by Ra Hwak Jin / Kim Sun Min / Kim Hae Min

[ENG] Korean alcohol made by fermenting and distilling grains or diluting with water.
 

▲ This file photo shows soju “Chamisul." (Yonhap)

 

Soju is Korea's representative alcohol. It is transparent and has a relatively high alcoholic ingredient.

Soju is mainly categorized into two, namely, Distilled and Diluted. The distilled soju is originally made by distilling the fermented wine formed from grains or sweet potatoes. The fermented wines are normally low in alcohol content, so when the fermented beverages are kept for a long time, they tend to rot or turn into vinegar. Soju was made to devise these shortcomings.

According to Encyclopedia of Korean Culture by the Academy of Korean Studies, the distillation of alcohol was developed in Medieval Persia and is believed to have been passed down from the Arabian Peninsula through China to Korea.
 

▲ This file photo shows soju. (Yonhap)

It is said that soju was introduced to Korea through Mongolia's military at the time of King Chungnyeol of the Goryeo dynasty. Specifically, the recipe, which has been maintained until the recent years, is believed to have developed in Andong, Kaesong and Jeju island, which were the garrisons of the Mongolia military.

Diluted soju uses the pure alcohol spirits distilled from the sophisticated machine called the continuous distiller to dilute with water. Today, the soju widely sold in the market utilizes the dilution method. About 95% alcohol content is diluted into 16% to 35%.

In 1965, as part of the government's food policy, the use of grains to make alcohol were forbidden and soju that was made by diluting alcohol spirits from sweet potatoes, molasses, tapioca, and other ingredients were widely available and is still common today.

 

▲ This file photo shows soju. (Yonhap)

◇ Beer and Soju as two major types of liquor in Korea

Soju is one of the two major types of alcohol consumed in Korea along with beer. According to the data from Statistics Korea in 2020, the delivering sales of diluted soju worth around 3.7 trillion won, which records the largest amount among alcoholic beverages. Beer ranked second with 3.5 trillion won of delivering sales. However, the market size of distilled soju is not so large, showing off a factory value of 4 billion won.

 

▲ This photo, provided by Daesun Distilling Corporation, shows Daesun. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

 

The representative brands of soju in Korea are HiteJinro's "Chamisul" and Lotte Liquor’s "Like the first time.” By 1996, there was a system where liquor wholesale dealers were required to sell more than 50% of products related to the specific province, so there is still soju particularly famous in each region. There are C1 and Daesun in Busan, Yipsejoo, which is made from Bohae, in Gwangju, Jeollanam-do, Chamsoju and Geumbogju in Daegu–Gyeongbuk, and Hallasan Soju in Jeju Isalnd.
 

▲ This file photo shows Jay Park launching "Won Soju." (Yonhap)
Distilled soju is designing strategies for local specialization and luxury strategies. Andong Soju is the representative case. Recently, singer Jay Park has drawn attention by releasing a premium distilled soju "Won Soju"

 

▲ This file photo shows IU, the advertising model for soju “Chamisul." (Yonhap)
◇ Celebrities compete for soju models

Since soju has become representative consumer goods with its large market size, many famous celebrities familiar to the public often take up advertising models.

The representative case is a famous singer and actress IU.

HiteJinro has recently extended the soju “Chamisul” model contract with singer IU.

IU has been working as the Chamisul model from 2014 to 2018 and has been selected in 2020 once again. She will have been the Chamisul model for a total of 8 years with this contract extension.

Against the brand, Lotte Liquor has been using BLACKPINK’s Jennie as a model for soju "Like the first time" since last year.

K-pop girl group Brave Girls, which gained popularity with the song "Rollin” that climbed up the music chart, became an advertising model for Muhak’s soju "Good Day" last year, while Daesun Distilling Corporation launched a new product "Diamond" soju last year and selected Han Ye-seul as a model.

Likewise, there are many female stars for soju models, but singer and actor Cha Eun-woo was selected as a new model for soju "No We Are" by Mackiss Company, a leading liquor company in Chungcheong Province, in 2021.

Meanwhile, there are many critical opinions in terms of setting teenagers’ favorite stars as soju models, and there have been strong arguments regarding exposure of teenagers to such liquor advertisements.

▲ This photo, provided by Netflix, shows Lee Jung-jae from "Squid Game." (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

◇ Soju becomes iconic alcoholic drink of ordinary people in dramas·movies

Soju costs between 1,300 won and 2,000 won per bottle at Korean stores, and you can purchase a bottle of 360ml for around 4,000 won to 5,000 won at restaurants. Due to its relatively low price, soju has the image of the representative liquor of ordinary people.

For this reason, soju often appears in drinking scenes of common people in dramas and movies.

In Netflix's “Squid game,” the scene where Seong Gi-hun(Lee Jung-jae) reunites with Oh Il-nam(O Yeong-su) after returning from the first round of the squid game and drinks soju as a snack is a total contrast to that of front man who runs the game and VIPs drinking whiskey.

 

▲ This photo, provided by tvN, shows the drama "My Mister." (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
In the drama “My Mister” starring IU, soju often appears as a medium that shows the hardships of life and that relieves them from time to time.

The drama "Work Later, Drink Now” starring Lee Sun-bin, Han Sun-hwa, and Jung Eun-ji fixed alcohol, such as soju, as the main theme of the drama.

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