Editing Soju (section)

== History and production ==
{{Further|Andong soju#Brewing}}
[[File:Korea-Dae Jang Geum Theme Park-47.jpg|thumb|''[[Gamasot|Sot]]'' (cauldron), ''soju gori'' (distilling appliance), and different ''hangari'' (earthenware pots) for making traditional soju]]
[[File:안동소주 호리병(andongsoju).jpg|thumb|Famous artisan Park Jae-seo's ''[[Andong soju]]'']]

The origin of soju dates back to 13th-century [[Goryeo]]. The [[Yuan dynasty|Yuan]] [[Mongol Empire|Mongols]] acquired the technique of distilling ''[[Arak (drink)|arak]]'' from the Persians during [[Mongol invasions of the Levant|their invasions of the Levant]], [[Mongol invasions of Anatolia|Anatolia]], and [[Mongol conquest of Khwarezmia|Persia]], and in turn introduced it to the Korean Peninsula during the [[Mongol invasions of Korea]] (1231–1259).<ref name="Cho">{{Cite web|url=http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=2632291|title=Moving beyond the green blur: a history of soju|last=Cho|first=Ines|date=20 October 2005|website=[[Korea JoongAng Daily]]|access-date=14 April 2017|archive-date=June 22, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190622154807/http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=2632291|url-status=live}}</ref> Distilleries were set up around the city of [[Kaesong|Gaegyeong]], the then-capital (current [[Kaesong]]). In the areas surrounding [[Kaesong]], soju is still called ''arak-ju'' ({{lang|ko|아락주}}).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.doopedia.co.kr/doopedia/master/master.do?_method=view&MAS_IDX=101013000881916|title=Soju|website=[[Doopedia]]|publisher=[[Doosan Corporation]]|script-title=ko:소주|access-date=7 December 2008|archive-date=December 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225111713/https://www.doopedia.co.kr/doopedia/master/master.do?_method=view&MAS_IDX=101013000881916|url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[Andong soju|Andong]]'' [[Andong soju|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.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=9bdUAwAAQBAJ|title=Jeonjaengi yorihan eumsigui yeoksa|last=도|first=현신|publisher=Sidae Books|year=2011|isbn=978-89-5940-200-7|location=Seoul|pages=213–224|script-title=ko:전쟁이 요리한 음식의 역사|access-date=April 14, 2017|archive-date=June 27, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220627105939/https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=9bdUAwAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>

Soju is traditionally made by distilling alcohol from [[Fermentation|fermented]] rice.<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://www.davincimap.co.kr/davBase/Source/davSource.jsp?Job=Body&SourID=SOUR002198|title=Eumsik dimibang|last=Jang|first=Gyehyang|year=1670|location=Andong, Joseon Korea|language=ko|script-title=ko:음식디미방|trans-title=Guidebook of Homemade Food and Drinks|quote={{Script/Korean|말을 셰여 장 닉게 글힌 믈 두 말애 가 거든 누록 닷 되 섯거 녀헛다가 닐웨 지내거든 고 믈 두 사발을 몬져 힌 후에 술 세 사발을 그 믈에 부어 고로고로 저으라. 불이 셩면 술이 만이 나 긔운이 구무 가온드로 나 고 불이 면 술이 듯듯고 블이 듕면 노여 긋디 아니면 마시 심히 덜고 우희 믈을 로 라 이 법을 일치 아니면 온 술이 세 병 나니라}}|access-date=April 14, 2017|archive-date=January 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190112092814/http://www.davincimap.co.kr/davBase/Source/davSource.jsp?Job=Body&SourID=SOUR002198|url-status=live}}</ref> 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 ''[[gamasot|sot]]'' ([[cauldron]]) topped with ''soju gori'' (a two-story distilling appliance with a pipe). In the 1920s, over 3,200 soju breweries existed throughout the Korean Peninsula.<ref name="Schwartzman">{{Cite news|url=https://asiancorrespondent.com/2009/03/90-years-of-soju/|title=90 Years of Soju|last=Schwartzman|first=Nathan|date=25 March 2009|work=[[Asian Correspondent]]|access-date=14 April 2017|archive-date=9 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180709154220/https://asiancorrespondent.com/2009/03/90-years-of-soju/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Soju was traditionally a beverage distilled from rice with 35% ABV until 1965, when diluted soju with 30% ABV made from other fermented substances appeared with South Korean government's prohibition of the traditional distillation of soju from rice, in order to alleviate rice shortages.<ref name="Hall"/><ref name="Schwartzman"/> Soju was then made from [[ethanol]] distilled to 95% ABV from sweet potatoes and [[tapioca]], which was mixed with flavorings, sweeteners, and water.<ref name="Cho"/><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://thestory.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2016/08/29/2016082900988.html|script-title=ko:증류식 소주 vs. 희석식 소주의 차이|last=Chosun.com Infographics Team|first=|date=29 August 2016|work=[[The Chosun Ilbo]]|access-date=13 September 2016|language=ko|trans-title=Differences between distilled vs. diluted soju|archive-date=September 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200928021643/http://thestory.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2016/08/29/2016082900988.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> The end products are marketed under a variety of soju brand names. A single supplier (Korea Ethanol Supplies Company) sells ethanol to all soju producers in South Korea. Until the late 1980s, [[saccharin]] was the most popular sweetener used by the industry, but it has since been replaced by [[stevioside]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://thestory.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2016/08/22/2016082202743.html|script-title=ko:이슬과 땀의 술, 소주 한잔 하실래요?|last=Chosun.com Infographics Team|first=|date=22 August 2016|work=[[The Chosun Ilbo]]|access-date=13 September 2016|language=ko|trans-title=Liquor of dew and sweat: What about a glass of soju?|archive-date=October 17, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161017042435/http://thestory.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2016/08/22/2016082202743.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> The use of other grains and starches led different sojus to have different aroma and flavor.<ref name="wolinski"/>

During the 1970s, the national government started to monopolize the soju industries. By the 1970s there were about 300 domestic soju companies. In 1973, the [[Government of South Korea|Korean government]] began to consolidate various local soju producers. Each province was designated one soju producer per regional market. Each producer was to create a brand of soju that represented its region. By the end of the consolidation, a producer existed for each of the provinces.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2005-10-20 |title=Moving beyond the green blur: a history of soju |url=https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2005/10/20/features/Moving-beyond-the-green-blur-a-history-of-soju/2632291.html |access-date=2023-10-09 |website=[[Korea JoongAng Daily]] |language=en |archive-date=October 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231012123950/https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2005/10/20/features/Moving-beyond-the-green-blur-a-history-of-soju/2632291.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The government then passed two policies. The first was a mandatory local soju purchase policy. The policy required each provincial alcohol [[Wholesaling|wholesaler]] to purchase more than 50 percent of their soju from within their own [[Provinces of Korea|province]]. The second was the input allocation policy. This policy gave the government the responsibility to administer [[Ethanol|ethanol spirit]], the main ingredient in soju. Each soju company was designated an amount based on their national [[market share]] in the previous year. These policies were created with the intention of protecting local firms and discouraging excessive competition.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Park |first=Hyunhee |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/soju/3EF7E42B451030430E966B2E0EF24B5C |title=Soju: A Global History |date=2021 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-108-84201-3 |series=Asian Connections |location=Cambridge |access-date=January 29, 2022 |archive-date=January 29, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220129052648/https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/soju/3EF7E42B451030430E966B2E0EF24B5C |url-status=live}}</ref>

This decision by the government advanced the efficient control of tax revenue. As a result of this consolidation, a few companies began to dominate the market.<ref name=":0">Son, Jungmin & Kim, Jikyung (Jeanne) & Choi, Jeonghye & Kim, Mingyung, 2017. "Linking online niche sales to offline brand conditions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 74-84. https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbrese/v70y2017icp74-84.html</ref> {{As of|2023|10|post=,}} one firm, [[HiteJinro]], accounts for almost half of the market while 4 smaller companies accounts for another 40 percent.<ref>{{Citation |title=ON GLOBALIZATION, CONVERGENCE, AND DIVERSITY |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7scd0.14 |work=The Limits of Convergence |pages=213–234 |access-date=2023-10-05 |publisher=Princeton University Press|doi=10.2307/j.ctt7scd0.14}}</ref>

Due to the protection by the government's policies, local firms took the majority of market share in their regional markets. In the 1980s and 1990s, there was a [[Free trade|trade liberalization]] trend which led the Korean government to begin [[Deregulation|deregulating]] the soju industry. The government lifted its restrictions on new [[Liquor license|licenses for alcohol distribution]] in January 1991. It also lifted restrictions on soju production in March 1993. Various restrictions on the production of soju were also removed or weakened. The government also abolished the mandatory local soju purchase policy in January 1992.

Between 1993 and 1995, HiteJinro's market share in regional markets outside its own increased and local companies saw a steady decline. As a result of this loss in market share, local soju companies lobbied to reintroduce the protection policies that had been removed. In response, the [[National Assembly (South Korea)|National Assembly of South Korea]] reintroduced the mandatory local soju purchase policy in October 1995. However, the case was challenged and the case was eventually decided by the [[Supreme Court of Korea]] that the policy was unconstitutional and abolished it in December 1996.<ref name=":0"/>

Soju alcohol content has trended downward from the 1970s onward. The [[Alcohol by volume|ABV]] of 30% fell to 25% by 1973, and 23% by 1998.<ref name="Schwartzman"/> Currently, soju with less than 17% ABV are widely available.<ref name="Park"/> In 2017, a typical {{convert|375|ml|adj=mid|sp=us}} bottle of diluted soju retails at [[South Korean won|₩]]1,700 (approximately [[Geary–Khamis dollar|$]]{{International dollars|1700|KOR}}) in supermarkets and convenience stores, and for [[South Korean won|₩]]4,000–5,000 (approximately [[Geary–Khamis dollar|$]]{{International dollars|4000|KOR}}–{{International dollars|5000|KOR}}) in restaurants.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://hankookilbo.com/v/aecd6a4ed9a1421bbff536d974f8d0da|script-title=ko:소주 한 병 1,700원…편의점ㆍ대형마트, 다음주부터 맥주·소줏값 인상|last=권|first=영은|date=5 January 2017|work=[[Hankook Ilbo]]|access-date=14 April 2017|language=ko|archive-date=April 15, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170415011435/http://hankookilbo.com/v/aecd6a4ed9a1421bbff536d974f8d0da|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.khan.co.kr/kh_news/khan_art_view.html?artid=201701122116005&code=990100|script-title=ko:[박찬일 셰프의 맛있는 미학]소주 5000원 시대|last=박|first=찬일|date=12 January 2017|work=[[Kyunghyang Shinmun]]|access-date=14 April 2017|language=ko|archive-date=June 15, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200615220500/http://news.khan.co.kr/kh_news/khan_art_view.html?artid=201701122116005&code=990100|url-status=live}}</ref>

Several regions have resumed distilling soju from grains since 1999. Traditional hand-crafted ''[[Andong soju]]'' has about 45% ABV. Hwayo ({{lang|ko|화요}}) is a brand with five different mixes constituting an ABV range from 17% to 53%.<ref name="Hall"/>

In 2019, [[HiteJinro|''Jinro soju'']] was the largest selling branded [[Liquor|spirit]] in the world.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.liquor.com/articles/korean-soju/|title=Why You Should Be Drinking Korean Soju Right Now|last=Archibald|first=Anna|date=27 August 2015|work=Liquor.com|access-date=14 December 2015|archive-date=April 14, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170414081318/http://www.liquor.com/articles/korean-soju/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Fruit soju|Fruit ''sojus'']] have been produced since 2015.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-08-03 |title=Exports of Lotte's flavored soju reach 41.9 bil. won over past 6 years |url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/tech/2023/06/419_333844.html |access-date= |website=[[The Korea Times]] |language=en |archive-date=June 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230620214745/https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/tech/2023/06/419_333844.html |url-status=live}}</ref>