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Bottoms up? The bizarre traditional Korean rice wine that uses human POO to 'heal' everything from broken bones to epilepsy

  • A stomach-churning video has revealed how Ttongsul it is made
  • The medicinal alcoholic drink is 9 per cent alcohol and contains the fermented faeces from a human child
  • It was used to cure everything from cuts to epilepsy centuries ago but now only a handful of traditionalists keep the drink alive
PUBLISHED: 15:44 GMT, 20 August 2013 | UPDATED: 17:34 GMT, 20 August 2013
You might have tried chocolate wine or heard of a blend that includes nettles, but a Korean wine traditionally taken as a medicine is perhaps one of the most extreme.
The gag-inducing recipe for 'Ttongsul', a Korean rice wine, has evolved over centuries but a video has only now revealed how the bizarre beverage is made for the first time.
The medicinal alcoholic drink is a little different from the wine many people enjoy with dinner as its special ingredient is fermented faeces from a human child.
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Ttongsul (pictured) is a traditional Korean medicinal alcoholic drink
Ttongsul (pictured) is a traditional Korean medicinal alcoholic drink and a type of rice wine, which includes fermented faeces from a human child
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The unappetising looking drink is not widely enjoyed in South Korea and is believed to have almost died out in the 1960s, but was long thought to be able to make cuts and bruises disappear, mend broken bones and even cure epilepsy.
Now, an intrepid reporter from VICE has tracked down a traditional Korean medicine doctor who claims to be one of the last people who knows how to make the drink, dubbed 'faeces wine'.
 
Dr Lee Chang Soo said the use of the special ingredient for medicinal purposes can be traced back centuries in Korea when Ancient Koreans claimed it could cure a host of problems.
Animal faeces were also used in medicine, from bat droppings to treat alcoholism to chicken faeces to treat stomach problems. However, the ingredient is no longer widely used in Eastern medicine.
Dr Lee Chang Soo said the use of the faeces for medicinal purposes can be traced back centuries
Dr Lee Chang Soo said the use of the faeces for medicinal purposes can be traced back centuries when Ancient Koreans claimed it could cure a host of problems. Here it is mixed with water to from the first step of the drink-making process
Dr Soo told VICE Japan correspondent Yuka Uchida:'I feel sad that human faeces is no longer used as traditional medicine.'
The rice wine is nine per cent alcohol and includes faeces from children aged around six years-old, which Dr Soo claims does not smell and is 'pure'.
He also said the wine can prevent pain and while people might be hospitalised for around 20 days following a nasty fall, the wine could heal the person in half the time.
After a day, boiled rice and yeast is mixed together
After a day, boiled rice and yeast is mixed together and are mixed in a pot with the concentrated faeces water, which apparently smells more intense
The rice wine is made by rapidly fermenting water with children's faeces in it.
After a day, boiled rice and yeast is mixed together. Non-glutinous rice is used for fermenting as it has a lot of protein, while normal rice is used to improve the taste.
The new ingredients are mixed in a pot and the concentrated faeces water added, which apparently smells more intense.
The concoction is kept at between 30 and 37 degrees Celsius for a week and is strained (pictured) before it is ready to drink
The concoction is kept at between 30 and 37 degrees Celsius for a week and is strained (pictured) before it is ready to drink. Dr Soo warned the journalist the wine 'might taste a little sour' but when she struggled to drink it, claimed the problem was all in her head
The concoction is kept at between 30 and 37 degrees Celsius for a week and is strained before it is ready to drink.
Dr Soo warned the journalist the wine 'might taste a little sour' but when she struggled to drink it, he said the problem was all in her head.
Ms Uchida said: 'It tastes like rice wine but when I breathe out of my nose it smells like poo.'
The vast majority of Koreans have not even heard of Ttongsul, which all but died out in the 1960s, but it is rumoured that there are still a handful of traditionalists trying to keep the bizarre drink alive.
Dr Soo warned the journalist the wine 'might taste a little sou
Dr Soo warned the journalist the wine 'might taste a little sour' but when she struggled to drink it, claimed the problem was all in her head. Ms Uchida (pictured) said: 'It tastes like rice wine but when I breathe out of my nose it smells like poo'

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Comments (57)

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Well, I'm not surprised considering some of the other special things they eat over there. Just beyond disgusting.
- cowboyneok , Dallas, 22/8/2013 04:25
Click to rate     Rating   1
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The thought of that flowing over my Ttongsuls is making me gag. Surely a mixture of syrup of figs and prune juice will get you on your feet just as quickly? A friend of mine in the USMC was stationed in Korea a while back, and he calls it "The land of the not-quite-right". How true! Roast poodle sandwich, anyone?
- flatdog , Stockton-on-Tees, 21/8/2013 08:07
Click to rate     Rating   2
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I suppose you realise that these pro-biotic yoghurts and drinks are also made from human faeces and fermented too.
- life model , Boobburn, 21/8/2013 07:52
Click to rate     Rating   3
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When did it become acceptable for adults to use the infantile word 'poo' to describe faeces?
- hughes_philip , Croydon, 21/8/2013 07:26
Click to rate     Rating   14
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The thought of that flowing over my Ttongsuls is making me gag. Surely a mixture of syrup of figs and prune juice will get you on your feet just as quickly? A friend of mine in the USMC was ioned in Korea a while back, and he calls it "The land of the not-quite-right". How true! Roast poodle sandwich, anyone?
- flatdog , Stockton-on-Tees, 21/8/2013 06:50
Click to rate     Rating   1
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No. Oh god no. This is just wrong.
- silentmist , leicester, United Kingdom, 21/8/2013 06:08
Click to rate     Rating   3
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It made Kim Jung ill.
- Tim , Birmingham, United Kingdom, 21/8/2013 05:29
Click to rate     Rating   10
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Another stupid idea from Korea where spitting on the toilet floor is acceptable. No thanks. Some customs should stay in the country from whence they came.
- Polos , Melbourne, 21/8/2013 05:14
Click to rate     Rating   6
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DISGUSTING AND INSANE!
- GoodLightKnight , Nottingham, United Kingdom, 21/8/2013 04:47
Click to rate     Rating   3
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Not for me. Thank you.
- jetti , Victoria, Canada, 21/8/2013 03:53
Click to rate     Rating   5
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