A chain of South Korean convenience shops is offering cold comfort to those recovering from over-indulgence in alcohol with the introduction of an ice-cream bar that claims to cure hangovers. It's called the Gyeondyo-bar, which translates as "hang in there".
The ice cream contains 0.7 per cent oriental raisin tree fruit juice, which is a common hangover cure in Korea, and the name "expresses the hardships of employees who have to suffer a working day after heavy drinking, as well as to provide comfort to those who have to come to work early after frequent nights of drinking", ran a press release from the WithMe chain of shops, part of the giant Shinsegae Group.
The Koreans are often called the Irish of Asia for their drinking, although they prefer to think of the Irish as the Koreans of Europe.
In 2015, South Korea was neck-and-neck with Ireland in the alcohol consumption stakes, according to World Health Organisation data, with an average of 10.9 litres per capita per annum.
In 2010, South Koreans drank significantly more than the Irish, with 12.3 litres per capita versus 11.9 litres in Ireland.
As well as working hard, Koreans play hard – they work the second most hours per annum in the world after Mexico.
The social effects of this behaviour are intense. The Reuters news agency quoted a study by South Korea's National Health Insurance Policy Institute, which estimated that the social cost of drinking, including to lost production, hospitalisations and early deaths, was about 9.45 trillion won (€709 billion) in 2013.
Public health
From September, new public-health laws will see public health warnings put on alcoholic drink labels for the first time in 21 years, highlighting the risks to pregnant women and young people, and the government is looking at stepping up the crackdown.
Beer is cheap and plentiful, and the favourite drink is soju, a rice liquor. Jinro soju was apparently the biggest selling alcohol in the world in 2014, selling 71 million cases around the world, according to Drinks International.
Korean cuisine has several soups to cure hangovers, known as haejang-guk, containing hearty ingredients such as black pudding.
The South Koreans will have some way to go to compete with their northern neighbours, however. According to the Pyongyang Times, their bitter rivals have developed a ginseng liquor, called Koryo Liquor, that can be quaffed and does not cause a hangover.
Gyeondyo-bar joins the famous Hut-gae Condition Power 100 drink, which features in a music video by the Korean pop star Psy and Snoop Dogg. The song's name was Hangover.
– (Additional reporting Reuters)
