Soju Is Generally Around 20% Alcohol Content, And Clear

Soju is the Korean equivalent of the Japanese sake. That said, Jinro is known to be the largest manufacturer of soju which recorded a sale of 70 million cases in 2004. And during that year, more than 3 billion bottles were consumed alone in South Korea!

Because of its ready availability and its low price relative to other alcoholic beverages, soju has become one of the most popular alcoholic beverages in both Korea and Asian restaurants & bars offseas. Flavored sojus such as lemon, watermelon and apple are known to be popular. In addition, other alcoholic beverages that are popular from Korea are its mekjus(beers); OB, Hite, and Cass.

These policies set up the ideal environment for Korea’s peculiar business culture to flourish. There aren’t too many places in the world where having a hollow leg is a preferred job qualification. In Korea, however, the ability to drink large quantities is seen as beneficial to group cohesion since a fair amount of binge-drinking occurs with co-workers at company-sponsored outings, known as hoesik. Typically, the night starts off with dinner and soju. The second round (icha) usually takes place at a bar or nightclub where whiskey is served. The third round (samcha) typically involves singing karaoke at anoraebang, accompanied by plenty of soju bomb-shots (called poktanju). Fourth round (sacha) can involve more eating and (wait for it…) more drinking.

According to Surnggie Cho, KARC’s dean of research, modern drinking etiquette traces its roots back to ancient Korea. Citing historical evidence from the Three Kingdoms period (57 B.C. to 676), Cho states, “Ancient Koreans spent three to four days and nights drinking and dancing continuously.”

The traditions of sujak (pouring a drink and sharing the cup) and guneum (group drinking) are unique to Korea and stem from the country’s agrarian heritage where the short planting and harvest seasons required collaborative farming. What better way to enlist your neighbors’ help than by plying them with drink? Yet, traditions that were once limited to certain times of the year have become a regular and entrenched part of corporate life.

Unfortunately, binge-drinking is not relegated to office workers. In fact, according to a KARC study, it increased from 53.5 percent in 2000 to 68.1 percent in 2006. In addition, according to Korea’s Ministry of Health and Welfare, the percentage of women aged 20 to 59 who report being current drinkers rose from 23 percent in 1989 to 40.8 percent in 2005. The amount women are drinking have soared, too. The percentage of women aged 19 and up who report consuming five glasses of soju (roughly three cans of beer) in one sitting has increased nearly 10-fold.

And the soju I am talking about is not the classy stuff. It is definitely not the premium Japanese stuff known as shochu produced in a sensitive fashion akin to Western wine. It is the chemically prepared mass produced hangover inducing dross that costs KRW 1,000 a bottle. For those of you unfamiliar with the exchange rate that is about USD 1. So for USD 1 you can get a bottle of roughly 20% rocket fuel which tastes like alcohol with a slightly sweet tinge at the end. The most popular variety is one made by Jinro and every morning you will see thousands of them empty outside restaurants.

The concept of going drinking with your employer may seem like an odd concept to Americans. In American society, there are certain boundaries carved out between one’s personal life and work life. In Korean society, these boundaries are less distinct. If you’re someone who likes to drink, you’ll do fine in Korea. If you’re not a particularly tolerant drinker like me and you refuse to drink often, you may offend some of your co-workers. Just to be polite, I would suggest that you take at least a sip and perhaps apologize with a jesonghapnida which means I’m sorry in Korean. You may also want to add, surul chal mot heyo which literally means “I don’t really do alcohol well” with the intended meaning being that you aren’t an avid drinker.

If you do decide to go out drinking with your boss, here are some alcohol etiquette rules you should follow. When you pour a drink for your boss, make sure both hands touch the bottle. If both hands don’t touch the bottle, at least place your left hand on your right arm with your right hand pouring the drink. Using both hands is a sign of respect so remember to do that. Also, remember that it’s a bit direct and frank to drink with your face toward your boss. When you bring the glass to your lips, make sure you turn your head away from your boss at least 45 degrees away from your boss. Think of this way: since Koreans have a tendency to sit close together, drinking with the your face toward the other person would allow the person to see and hear you gulp down your drink, and that is just not an attractive sight!

Soju is generally around 20% alcohol content, and clear. It comes in those green bottles you see in the picture above, generally. It is the primary alcoholic drink of Korea... because it's available about anywhere, and ridiculously cheap (a dollar for a bottle or so).

For first timers, it smells like rubbing alcohol, and tastes like... uh, rubbing alcohol. Yes, you'll get used to it after a few shots, but in most cases I've seen, first timers with Soju never ended up well.

The exact process of how soju is made and other details will be discussed in another entry, since there's a lot to it.