Soju facts for kids

Soju (/ˈsoʊdʒuː/; Hangul: 소주; Hanja: 燒酒) is a clear and colorless Korean distilled alcoholic beverage. It is usually consumed neat. Its alcohol content varies from about 12.9% to 53% alcohol by volume (ABV), although since 2007 low alcohol soju below 20% has become more popular.

Traditionally, most brands of soju are produced in the Andong region, but soju made from other regions or countries also exists. While soju is traditionally made from the grain of rice, wheat, or barley, modern producers often replace rice with other starches, such as potato and sweet potato. Soju often appear similar to several other East Asian liquors while differing on alcohol contents.

Etymology

Soju (Hangul: 소주; Hanja: 燒酒) means "burned liquor", with the first syllable so (소; 燒; "burn") referring to the heat of distillation, and the second syllable ju (주; 酒) referring to "alcoholic drink". (Cf. Brandy.) In 2008, "soju" was included in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Merriam-Webster dated the word's appearance in the American English lexicon at 1951. In 2016, the word was included in the Oxford Dictionary of English. Chinese shāojiǔ (simplified Chinese: 烧酒; traditional Chinese: 燒酒), more commonly known as báijiǔ (白酒), and Japanese shōchū (焼酎), with the altered second character, have the same origin as soju.

Another name for soju is noju (Hangul: 노주; Hanja: 露酒; "dew liquor"), with its first letter ro (로; 露; "dew") likening the droplets of the collected alcohol during the distilling process to dew-drops. Some soju brand names include iseul (이슬), the native-Korean word for "dew", or ro (Hangul: 로; Hanja: 露), the Sino-Korean word for "dew".

History and production

Famous artisan Park Jae-seo's Andong soju

The origin of soju dates back to the 13th century Goryeo, when the Levantine distilling technique was introduced to the Korean Peninsula during the Mongol invasions of Korea (1231–1259), by the Yuan Mongols who had acquired the technique of distilling arak from the Persians during their invasions of the Levant, Anatolia, and Persia. The distilleries were set up around the city of Gaegyeong, the then capital (current Kaesong). In the surrounding areas of Kaesong, soju is still called arak-ju (아락주). Andong soju, the direct root of modern South Korean soju varieties, started as the home-brewed liquor developed in the city of Andong, where the Yuan Mongols' logistics base was located during this era.

Soju is traditionally made by distilling alcohol from fermented grains. The rice wine for distilled soju is usually fermented for about 15 days, and the distillation process involves boiling the filtered, mature rice wine in a sot (cauldron) topped with soju gori (two-storied distilling appliance with a pipe). In the 1920s, over 3,200 soju breweries existed throughout the Korean Peninsula.

Several regions have resumed distilling soju from grains since 1999. Traditional hand-crafted Andong soju has about 45% ABV. Hwayo (화요) is a brand with five different mixes constituting an ABV range from 17% to 53%.

In 2015, Jinro soju became the largest selling spirit in the world for more than a decade. Two other soju brands, Chum Churum and Good Day, featured in the top 10, and three other soju brands are present in the top 100 global spirits brands of 2016. Fruit sojus have been produced since 2015. Fruit soju has a distinct fruit flavor and lower alcohol content compared to standard soju.

Etiquette

The most important rule in Korean drinking etiquette is that the youngest person in the group pours the drinks for their elders. It applies not only to age but also to the hierarchy within a company. When pouring alcohol, both hands should be used to pour. When receiving alcohol, both hands should also be used to hold the glass.

On average, South Koreans drink the most hard liquor of any nationality.

See also

In Spanish: Soju para niños