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“Dokdo Wine” |
Shinsegae Department Store will launch a special wine product, dubbed “Dokdo Wine,” this Friday.
Korean-American dentist Ahn Jae-hyun, who is also founder of the “Dokdo Winery,” has been producing the wine in Napa Valley, United States. The wine is labeled “799-805,” named after Korea’s easternmost Dokdo islets’ postal code.
As his individual effort to spread the historial fact that Dokdo belongs to Korea and not Japan, Ahn is donating some of the profits from sales of wine to organizations campaigning Korea’s sovereignty over the islets.
Earlier, Dokdo Wine was released in the U.S. market in mid-November. The Dokdo Winery, established in 2007, produces about 20,000 bottles per year.
According to its website, the new wine was created to draw people away from the controversial debate over which country ― Korea or Japan ― owns the rocky islets, and to bring people back to the original delicacy and beauty of the island itself.
“Instead of appreciating the beauty of Dokdo, the world has been too busy fighting over it. The island should not be fought over; it should be shared,” it said.
The website also specified that “we were inspired by this ideal while creating the wine. We wanted to create something that represented Dokdo and our passion toward it.”
Shinsegae’s headquarters in downtown Seoul will offer a 30 percent discount for the product until Sept. 2. The department store’s Gangnam and Gyeonggi branches will follow suit unit Sept. 4.
Prices range between 139,000 won and 210,000 won per bottle depending on the vintage.
By Kim Yon-se (
kys@heraldcorp.com)
