The earliest mention of sujeonggwa dates back to 1849 in the book Dongguksesigi (동국세시기, 東國歲時記),[3] a book of seasonal customs written by scholar Hong Seok Mo (홍석모). The sujeonggwa recipe mentioned in the book is a dried persimmon brew with added ginger and pine nuts.
Sujeonggwa is known to have been prepared in the Goryeo era by palace women on New Year’s Day. Then they were boiling ginger and adding persimmons to the brew. Its former name was baekjeho (백제호), literally meaning "white milky beverage", and was named after the white appearance of sugar-coated persimmons.[1]