Solo Travelers Beware: Brewing Your Own Makgeolli at The Sool Company in Hyehwa
On a Saturday at 1pm, a 350-metre, five-minute walk from Exit 4 of Hyehwa Station (Line 4) leads to a small studio on the 2nd floor of the Hanseong Building -- part microbrewery, part bar, part classroom. This is The Sool Company, a school built to teach traditional Korean alcohol to English speakers. Here, foreign visitors wash the rice, mix in the fermentation starter and filter the brew themselves, making a bottle of makgeolli from scratch -- distinct from hanbok rental at Gyeongbokgung or archery at Hwanghakjeong.
AT A GLANCE -- Address: 2F Hanseong Bldg, 229 Changgyeonggung-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul (350m/5-min walk from Hyehwa Stn. Exit 4) / Regular class: $75/person, 2.5 hrs (1-3:30pm), 2-10 guests, English-friendly, full refund up to 48 hrs before / Weekend seasonal class: W65,000/person, 3 hrs (1-4pm), twice monthly on Saturdays, 4-14 guests, full refund 7 days before, no refund within 24 hrs / Book at thesoolcompany.com; no walk-ins.
Inside, bottles line one wall and tanks of fermenting brew sit nearby while an instructor explains the history and science of Korean sool in English. The core of the class is washing steamed rice and kneading in nuruk (fermentation starter) by hand -- lift a fermentation lid and a sharp, sweetish nuruk aroma fills the room. You feel the rice grains under your fingers as you knead gently to keep them whole, then taste at least five traditional liquors alongside your own freshly filtered makgeolli. Finish the class and take home roughly a litre of fermenting makgeolli, or a finished bottle.
The catch is booking. The regular class needs at least 2 guests to run, so solo travellers may find their slot unconfirmed until someone joins. The seasonal class needs a minimum of 4 and runs only twice a month -- miss it and you wait at least two weeks. Neither takes walk-ins: arrive unbooked after that 350-metre walk and you'll be turned away, wasting the trip and roughly ten minutes on foot. Refunds matter too -- the regular class refunds in full only up to 48 hours ahead, and the seasonal class gives zero refund inside 24 hours, so a change of plans can cost you the full $75 or W65,000 outright.