If you’ve had a rough night with a few too many cocktails, chances are you are looking for a quick remedy so that you can function the next day. While everyone has their go-to hangover cures (pot of coffee / banana and Gatorade / greasy breakfast), the South Koreans have capitalized on the need for a way to alleviate the effects of drinking too much. Because, as it turns out, South Koreans are “Asia’s biggest per capita alcohol consumers.”
South Koreans drink 12.3 litres of alcohol per year, the most in Asia-Pacific, according to a 2014 World Health Organization report.
A study by South Korea’s National Health Insurance Policy Institute estimated that the social cost of drinking, including to lost production, hospitalizations and early deaths, was about 9.45 trillion won in 2013.
South Korea is known for its diverse offerings of hangover cures. Everything (from bottled beverages to skin creams) is marketed to the population that often drinks with co-workers at the end of a workday. And now, arguably the yummiest option for hangovers has become available.
A convenience store chain has launched the Gyeondyo-bar, which translates as “hang in there” and according to the company is the first ice cream bar marketed specifically to combat the after-effects of alcohol consumption. It hit the shelves on Friday.
The grapefruit-flavoured dessert contains 0.7 percent oriental raisin tree fruit juice, a traditional hangover remedy cited in a Korean medicine book from the 17th century that is included in popular hangover potions.
A 2012 article in the Journal of Neuroscience found oriental raisin tree extract reduced symptoms of intoxication in rats.
Let’s hope the Asian nation begins exporting its hangover products soon. There is certainly a market for it on this side of the Atlantic.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member