Soju

📖What it is

• Most soju sold today is diluted soju: distilled ethanol mixed with water, sweeteners and flavorings. Traditional distilled soju, such as Andong soju, is distilled from a fermented rice brew and is much stronger.
• Fruit-flavored soju is popular, and many people mix soju with beer to make somaek.
• In Korea it's a drink for the table, not the bar, and grilled pork belly is one of its best-known partners.

🏷️Brands you'll see

• Chamisul참이슬

  HiteJinro's flagship and the soju you'll see most, in the classic green bottle. It launched in 1998 as a lighter soju filtered through bamboo charcoal. Fresh is the milder of its two main versions.

• Jinro진로

  HiteJinro's retro soju, relaunched in 2019 in a clear, pale blue bottle with a toad on the label. It's modeled on the Jinro sold in the 1970s and early '80s.

• Chum Churum처음처럼

  Lotte's main soju since 2006 and Chamisul's big rival. The name means "like the first time", and many drinkers find it a little smoother.

• Saero새로

  Lotte's zero-sugar soju, launched in 2022 and a hit with younger drinkers.

• Hallasan한라산

  Jeju's own soju, named after the island's mountain and easy to spot in a clear bottle rather than a green one. Ask for it when you're in Jeju.

• Regional labels대선 · 좋은데이 · 참소주 · 잎새주

  Other regions have local favorites: Daesun in Busan, Good Day in South Gyeongsang, Cham in Daegu and North Gyeongsang, and Ipsae in Jeolla. Since 1996 any soju can be sold anywhere, so the national brands are on every table too.

• Distilled soju증류식 소주

  Bottles labeled jeungryusik (distilled) are made the traditional way, like Andong soju. They're stronger and pricier, and meant to be sipped slowly.

🥢How to eat it

1. 1Drink it chilled from small glasses, and sip between bites rather than drinking it on its own.
2. 2Pour for others, not for yourself. Use both hands when pouring for or receiving from an older person, and turn your head slightly away from them as you drink.
3. 3Pace yourself: it goes down easily.

🏛️History

• Distilling reached Korea in the 13th century, in the Goryeo period, when the Mongols brought a technique they had learned from the Persians. Andong, where the Mongols had a base, became famous for its soju.
• In 1965 the government banned making it from rice because of rice shortages, and producers switched to ethanol from sweet potatoes and tapioca. Accounts differ on when the ban ended; many say 1999.
• It has grown lighter over the decades, from about 35 percent alcohol for traditional rice soju to the milder bottles common today.