The combined aroma of wood and crop-based liquor suffuses a traditional Korean-style courtyard in a Chinese border county, where a wooden pot liquor-making craft has revived and awakened the memories of locals.
Wang Lishan runs a liquor company in Changbai Korean Autonomous County, northeast China's Jilin Province. Though not Korean ethnically, Wang is indulged in and familiar with Korean culture and will talk nonstop about the origin and modern techniques of wooden pot liquor making.
In 2017, he heard that a local Korean liquor factory was on the verge of bankruptcy. "I grew up watching my family have traditional Korean food and liquor, so I felt really sad about the bad news," Wang said.
With most of his savings accumulated in his eight-year tourism business, Wang invested 29 million yuan (about 4.14 million U.S. dollars) in acquiring the liquor factory and built up his own company, focusing on the traditional Korean wooden pot liquor making, which only a few elderly people master.
Wang was doubted by many, who did not believe a non-Korean could learn this craft or succeed in running the factory.
The craft is called "San-mu," which can be interpreted as "three procedures related to wood."
First, ferment crops in wooden tanks, as the wood can keep a constant temperature and protect probiotics in the freezing cold winter in northeast China; second, put the fermented crops into wooden pots for distillation, and the scent of wood will permeate into the ingredients; third, store the liquor in wooden barrels to accelerate esterification reaction. When the main procedures are finished, they will be stored in steel tanks that cater to the national standard.
In a bid to revive and industrialize the craft, Wang invited experts from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and local cultural research centers to study the history of the liquor.
He also employed professionals to renovate the factory and help with product design and package, with Korean cultural elements incorporated.
"Maybe a product is simple, but it should have its own culture and soul," Wang said. The modern production equipment has also maintained the quality and original taste of this traditional liquor.
Now Wang's liquor products are commonly seen in local restaurants. During the China-Northeast Asia Expo, the featured products were quickly sold out and many exhibitors from Japan and the Republic of Korea expressed their willingness for future cooperation.
According to the sixth national population census in China, the population of China's Korean ethnic group exceeds 1.8 million, among whom nearly 1.15 million live in Changbai, the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture and other places in Jilin Province.
Many people praised Wang for his contribution to saving an ethnic craft. "We have responsibilities to protect and inherit ethnic cultures, whether they belong to our own ethnic group or not," Wang said. Enditem
