Finding something that will cure a hangover, besides just waiting until the alcohol leaves your body naturally, has been pursued for countless ages by countless cultures. Now, it seems, there is something new. In South Korea, the convenience food chain, Withme FS, has launched a new type of ice cream that the company claims can cure a hangover.
South Korea, believe it or not, is one of the most prolific drinking countries in the world and the hangover cure industry is a thriving one that generates nearly $130 million a year in the country. Hangover cures can be found everywhere in the country and they can come in many forms from certain special beverages to pills to even a cosmetics line. Now, this convenience store chain is introducing a hangover cure that no one has ever seen before.
Withme FS launched the new ice cream hangover cure treat this past week and, thus far, sales have been encouraging. The ice cream only comes in one flavor for now and that’s grapefruit. The new ice cream bar treat that is being touted as the latest hangover cure is called a Gyeondyo bar. Roughly translated, it is a “hang in there” treat.
What the makers of the ice cream treat have done is taken a traditional Korean cure for a hangover and put a certain percentage of it in the ice cream. The makers use oriental raisin tree juice and each bar has 0.7% of the juice in it. Koreans have been using the juice from the oriental raisin tree for a cure for hangovers since the 17th Century. The oriental raisin tree juice has long been known for it detoxifying qualities and the juice seems to assist the liver with the processing of the alcohol. The juice is an ingredient in other Korean hangover cures.
In 2012, a scientific study was performed that discovered that the raisin juice actually did detoxify and reduce the affect of intoxication in rats. Drinking is a normal part of life in South Korea and alcohol sales and bars are huge business as South Koreans drink 12.3 liters of alcohol every year per person.
As of now, the ice cream hangover bar is only available in South Korea but the parent company looks to possibly market the product in other countries as it has done with some of their other hangover products that they introduced into China, Vietnam and Japan.
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