I’ve been asked why I am complaining about aspartame in the makgeolli, especially considering that the US FDA approved it for use in food in the mid-1970s. It is a reasonable question.
My point is two-fold: 1) If Koreans are going to make a big deal about how makgeolli is a traditional drink, it’s a bit incongruous to put a modern chemical called asparatame in it. And 2), they can’t really call makgeolli a “well-being” food if it’s got aspartame in it.
Of course, it’s no worse than Diet Coke, but I’m not sure that’s the product they want to be drawing parallels with.
Fortunately, I’ve found a brand that doesn’t have aspartame… Here it is!
It is produced by this company: [EXPIRED LINK REMOVED: https://nurukdoga.co.kr/newsite/eng/main.asp], and can be purchased at E-Mart and other places.
For some of my previous posts about aspartame in the makgeolli:
