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Soju 소주 - (Korean Food)
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Last Modified : 2017/02/18

Travel regions : South Korea
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1. Ingredients for watering down Soju


-Primary ingredients: Ethanol made by fermenting rice, barley, sweet potato, etc. distilling→refining
-Secondary ingredients: Ethanol mixed with water according to its

alcoholicity




2. Taste evaluation


-Spicy:☆☆☆☆☆
-Salty:☆☆☆☆☆
-Sweet:★☆☆☆☆
-Sour:☆☆☆☆☆




3. Introduction to Soju

Soju is very popular among Koreans that it comes into their minds when they think of alcohol. It’s been popular for a long time for good taste, high alcoholicity and cheap price.

Although it is one kind of alcohol that represents Korea, it was originated in Arrack, Arabia.

It dates back to the time when Chingiz Khan went on an expedition to Western part of China, took the Arabian alcohol called Arrack to Mongol, and renamed it as Arak.

And Arak was introduced to Korea when Khubilai Khan from Mongol Empire sent the troops to Korea to go on a conquest of Japanese and was renamed as Soju.

At the time, Khubilai Khan’s camps were located in Gaeseong, Andong and Jeju-do. Which remain as famous Soju producing cities.

At the time, Soju used to be hard liquor made by boiling grains. From Goryeo to Joseon era, Soju used to be served for the rich or nobles because the grains were very valuable.

From the late Goryeo through Joseon to the beginning of Japanese colonial period, it was produced as distilled grain wine but ethanol made of sweet potatoes and syrup was watered-down instead of grain wine since 1960. So today’s Soju is made by dilution of spirit, not the traditional formal spirits.




Canon EOS 550D | f/3.5 | iso 800 | 2011:08:18 19:02:15 | Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode | 42mm




Soju is pure and transparent that has high proportion of alcohol (approximately 21 degrees) with sweet first taste and clean after taste.

Although alcoholicity is high, it is cheap and the fact that it makes you drunk real quickly is the reason it’s so popular.

Koreans enjoy eating greasy pork meat and it’s enjoyed more often with neat Soju that goes well with the greasy meat.

There is an interesting survey about Soju. People drink alcohol to celebrate for something to be happy about or to cheer them up when they feel down.

And Soju is especially enjoyed while they have something serious to talk about or consult on something with others.

When the alcoholicity is high, we can assume that they want to get drunk quickly to forget something and talk about what they have in mind easily.

I bet you’ve seen protagonists in Korean drama or movie who were Soju drama when they go through a hard time.

Soju has been comforting Korean people when they suffer from hard and tiring lives for nearly 800 years since Goryeo Dynasty era.

Probably that’s why people remind of Soju when they need some drinks.

If you had a fight with a friend during your trip or if you are missing your family who are far away, you should have a drink or two.

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4. Kinds of Soju

Soju used to be very strong for having 21 degrees of alcohol. But as the people started to care about their health and healthy foods, you can easily find ones with 16 degrees.

The amount of alcohol has been reduced for women and new kinds of Soju with lemon, citron or pomegranate have been introduced as well.

And each region has different Soju so you can enjoy various kinds of Soju in Korea.




Canon EOS 550D | f/5.0 | iso 2500 | 2011:10:11 19:08:34 | Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode | 17mm



5. How to enjoy Soju even more

Soju goes well with greasy foods due to sweet first taste and clean after taste.

It’s so nice to eat it with greasy pork meat including Samgyupsal, Makchang or Jokbal. But keep in mind that Soju tastes better when it’s cold. So some bars serve slightly frozen Soju.

Soju has 21% of alcohol that would make you drunk very soon. So if you’re not a hard drinker, you could order ones with lower amount of alcohol, 16% or the ones with fruits inside.

Sometimes people mix Soju with beer to make it smooth. And it’s called Somaek. While Soju is too strong and Maekju(beer) makes you too full, Somaek makes you drunk with less amount of drink. It’s famous particularly in Japan.

You should try Soju that represents Korea according to your appetite, main dish or your mood of the day.






焼酎, 소주, 아라크, 술, 소맥, soju, Arrack, alcohol, somaek, 烧酒
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