UCC contest promotes makgeolli globally

Makgeolli lovers dance to rapper-singer Psy’s latest hit “Gangnam Style” in this video clip, titled “Makgeolli Style,” on YouTube. The clip was posted by one of the local participants in the Makgeolli UCC contest co-hosted by the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries from Sept. 10 to Oct. 7. The event is part of efforts to promote the Korean traditional rice wine. / Courtesy of jurojuro.com

Korea is running a user-created content (UCC) contest on YouTube for its worldwide campaign to promote makgeolli, the country’s traditional rice wine.

The contest running from Sept. 10 to Oct. 7 has already drawn participants from countries including the United States, China, Japan, India, the Philippines as well as Korea with more than 200 video clips.

“The popularity of makgeolli has been amazing overseas for the past few years, and we thought UCC made by makgeolli lovers around the world would help raise its international popularity,” said Myung Wook, a team manager of jurojuro.com, an online agency that provides information on the product.

The posted clips are available on YouTube and can be found using “makgeolli UCC” as search words. The clips can also be viewed on Facebook at www.facebook.com/jurojuro, the official site for the 28-day event.

Among the videos that are presented, a number of them have caught viewers’ attention for their creativity. A music video posted by a user named “seulgi lee” is titled “Makgeolli Style,” and is a parody of “Gangnam Style,” Korean rapper-singer Psy’s latest hit that has gone viral worldwide.

Another clip, “The moon yearning for makgeolli” is an animation. The work introduced by a user with the ID “hapoom” explains the nutritional facts on the traditional Korean rice wine and shows why Koreans have loved it for such a long time.

A short documentary created by a user named “acekys” shows interviews with foreign tourists who are not familiar with makgeolli. The visitors to Korea are invited to a local restaurant and are given the chance to taste it.

Each UCC should be four minutes or shorter in terms of running time and also be in one of the three languages _ English, Chinese or Japanese _ to help global viewers understanding the content.

The event is co-hosted by the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries as well as the state-run Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp.

The two organizations will pick winners and announce them on Oct. 15. The winner of the Grand Prize, the highest award, will be given 3 million won along with a certificate from Agriculture Minister Suh Kyu-yong.

Other prizes include Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Netizen prizes whose winners will be given a certificate by the minister and also some prize money accordingly. A total of 300 contest participants will be selected as special prize winners, and will receive a set of makgeolli glasses. <The Korea Times/Yi Whan-woo>

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