[7] The name makgeolli (막걸리) is a compound, consisting of mak (막; "roughly, recklessly, carelessly") and a deverbal noun derived from the verb stem georeu- (거르-; "to strain, to sift, to filter") to which is added a noun-forming suffix -i (-이).

[9] In 2010, the South Korean Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries announced "drunken rice" as the winning entry in a competition to find an English nickname for makgeolli.

[10][11] The five-member panel reasoned that the chosen name would communicate the product's identity as a rice liquor and evoke associations with its ambassadors, the popular Korean hip-hop group Drunken Tiger.

This met with a cool reception from the Korean public, with objections relating to translation of the noun makgeolli, felt to be unnecessary, and to the negative connotations of the word "drunken".

[11] Scottish band Colonel Mustard & The Dijon 5, playing at the inaugural DMZ Peace Train Festival in 2018, called makgeolli 'Fight Milk', or 'Korean Buckfast'.

[12] In 2011, several Japanese sake companies, including Gekkeikan and Tatenokawa, launched cloudy rice wines under the name makkori, and announced plans to export the products to Asia, America, and Europe.

[13] Concerns were raised in Korea that this could lead to makgeolli being mistakenly regarded as traditionally Japanese rather than Korean, as had happened in the 1996 kimchi-kimuchi case.

[16] The Asuka Japanese book Kojiki (Records of Ancient Matters) makes reference in the section entitled Ōjin-tennō (Emperor Ōjin) to a man named Inbeon (仁番) from the kingdom of Baekje being taught how to brew wine.

[17] And the poem Gōngzishí (公子時), by the Tang Chinese poet Li Shangyin, refers to Silla wine (新羅酒) made with non-glutinous rice.

[2][5] During the period of Japanese rule of Korea (1910-1945), the colonial government introduced a licensing system and taxed even for self-consumption, and by 1934, home brewing had been banned.

[2][9][5] The health benefits and low alcohol proof of makgeolli, and a growing interest in cultural traditions in recent decades, have contributed to the revival.

[24] Different kinds of nuruk, made with different ingredients such as rice, wheat, barley, or mung beans, produce makgeolli of a variety of flavors.

Many mass-produced makgeolli are brewed with non-traditional manufactured fermentation starter instead of the traditional nuruk, and are diluted with water and contain additives such as aspartame.

[5] Prior to drinking, it is stirred with the ladle, or the bottle is gently flipped upside down several times with the cap on, in order to mix in the settled sediment.

[5] This is because of the tendency of makgeolli to split into a cloudy white fraction that settles to the bottom and a clear, pale yellow liquid that rises to the top.

[3][9] With a 1.9 percent protein content, over 10 amino acids, vitamin B, inositol and choline, makgeolli is reputed to increase metabolism, relieve fatigue and improve the complexion.

[14] Dongdong-ju ("float-float wine") is a drink very similar to makgeolli, but slightly creamier and with unfiltered floating rice grains.

The Tibetan alcoholic beverage Chhaang is also very similar drink with its cloudy milky appearance along with its unfiltered rice sediments.