Kilju

Kilju (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈkilju]), in English also known as sugar wine, is a Finnish home-made alcoholic beverage made from sugar, yeast, and water. Its alcohol content is usually 15–17% ABV.

Cultural aspects

Kilju is considered to be a low-quality beverage that is consumed mainly for the sake of its alcohol content. It is most often found at student parties and it has a strong association with the Finnish punk subculture, presumably because of its "Do It Yourself" and anti-authoritarian characteristics. In Finland, only licensed restaurants and the government monopoly, Alko, are permitted to sell alcoholic beverages that have an ABV content of more than 4.7%. Consequently, producing and drinking kilju may be considered a form of anti-authoritarian protest.

Due to its low cost and simple production process, kilju is mostly drunk by low-income people or heavy drinkers, such as students and alcoholics. The simple production process also enables underage persons to make it quite easily.

Kilju County

Coordinates: 40°57′43″N 129°20′12″E / 40.96194°N 129.33667°E / 40.96194; 129.33667

Kilju, sometimes romanized as Kilchu, is a county in North Hamgyong province, North Korea. The county seat is Kilju Town.

History

The area around Kilju was part of the ancient Goguryeo kingdom, and was long inhabited by various Jurchen tribes. In 1107 it was annexed by Goryeo, who gave it its current name (meaning "province of good fortune"). After the ascension of Joseon Dynasty, Kilju was promoted to county in 1398, and in 1509 the county was included in the newly formed Hamgyong Province In 1895, during a reorganization of regional governments, Hamgyong was dissolved and replaced with several small departments; Kilju county was then annexed to the newly formed Kyongsong Department. In 1896 however, the new organization was abandoned, with the departments re-organized into North and South Hamgyong provinces; Kilju was then placed into North Hamgyong, where it remains to this day. During the Japanese occupation, the county was used for manufacturing telecommunications equipment and electric insulation.