At the end of December 2009, the Chosun Ilbo published an article stating that the current spelling of "Makgeolli" might cause some non-Koreans to mispronounce it as Mak-jolee. The author suggested that the spelling should be changed and this would popularize this alcohol overseas. He recommended a few different options such as Maggoli, Makkoli, and Makoli. I wish that the author had done some research to test this opinion, because it caused quite a stir with the aT Center (The Agro-Trade Center) and amongst the Korean public. The aT Center is a government organization that has been heading the Korean Food Globalization project and my company (O'ngo Food Communications) has been working with them on several different projects including how to market makgeolli overseas. Back in October of 2009, our company and the heads of many makgeolli companies had a meeting to discuss changing the name of makgeolli. I will tell you the same thing I told them: it is not cost effici...

Part of my work involves doing research on the perceptions of Korean food by non-Koreans. There was a controversy about the spelling of Makgeolli and how the spelling could lead to mispronunciation. Watch the video to see how people pronounce the suggested spellings of makgeolli. My position is that the current, standard spelling is fine and that the Korean government shouldn't spend money on changing the spelling. Instead, they should work to get the drink overseas and to have people try it.