On this episode, we travel across the pond to eplore a Korean drink called Soju. Lean some history, serving techniques, and how it's made. Cheers!

Soju

SPEAKERS

Connor Brekke, Marty Lee

Connor Brekke 00:09

Hello everyone and welcome back to The Ombibulous, a show where we discuss a variety of topics about alcohol. From beer styles, the brewing process, distillation in spirits and even liquor laws, there's a fascinating world to discover. Joining me today is Marty Lee of Noodlezip in downtown Bismarck, North Dakota. On today's show, we talked about soju. I'm your host, Connor Brekke. Let's all raise a glass to, The Ombibulous.

Connor Brekke 00:45

Alright everybody, welcome back to the show. And it is my pleasure to introduce Mr. Marty Lee, owner of Noodlezip in Bismarck, North Dakota, thank you so much for joining the show with me appreciate it.

Marty Lee 00:57

I really appreciate the opportunity. Thank you very much for having me here, Connor.

Connor Brekke 01:01

And we're gonna have a great time today because we have a new drink to talk about. It's, it's Korean drink called "soju."

Marty Lee 01:09

That's right.

Connor Brekke 01:09

It's very delicious. It's got a very good characteristic, good flavor. It's something that I'd like to kind of bring to the area.. more knowledge of because.... I don't really know where else you get it. To be honest with you, everybody knows sake but right, this is something a little more special to us. So I guess let's kick off with what is soju in short?

Marty Lee 01:31

Okay, so the short version of short soju just basically a distilled liquor. A pure, you know, tasteless, scentless, with a little bit of flavoring. So off sweet. But Yep, it is a traditional affordable drinks that you can get in Korea.

Connor Brekke 01:53

Soju the name actually refers to like, how it's made kind of as far as...

Marty Lee 01:59

Oight traditionally. "So" in Chinese character, or, or in old Korean means "burning."

Connor Brekke 02:05

And that has to do with basically the heat of distillation if I'm not...

Marty Lee 02:09

Right. It's a process.. it's the process of distilled grains, usually rice, that's what we have most abundance from the history of Korea, rice, barley. You put it all together, let it ferment. You make it first, you know, the base liquor which is Makgeolli or, or sake, or clear liquor, and then you put that into a big pot of... boiling clay pot... and then you just distill it, distill iy until you have it and you have this dew. Alcohol has a little less boiling point than the water itself. So, it's just you know, all the vapors collected altogether, and then you put it into one little jar. And there you go. It's.. you have your traditional soju.

Connor Brekke 02:54

Soju has an interesting history. It goes back to like, if I'm not mistaken, like the 13th century or so...

Marty Lee 03:01

That's right.

Connor Brekke 03:02

Goryeo?

Marty Lee 03:03

Goryeo.

Connor Brekke 03:03

Goryeo (gor-ey-o)

Marty Lee 03:05

The funny thing is Goryeo is the the country where you know where they pronounced Korea, now because before Goryeo, they didn't have the import and export but with the Arabs, they started calling Korea, Korea, Korea, and then it became Ko-re-a.

Connor Brekke 03:21

Oh, the word just kind of twisted and twisted and then okay. Evolution of a language right there.

Marty Lee 03:28

So it's a it's a... good soju was in exist... existed before 13th century. It came with the Mongolian army where they have Yuan Dynasty, its China era, and they had a huge army and they conquered from Arabia, to China, to Goryeo, which is the Korea... and they brought this distillery style of alcohol from Arabs, Persia that, Iran, through the Silk Road they came up with a better way to preserve alcohol. Because Mongolians more more used to drinking fermented instead of distilled because they didn't have the technology to distill the alcohol process that time. So they brought... the when they conquer the Arabs they see this technology they would like to, you know, put it together and you know... they love alcohol in general. Mongolian army they, consume a lot of alcohol and they're known for it because they do a strong hard fight.

Connor Brekke 04:35

Yeah, those guys were... the....

Marty Lee 04:37

Right... we all know the Mongolians, the barbarians.

Connor Brekke 04:41

The barbarians, alcohol just makes sense in that aspect.

Marty Lee 04:45

And you know, Korea didn't have it any distill, until the Mongolians a brought in in at three places at Kaesong, and also Andong, and also Jeju Island. Three military spots where they set up their their bases... their fortress to go to Japan. Jeju, for instance, and Andong for instance, they built the army base there. And then when they built the army basis, one thing they needed to... is having alcohol with them.

Connor Brekke 05:19

Of course. Definitely. Speaking of alcohol, for my research is traditionally the alcohol content was a little higher until prohibition, I guess, in the modern sense, right?

Connor Brekke 05:35

Alcohol was mandated to be lower. And then it's kind of going through a revival stage or has gone.

Marty Lee 05:35

Right.

Marty Lee 05:41

Right. It's traditional, alcohol volume, volume was anywhere from 40 to 30%. Because it's pure distilled, and then when you distilled... traditional way of distilling soju is not a continuous, it's only once. So when you, you know, put the alcohol once it gives you somewhere in the 45% to 30% range, and then they just kept it in the, in the glass bottle and let it ferment, let it age it, I would say. So the yield on these liquors are 10 to 20% compared to what you put it into it. So it's traditionally a drinks for very, very higher royal classes. Luxury people, kings and royal families can afford these drinks because in Korea, you can't even eat rice at your, at your table at your dinner. You know what if you are wealthy enough to put the... burn those rice and turn them into wine, and then you have to burn those wine to make the soju. So it's quite a process and you know, a lot of resources, labors and money. So... yes, it is very traditional, but it wasn't really famous until 1900.. that soju got really settled down to normal people.

Connor Brekke 07:02

So with the rise of soju now, in modern popularity, are there any specific things a person should know when serving and drinking it or serving and receiving it? I know there's some kind of traditions being with like, older people versus younger people, and guests versus not guests and...

Marty Lee 07:20

Right

Connor Brekke 07:21

...different things.

Marty Lee 07:22

Korean way drinking, they call it, chuto, not just necessarily in soju but it goes to all alcohol, beer, you know, spirits wines. But traditionally, you have to pour what two hands if you're younger. And the receiver, if you're older, or if you know this person, then you can just receive it with one hand. But if you are definitely younger, serving to elder or older or you know the person you never seen it before, it's a proper etiquette to use two hands to pour that soju and only to the 70% to th,e to the little shotglass they give you when you go to eat drink and soju. Used to be 90% but 70% is where everybody go now. So you don't get over drinking and you keep pouring to build this connections with it. When you keep pouring back and forth you take a shot if you put it, put it to full you get drunk too fast.

Connor Brekke 08:19

Right.

Marty Lee 08:19

You don't have this social time. So but.. by pouring 70% and it's just perfect match for that shot glass and then you just keep pouring and having fun all night.

Connor Brekke 08:30

Because this is supposed to be a gathering and an exchange. Everyone's supposed to be engaged in conversation everything. You can't... yeah, like you said you can't do it if you're smashed out of your mind.

Marty Lee 08:40

Right right

Connor Brekke 08:41

Well, maybe you could.

Marty Lee 08:42

Right.

Connor Brekke 08:42

To each their own, no judgment there.

Marty Lee 08:44

Right right.

Connor Brekke 08:45

Um, soju for the most part is serve straight. I know there's some different types of ways straight drink it.

Marty Lee 08:51

Straight, cold, yep.

Connor Brekke 08:53

Like the... oh, there's kind of a version of a sake bomb I think.

Marty Lee 08:57

That's right. And mixed drink in Korean called poktanju. Poktanju means bombs. So it's a direct translation when at Itaewon when the, when the, when the foreigners and the armys coming up and they drink this bombs, right? Whiskey bombs, boilers, and then it just transferred directly into the Korean culture and started up as poktanju. Original poktanju is whiskey and beer. And in the 90s and then it got popular and then you know, whiskies and other foreign spirits are quite expensive. In Korea still in the early 90s and late 80s they were not as rich or wealthy as it used to be. So you know, working class people started in the mixing soju and the maekju together, which is beer, and then they call them somaek. Because it's soju and the maekju together usually... your ratios very, vary to person to person, to family to family and your drinking style. Some people mix half and half, some people mix just a shot of soju and and full glass of beer. So that's how you can easily consume alcohol without feeling all the harshness of the soju in any drinks, well with the beer too, so it's gotten really really popular and you can find a soulmate everywhere every corner of Korean bars nowadays.

Connor Brekke 10:26

I'm yet to actually try that particular version. I did visit Korea and while I did have soju and I do remember the, you know, my my host doing the serving with me and everything. So that was... that was a great experience.

Marty Lee 10:40

Right?

Connor Brekke 10:43

For some reason the the beer, soju, and chicken wings spot we did sticks out really well.

Marty Lee 10:49

Beers a little too light, soju a little too strong, and then chicken is greasy so it cuts down perfect.

Connor Brekke 10:55

And we were watching the Olympics too on the big screen TV. So that was pretty uh...

Marty Lee 11:00

Good times?

Connor Brekke 11:01

Good times. Like currently, soju's picking up again. The brand Jinro?

Marty Lee 11:09

Jinro, yep.

Connor Brekke 11:10

I know. That's the kind you guys have here. And it's really good. Is there anything about that particular brand... why they why it's that brand? Or is there anything special? Or is that just the kind of group... that just got it right?

Marty Lee 11:26

I would say they're the pioneer of the soju market. In the early 60s, they changed... they... it was something called different and owned by a family. And then a big group of people coming in and they... when they transfer the, you know... company work, they changed name to Jinro in 1966. They were fighting against one company called a Muhak and Samhak but those were companies were very small distillery, they didn't have the modern technique. They didn't have a modern distillery tanks, they didn't have, you know, it was more like a home brewed and a bigger scale. But Jinro came out with this modern technology. They've seen it from other countries like Japan's and China's and, or, you know, other western country that has more, you know, modern way of technique. And so they were able to process just not by a single bottle, they were able to produce 10s and 1000s of bottles a day. So the number of the quantity is distribution, it's just couldn't go against with the other company. So from 1970... it was a solid, rock solid company from now on until, you know, failure of Jinro's, you know, CEOs and he was doing other things with the construction and the the wholesale market that his family wasn't doing. So when Hite, another big giant beer company, consorted Jinro in... back in early 2000s, they become a mega, mega company. Because you meet this number one selling Korean soju company plus number one selling beer company in Korea, meet together, back when they just got together, it was only 50% of market as of 2019 they got they own 67% of market share the whole soju globally and Korea. So they are just, you know, I think they know how to put the flavoring right. And because of Jinro, famous Jinro there was successed from 70s it was kind of a automatic winning for them. It's more like a monopoly. Yeah, there's no competitors. Their prices always good flavors always not change since 70s. It's the same taste that everybody had it. So yeah, they're just champion and you know, soldiers number one selling a spirit or liquor they claim by Jinro because one average person in Korea, a man, an adult consumed 84 bottles of soju in a year.

Connor Brekke 14:08

That's, impressive.

Marty Lee 14:09

That's an average, that's an average. So you'll have a person who doesn't drink at all. And you'll have a person drink three or four times more than that. So of course it's number one selling, but the consumption rate and Korea itself is just billions of a bottle. Because it's cheap, readily available, it's an all street corner... you can get it you know, soju. Of course it is imported here, so it's expensive. But in Korea, it's $2 a bottle. It's readily available.

Connor Brekke 14:41

Well the thing about soju and in my personal opinion, I look at the alcohol content, the ABV, and it's higher than... you know, beer... higher than a lot of things. But, then you drink it. And for me, it's kind of like juice. Like it..

Marty Lee 14:58

It is.

Connor Brekke 14:58

...doesn't burn. It doesn't really hit me you... by the time you're done with your first bottle, your second... then, then it's like, "okay...

Connor Brekke 15:00

Right.

Connor Brekke 15:03

"...it's time to slow down." It doesn't like have that whiskey kick or anything that... which I really like, I do enjoy the smoothness and you can taste the fruit, you can like taste it, instead of just right one sensation of burning.

Marty Lee 15:23

Right, that's the good part of the modern soju. Because when they buy those pure spirit and 95%, modern, soju are diluted soju... versus traditionally it's distilled. So you buy this 95% pure ethanol, and then you mix with the flavorings, the other chemicals, and then it becomes 25% soju. But trends are going lower and lower. Because they think the soju is more like, I don't know, a drink or soda, I guess. And nowadays, when you go to company lunch, the the culture was never drinking involved in it during the lunchtime, but they're now coming well with soju that has 15, 16% alcohol. Just a slightly higher than wines and sake. So it's easily drinkable, while you're... just you know, having a lunch or having a dinner. And you know, by putting that to lower than 15%... 15% I mean, you're able to export it as a wine, fortified wine, instead of putting it on a spirit category. So you're having more access to everywhere in the world, they you know, they prohibit the, the strong alcohol or, you know, whether it's, you know, Middle East and Muslim country or you know, somewhere else that have stricter law. But by doing this, they can have more positions in global selling. So they're coming up with similar... like a... like a Coke Zero, they have a same similar taste, but they're coming down with the more calories. So same concept goes in here. They make it a little, they keep the flavor and they keep the pure it is and then put the alcohol content little lower so they can have more access to everywhere in the world.

Connor Brekke 17:11

Right, more marketing, more...

Marty Lee 17:13

More marketing. Yep. It's a it's a way of they expanding their own business.

Connor Brekke 17:18

Now, as far as anybody who lives in the Bismarck, Mandan, North Dakota area... I haven't really been like shopping in a while, but I do know that Williquors has a few bottles. Other than that....... I don't know where?

Marty Lee 17:36

Ah, no. I don't think I have seen soju anywhere else other than Williquors. But Williquours, a couple of years ago, they only had a one or two type. Now they have several they have flavors. They had the flavored ones, the grape ones, the you know, strawberry ones, and also they have the traditional 24 strong version, the original version of general. So it's coming in, you know, I think the BTS has to do with a lot of it. You know, the K-dramas and K-pop cultures? I mean, again, think about it k drama was you know, almost nothing it just for shows for, for Koreans for centuries. You know, 90s in 2000. But look at where, you know, BTS stands out there. Yeah, and then that kind of works out as self promotion for Korean cultures to be able to go you know, globally, and they're doing an awesome job at it.

Connor Brekke 18:33

And to segue on that a little further, Netflix...

Marty Lee 18:36

Right? And Netflix.

Connor Brekke 18:38

...has a lot of Korean shows now, which are great because, you can check some of this stuff out.

Marty Lee 18:43

And and I'm not gonna lie... when you watch those Netflix show half the time they drinking soju.

Connor Brekke 18:48

Right.

Marty Lee 18:48

Not kidding. So it... that's how general it is, you know, that's it's like drinking a beer after work or you know, stop buying a bar, have a have a have a bar, I have a just glass of beer. For Koreans, after those hard,... Koreans are hardworking people, they wake up early, they, you know, they put their you know, 200% every single day, at the end of the day, they feel tired, and they want to talk about what's happening at their job today. So they gather and they just stop by, they don't have a tons of money. Soju's cheap and gather in every single day. Drink, talk, lots of laughter.

Connor Brekke 19:31

That's how you unwind from...

Marty Lee 19:32

That's right.

Connor Brekke 19:33

Everybody has a ritual of some, some kind.

Marty Lee 19:36

Right. Right. But then, you know, the modern sojus are definitely different than distilled the traditional version of it is, which is, you know, distilled. And, you know, that's what Mongolian has everywhere in Japan, China and yeah. In the early 90s prohibition, and the war, Korean War changed a lot. scenery of soju too. After the 50s, you know, we don't even have rice to feed our people after the war very very poor. We are the one of the poorest country has become after Korean War so they stopped making alcohol with the grains period. The government set a law and then they brought... and that brought... the distilled, the traditional soju business down by 3% from 100% to 3%. That's how many distillery went out of bankruptcy or they couldn't do the business. They just disappeared from our culture. Luckily, you know, the rise of new Korean cultures and you know, traditions... they're trying to bring back the traditional way, brewing soju so Andong soju which is well known for traditional Korean soju. And Jeju you and you know, Hwayo, and Il-poom Jinro, Jinro came up with this distilled new soju for for the market, you know, they're anywhere from 10, 15 to $30 a bottle. Compared to $2? Yes, they are a lot more expensive. But, you know, the way the process of how they make it the effort, the energy the time, $15 is well worth the money. And it just tastes like a light rum like gin, I would say it's pure distilled rice, and nothing else.

Connor Brekke 21:32

Simple.

Marty Lee 21:33

Yeah.

Connor Brekke 21:33

It's delicious.

Marty Lee 21:34

And delicious. So it gives you less hangover too.

Connor Brekke 21:37

Yeah. It's good, right? Drink more. Alright guys, well, we were educated with soju we learned history, we learned some pouring methods and how to make it... all kinds of really good stuff. So if you're curious about soju, at the moment... you have to go to Williquors and try and find a bottle, or maybe order online. But you have an opportunity to get some to go food from noodle zip. That way, you can pair it with your soju. Because nothing goes better with alcohol than food... and especially those delicious takeout options.

Marty Lee 22:16

Well thank you Connor for having me for a wonderful podcast session. I would, you know, recommend our definitely delicious food with the to go. And currently we're only doing takeout so we cannot offer soju in dining in. But in near future yes, definitely. We will have some soju pair with great food that we offer. But yeah, please check us out at Facebook and you know order online. Now we are doing Door Dash as well. So pick a few bottles of soju. There's a lots of different flavors... grapefruit and you know strawberries is my favorite.

Connor Brekke 22:50

Yeah, it's my favorite.

Marty Lee 22:50

As well as grape. So pick up some bottle of soju at Williquors and pick up some food at Noodlezip and have a great dinner at the table. You know, cheers and chat. Thank you Connor for having me today.

Connor Brekke 23:02

It was a pleasure. I can't wait to collaborate more with you. We have we, have more collaborations coming up definitely.

Marty Lee 23:04

Thank you very much.

Connor Brekke 23:10

Well until next time, geonbae!

Marty Lee 23:11

Geonbae!

Connor Brekke 23:14

The Ombibulous is made possible with Castos giving creators the tourists connect with their audience and community. Music is courteous Pond5. With over 25 million royalty free stock videos, music, photos, and sound effects. there's something for every creator. Today's episode was recorded at Noodlezip in downtown Bismarck, North Dakota. I'd like to thank Marty Lee for the use of his restaurant to make this episode possible. And of course a big thank you to all our listeners. Thank you, for all of your support. Until next time, cheers