Fighteeng!

No, it's not a prop for Japanese porn. It's Korea's cheap and healthy rice wine, now being served by the foxy stewardesses of Asiana Airlines.

I could never imagine this happening on Southwest, but then again, Asiana Airlines does have a highbrow reputation to maintain.  The Chosun Ilbo reports that Asiana will begin serving a special alcoholic drink on all 22 flights to and from Japan.  Score!

But don’t get too excited, cuz it’s not Guinness or Hefeweizen.  It’s makgeoli, or Korean rice wine, a thick, milky white liquor made of specially fermented rice, which requires an acquired taste over time to enjoy (at least for me).  This is all part of a promotion of Korean food to Japan, which is not surprising following the recent face stuffing of kimchee from the wife of Korea’s president to the wife of Japan’s prime minister.

If you don’t like it at first, at least do it for the sake of protecting Korea’s rice market, because according to this political editor at the Korea Times, the prices have dropped due to a surplus arguably caused by the halt of aid to North Korea.  So how do we solve this?

Development of more food products made from rice is needed to reduce the rice stockpile. Measures include eating rice noodles and making more rice-based items for meals in the military and at schools.

Don’t exclude rice from your meals in the morning from tomorrow! It will help not only reduce the stockpile but also prevent rice prices from falling further.

So if you ever happen to fail the breathalizer at sobriety checkpoints, just tell the K-popo that you drank lots of makgeoli for the sake of the country’s economy.  You’ll probably get off easy.