[Gu Eun-mo's Sake Story] Jeong Je-min, Vice President of Yesan Apple Wine, "Alcohol is a valuable product... We make solid alcohol with the value of history"

<6> Chungnam Yesan 'Yesan Apple Wine'②

Alcohol Transforms into an Object of Value Consumption... Uniform Alcohol for Getting Drunk Has Reached Its End
Only Alcohol with Unique Stories and History Can Ensure Sustainability

Jeong Jemin, Vice President of Yesan Apple Wine

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunmo Koo] “The so-called MZ generation (Millennials + Generation Z) among young people use individuality and stories as criteria for their consumption choices. When stories accumulate, they become history, and companies and products with history possess unique value in themselves, making them resilient. Our goal is to consistently produce alcohol with a solid historical value.”

Jeong Jemin, Vice President of Yesan Apple Wine, emphasized in an interview with Asia Economy on the 25th that alcohol in Korea is increasingly becoming an object of value consumption. He said, “The era of drinking just to get drunk or to relieve stress cheaply is over. Now, even if the price is a bit higher, consumers are interested in clear ingredients and the stories and philosophies behind the producers.”

Vice President Jeong focused on the fact that foreign wineries and whiskey distilleries mostly accumulate tangible and intangible heritage based on regional characteristics and the values derived from them, and then use that accumulated heritage as a driving force for sustainability. Believing it is important to build a cultural foundation based on regionality, before establishing the winery, he started the “Yesan Apple Wine Festival” in 2004, holding barbecue parties, concerts, and tastings to steadily build the unique story of Yesan Apple Wine. The festival has continued to this day, marking its 19th year this year.

He expressed, “If we simply build an alcohol factory and produce rootless alcohol, price competition with large companies equipped with bigger capital and mass production systems is inevitable, and eventually, we would be pushed out and disappear. However, if we create stories and build unique history, it becomes an asset that cannot be easily broken and will serve as the foundation to sustain the winery for generations.”

Products of Yesan Apple Wine

Vice President Jeong said that the standardized alcohol consumption centered on large liquor companies has already reached its end among the younger generation. He said, “Young consumers drink while scrutinizing who made the alcohol, where, and with what ingredients. This has created opportunities for those who steadfastly produce their own alcohol, and it has become a world that recognizes sincerity.” He added, “Recently, many young consumers interested in alcohol have been visiting wineries directly, which I find quite fascinating.”

Changes are also appearing in sales. In the past, most sales were direct from the winery, but as word of mouth spread through social networking services (SNS) and the product was designated as a regional specialty liquor with added benefits for online sales, online sales in Seoul and the metropolitan area have rapidly increased. Offline sales channels have expanded to include not only large supermarkets but also luxury hotels and Michelin-starred restaurants. Vice President Jeong said, “Although we were previously stocked in large supermarkets, products were often returned after a few months, but recently, reorders have been steadily made.”

Vice President Jeong repeatedly emphasized his hope that the trend of consuming regionally distinctive alcohol made from agricultural products produced by Korean farmers will spread further, as the wave of alcohol evolving into a value product has begun. He said, “If more wineries like ours grow, it will not only revitalize agriculture and food processing industries but also create quality jobs through serving as hubs for regional tourism. I hope people start now to find their own meaningful life alcohol,” he concluded.

Aging cellar of Yesan Apple Wine where oak barrels containing apple distilled liquor are stored