For the Freshest Beer in Korea: 2019 Jeonju Gamaek (beer) Festival

Jeonju Gamaek (beer) festival is the only festival in Korea where you can drink the freshest beer produced on the day of the festival. This year, the festival was held from the 8^th August to the 10^th August, at the baseball stadium inside Jeonju Sports Complex Stadium. I visited the festival on the first day for the vivid festive mood!

I had to pass through the adult authentification booth to enter the festival. Minors were only allowed to enter when accompanied by an adult.

I visited the coin exchange. The beer must be bought with the coin, while the food can be bought with both the coin and cash. This festival supported “Zero Pay” (the standardized payment system run by the government to support independent businesses) by offering an extra coin to those who bought the coin with “Zero Pay”.

Beer was exchanged for the coin at maekju yeonmot (literally, the ‘beer pond’). A bottle of cold beer only cost 1 coin (2,500 won). Also, 20 famous local gamaek (cornerstore beer) stores participated in this festival. All the stores boasted their own unique dishes that go perfectly with cold beer:  fried chickens, sausages, fried egg rolls, dried and roasted pollack and cuttlefish, spicy topshell with noodle, and others.

The beer was served in a bucket with ice. Despite the hot weather, the beer was cold until I finished them all. With the first sip from the bottle, I instantly felt cool. The beer sold at the festival was produced on the day of the festival, so it was very fresh and tasty.

As the evening set in, all the tables quickly became full. If you want to sit near the stage next year, remember to be here early!

Jeonju Gamaek festival was the great opportunity to try the freshest less than a day old beer! If you missed this year’s festival, there’s still next year!