Subak-hwachae (Watermelon Punch)

Hwachae is the family of cold, sweet drinks with fruit, flowers or other garnishes floating in them, the summer counterpart of winter's sikhye and sujeonggwa; its history and the omija-based versions are covered in traditional beverages. The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture sorts hwachae by base: tart omija water calls for mild garnishes such as azalea petals or pear, while sweet honey water takes tart fruit. Watermelon falls in the honey-water group, and the encyclopedia describes the method: part of the melon is made into juice and the rest is cut into neat pieces to float in it.

Watermelon itself was a costly fruit for most of Korean history. Both national encyclopedias cite Heo Gyun's Domun daejak, which says watermelon was first planted in Gaeseong by Hong Da-gu, a Goryeo-born general who served the Mongols, which would place its arrival in the late 13th century. The folk encyclopedia adds that it was a fruit sent up to the palace, and records an episode in which a palace servant was flogged for trying to bring watermelon to the deposed boy-king Danjong. It became a common fruit only in the colonial period, when commercial fruit growing began.

The modern home version is simpler. The folk encyclopedia describes scooping the flesh out in large spoonfuls, sprinkling it with sugar and chilling it with ice, and notes that people now pour in lemon-lime soda (saida), or even whisky, for a different flavor. Its hwachae entry adds that the common contemporary style is watermelon cut in cubes like kkakdugi and dropped into soda or cold water. On summer eating, see boknal and summer foods and seasonal foods.

• Mostly water: watermelon is about 91–93 percent water, according to the folk encyclopedia, which makes this a refreshing way to take in fluid on hot days.
• Vitamins from the fruit: watermelon supplies vitamin C and some vitamin A (as beta-carotene), along with the red pigment lycopene.
• Low in fat and sodium: apart from a few pine nuts, the drink is almost free of fat and salt.

• Honey-water hwachae: the older style — watermelon juice sweetened with honey or sugar, with cut melon and pine nuts floating on top.
• Soda hwachae: the common modern version, with scooped watermelon in lemon-lime soda over ice, sometimes with other fruit added.
• Omija base: some cooks use pink omija water instead, though the encyclopedia pairs the tart omija base with milder garnishes such as pear.
• Mudeungsan watermelon (Gwangju): the folk encyclopedia describes a giant, dark-green, stripeless heirloom watermelon grown on Mudeungsan, once sent as tribute and still grown around Gwangju.