Germinated brown rice. Germinated brown rice (GBR; Korean: 발아현미 (hangul), 發芽玄米 (hanja), Bala hyeonmi, Japanese: 発芽玄米 (hatsuga genmai)) is unpolished brown rice that has been allowed to germinate to improve the flavor and texture, and to increase levels of nutrients such as γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA).