Kakao Talk: Give the Gift of Makgeolli

Need to get a gift for that special someone but not sure what? Pick and choose from a wide selection of Korean traditional alcohol and send through Kakao Talk! If you live in Korea or have Korean friends in your life, there is a very high chance that you use Kakao Talk to communicate. It’s hard to imagine how Korea would function without Kakao. In recent years Kakao has expanded into other industries such as transport with Kakao T and payment gateways with Kakao Pay.

There is one service built within Kakao that is super convenient when it comes to living in a megacity where it’s not always easy or convenient to meet up. Kakao Gift (카카우 선물) has made it super easy to send a gift to friends, family, or colleagues, to let them know you are thinking of them.

It’s pretty common to give and receive cups of coffee or cakes from cafes, but actually the variety of options available in Kakao Gift has become quite expansive. A few years ago, any alcohol that falls under the license of ‘Korean traditional alcohol’ was permitted to be sold online. This is why we are gleefully able to purchase makgeolli, cheongju and soju through platforms such as Coupang whenever the stocks get low. It also helps smaller breweries access a much wider market beyond just customers who drink in bars.

Therefore, Kakao Gift qualifies as an online sales portal and can stock anything licensed as Korean traditional alcohol. So instead of sending a Starbucks cold brew, maybe next time try sending some quality makgeolli!

So how does Kakao Gifts work?

Simply go to the chat room of whomever you are sending it to and select ‘Gift Shop’.
In order to find something you want, try typing the name of the brewery or alternatively just ‘막걸리’ or ‘전통주’.
Once you find what you like, follow the prompts to write a message, and select your payment option.
If you haven’t already used Kakao Pay or Gift before, you may need to register your card for the first time. You will also have to prove you are of legal age, so the usual ‘injeung – 인증’ process of receiving a text message will be required.

If language is a challenge, we recommend getting help to set up the payment service first, after which it is much easier to use.

To take a bit more of the guesswork out of deciding what to send, here are just a few of our recommended options. Plenty of choices for the sool lover in your life!