korean drinking etiquette - things like pouring with both hands, turning your head when drinking in front of elders, and always keeping each other's glasses topped up. The guests started off a bit hesitant, which is perfectly normal, but soon got into the swing of things. Before long, they were following the customs naturally and joining in with enthusiastic "짠!" shouts whilst sharing drinks around the table. It created such a warm, convivial atmosphere.
A Bit of Fun to Finish
Once everyone had settled in properly, we introduced a simple Korean drinking game - nothing too complicated, just something to get people laughing together. It was lovely watching people who'd been strangers at the start of the evening now sharing drinks and having a proper giggle together.
