North Korea claims to have developed a hangover-free alcoholic beverage

For a country with sporadic electric power, North Korea sure can get a lot done – according to its state media.
An article in the DPRK’s Pyongyang Times recently declared that a factory in the Hermit Kingdom has developed an alcoholic beverage that people can drink without getting a hangover.
The article said the Taedonggang Foodstuff Factory was able to create the miracle tipple by substituting scorched rice for sugar in a fermented ginseng beverage. The process, reportedly, removes all bitterness and risk of hangovers,
“Koryo Liquor, which is made of six-year-old Kaesong Koryo insam (ginseng), known as being highest in medicinal effect, and the scorched rice, is highly appreciated by experts and lovers as it is suave and causes no hangover,” the article in state media declared.
Those following North Korean food science breakthroughs will remember that back in August, state media announced Koryo Songgyungwan University was developing an improved version of Kaesong Koryo Insam Liquor.
No such thing?
Andray Abrahamian, who performs business education in North Korea, recently told the NK News he hadn’t tried and didn’t plan to try the miracle beverage.
“There are some high quality liquors made in North Korea, though in my experience there is no such thing as hangover-free booze anywhere in the world,” he said.
While ginseng is widely used for medicinal purposes across the Korean Peninsula, South Koreans haven’t been making the same claims about the herb as their noisy neighbors to the north. Last year, DPRK state media said the country had developed ginseng-based products capable of curing MERS, SARS and AIDS.
One thing is for certain – if you’re living on the Korean Peninsula, you’re probably going to want to drink a lot of alcohol, and the South Koreans do.  According to a 2012 report from the World Health Organization, South Koreans consume around 3.2 gallons of alcohol a year, the highest average in Asia.
As for North Koreans, the grueling conditions they typically live under would drive anyone to drink. About half of the country’s population lives in “extreme poverty,” according to the Seoul-based Korea Institute for National Unification.
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