A convenience store chain in South Korea looks to have invented the most delicious hangover cure in the world, with the Gyeondyo-bar being created to specifically help those suffering from the effects of a heavy night of drinking.
The Gyeondyo-bar, which translates to “hang in there,” has been launched in South Korea in order to help combat the effects of alcohol consumption in a country filled with the heaviest drinkers in Asia, with the ice cream bar reportedly combining the flavors of grapefruit and raisin juice in order to do its job. The raisin juice, while sounding like a pretty unappealing liquid to consume while nursing the sore head and nausea that accompanies a hangover, is reportedly considered a very efficient cure in the region, with its effects having previously been tested on rats with successful results.
According to Reuters, the high level of drinking in South Korea means that hangover cures are a very lucrative business in the region, garnering roughly 150 billion won ($126 million) in sales annually. The Gyeondyo-bar, which is being sold by chain Withme FS, is the latest in a long line of cures that have also included soups and beverages, including the popular Hut-gae Condition drink that was depicted in Snoop Dogg and Korean pop star Psy’s music video for their single ‘Hangover.’
Though the hangover cure business generates a lot of money in the region, it doesn’t stand to dissuade what has been deemed a very real problem in South Korea, with the country’s National Health Insurance Policy Institute having estimated back in 2013 (via CNBC) that the annual costs of hospitalization and deaths as a result of drinking roughly teetered upon 9.45 trillion won (around £8 trillion).
The chain selling the Gyeondyo-bar said its 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.” While Korea has been exporting its hangover cures to the West, it remains to be seen whether or not the Gyeondyo-bar will receive the same treatment.
