The second place winner of one of the world's three major bartender championships gathering 47 countries together was a Korean, 33 year old bartender Kim Hyeon-jin, who runs the modern bar 'Blush' at the Grand InterContinental Hotel in Seoul. He finished second at the Asia Pacific Bartender of the Year contest recently held in Singapore, defeating tough rivals from Asia, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Oceania


Difficult Participation

Korea wasn't able to participate in the world's three major competitions in which only member states of the International Bartender Association could attend. But Kim managed to take part in the contest as the first Korean and even show an impressive performance with a second place finish. He won a prize in the 'classic cocktail' category. The more familiar presentation featuring the twirling of liquor bottles and throwing them up in the air is the 'flair cocktail' category while the 'classic' category requires presenting a new cocktail creation. A contestant must showcase two new cocktails in five minutes using no more than five ingredients and 75 milliliters of alcohol. Kim's cocktail 'Blushed Cafe' combined coffee with an unusual medicinal herb and the Indian supplement cardamon, a very unconventional recipe. Cocktails are still typically made only with liquors in Korea but the use of various ingredients is a rising trend in other countries. For instance, ground natural spices or roasted fruit are included in many recipes.


Passion, Thoroughness Bring Victory

A bartender for nine years, Kim dreamed of becoming a world class bartender since his college years. He first became a hotel bartender in 1999, his senior year at Woosong University in Daejon where he studied tourism management. From his freshman year, he toured 40 countries worldwide to study the skills of top global bartenders. Then he made the impossible possible. From early last year, he sent emails to the representatives of all 87 member countries of the International Bartender Association. He received only ten replies, six of which was a rejection saying that non-member countries cannot participate in the competitions. But Kim didn't give up. He sought out the Hong Kong bartender association chairman to persuade him. Moved by the young man's earnestness, the chairman conveyed Kim's situation to his counterpart in Singapore where the competition was to be held. The Singaporean association finally permitted Kim to attend the Asia Pacific championship in July. He only had two months before the competition. One challenge was that contests hosted by the IBA had far stricter rules than the competitions at home. No more than five ingredients were allowed in a cocktail with less than 75 ml of alcohol. Kim had nowhere to turn for questions as no Korean yet had participated in a global competition. He sent emails to overseas experts hoping they could provide information. The response he received and video files on CDs was all the data he had to work with and prepare for the event. Whenever famous foreign bartenders visited Korea, he wouldn't miss the chance to go and learn new tricks. Well known bartenders don't tend to give out their techniques, so Kim would secretly shoot their cocktail creations on his cell phone. He also filmed himself every day as part of practice and for monitoring. His cocktails are not only known for their creativity. The classic cocktail category also requires skilled and professional cocktail-making presentations, including deft hand moves for the judges to see, almost like a magic show. Kim even wore sanitary gloves for the presentation to demonstrate his attention to details. This may have helped as he finished second in the competition despite a critical mistake.

His goal now is to participate in the World Final Competition in Taiwan this November. Thanks to Kim's singlehanded effort, South Korea is expected to soon join the IBA which will lead to more Korean bartenders entering the world stage. We hope to also one day taste a Kim Hyeon-jin cocktail that will help promote Korea to the world.

- 1999 Enter Grand InterContinental Seoul - 2006 5th place in creative category at the nationwide Korean Cup - 2006 Winner of cocktail championship hosted by the Busan Int'l Food & Beverage Expo - 2007 Reach semifinals at World Barista Challenge Championship - 2007 Award of Merit, Asian Open Cup in Hong Kong - 2007 2nd place, Asian Pacific - Bartender of the year - Cocktail Competition in Singapore - Vice organizational director of Korea All Bartenders Association - Board member at Mix It Up Co. - Bartender at 'Blush' located at Grand InterContinental Seoul