The Difference Between Sikhye and Gamju: All About the Sweet Confusion

A 1,500-Year History and Cultural Story Contained in a Single Drink

• The fundamental differences between sikhye and traditional gamju (ingredients and principles)
• The decisive historical background behind the interchangeable use of their names
• The remarkable wisdom of our ancestors embedded in the names

Prologue: The Never-Ending Sweet Confusion

Have you ever ordered a cold sikhye at a restaurant and heard an elder at the next table shout, “Give me a bowl of gamju here!”? If you’ve wondered about the difference between sikhye and gamju but couldn’t find a clear answer, you are standing right in the middle of a centuries-old sweet confusion.

Today, many people think sikhye and gamju are the same drink, but in fact, they are fundamentally different from their very origins. Traditionally, gamju (甘酒) is a low-alcohol “sweet liquor” brewed from rice and ‘nuruk’ (fermentation starter). In contrast, sikhye (食醯) is a non-alcoholic “sweet beverage” made by saccharifying cooked rice with malted barley.

So how did two completely different drinks come to be called by the same name? To find the answer, let’s embark on a journey through time.

Core Differences Between Sikhye and Traditional Gamju

Sacred Drink of Ancient Kingdoms: Gamju

Our time travel begins about 1,500 years ago in the pages of the “Samguk Yusa (Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms).” The “Garakkukgi (Record of Garak Kingdom)” contains the founding myth of Gaya, recording that the founder King Suro’s ancestral rites included offerings of “alcohol, gamju, rice cakes, rice, tea, and fruit.”

The key word here is ‘gamju.’ Some original texts use the character ‘예 (醴),’ meaning a sweet liquor that ferments overnight, i.e., a ‘sweet liquor.’ This strongly suggests it was closer to the alcoholic traditional gamju. Thus, gamju first appeared in history not as an ordinary meal but as a sacred offering to the nation’s founder.

One Name, Two Recipes: Records from the Joseon Dynasty

As time passed into the Goryeo and Joseon periods, our sweet drinks were recorded in more specific forms. Especially, Joseon-era cookbooks reveal a decisive moment when two different paths diverged under the single name ‘gamju.’

At the Crossroads: Two Types of Gamju in “Sanga Yorok”

In the mid-15th century, the royal physician Jeon Sun-ui wrote the cookbook “Sanga Yorok,” which surprisingly records two completely different recipes both called ‘gamju.’

1. A malted barley-based drink similar to today’s sikhye
2. A sweet alcoholic drink made with nuruk powder

This is where history’s crossroads appear. In 15th-century Joseon, ‘gamju’ was not a proper noun for a specific drink but a broad term for fermented rice-based sweet beverages.

Noble Secrets and Common Knowledge

In the 17th century, the Andong Jang family’s “Eumsik Dimibang” features a gamju called ‘jeomgamju (粘甘酒),’ whose key ingredient is nuruk. This shows that the tradition of nuruk-based gamju was firmly maintained in noble households.

Moving to the 19th century, the “Gyuhap Chongseo” by Lee Bingheogak finally presents a recipe almost identical to today’s sikhye under the name ‘sikhye.’ This means the malted barley-based non-alcoholic drink was fully established as a separate name by the 19th century.

A Decisive Event: King Yeongjo’s Liquor Ban Changed Their Fate

King Yeongjo, who reigned the longest in Joseon’s 500-year history, issued a strict liquor ban that caused a huge impact on the history of sikhye and gamju.

In 1756, Yeongjo prohibited the production and consumption of alcohol nationwide to prevent grain waste during famine. With brewing banned by law, it became difficult to prepare ‘sweet liquor (단술, dan-sul)’ for ancestral rites.

At this point, the non-alcoholic malted barley drink ‘sikhye’ emerged prominently on the historical stage. Since sikhye is not alcohol, it was exempt from the liquor ban yet sweet enough to be called ‘sweet liquor.’ It became the perfect substitute for alcoholic drinks on ancestral tables. As sikhye replaced traditional gamju in rituals, people naturally began calling this drink by the original name, ‘gamju (甘酒).’ This tendency is especially strong in regions like Gyeongsang Province, where sikhye is still called gamju today.

The Hidden Secret in the Name: Why Does Sikhye Use the Character for Vinegar ‘Hye (醯)’?

Sometimes a name contains the essence and history of its subject. Gamju (甘酒) clearly shows its identity as ‘sweet liquor’ with the characters for sweet (甘) and alcohol (酒).

The puzzle lies with sikhye (食醯). It uses the character for ‘eat’ (食) and surprisingly the character for vinegar ‘hye (醯).’ Why would a sweet drink be named with the character for sour vinegar?

The key to this mystery is the shared process of fermentation. Alcohol and vinegar belong to the same family along the fermentation continuum. Our ancestors focused on the fact that sikhye, though not alcoholic, undergoes a saccharification (fermentation) process where malted barley ‘ferments’ the rice. Thus, the character ‘hye (醯)’ symbolizes the principle of fermentation (‘fermenting’), not the taste. Also, describing it as ‘eat (食)’ despite being liquid emphasizes its identity as a food enjoyed with floating rice grains.

Conclusion

From the ancestral rites of the Gaya Kingdom, through the Joseon liquor ban, to our modern tables, the story of sikhye and gamju is more than just about drinks—it is an epic of our nation’s wisdom and history.

Three Key Takeaways:

1. Fundamental Difference: Sikhye is a non-alcoholic drink made from malted barley, while traditional gamju is a low-alcohol liquor brewed with nuruk.
2. History of Name Confusion: The culture of calling sikhye ‘gamju’ began when sikhye replaced alcoholic drinks on ancestral tables due to King Yeongjo’s liquor ban.
3. Meaning Behind the Name: The ‘hye (醯)’ in sikhye symbolizes the fermentation principle of ‘fermenting rice,’ reflecting our ancestors’ wisdom rather than a vinegar taste.

Next time someone says, “That gamju looks refreshing,” when seeing sikhye, you can just smile and say, “That story is very long and very interesting.”