Hey! Taesung here.
You’ve heard of Coca-Cola vs. Pepsi
Well, in Korea, we have the “Soju Wars,” a rivalry so fierce it’s way more entertaining.
Most Koreans know this story because the history is just that dramatic.
[“The Soju Ranking: The Real Class System of Your Green Bottle”]
Today, I’m going to tell you the history of that bloody war and how those rankings were decided.
1. The Birth of Soju: The ‘Real’ and the ‘Fake’
- The ‘Real Soju’ (Distilled): The original dates back to the 13th century Goryeo Dynasty, when the Mongols brought distillation techniques from Persia.
- The ‘Green Bottle Soju’ (Diluted): The stuff we all know was born in 1965. The government banned making alcohol from rice due to a shortage. So companies started making cheap soju by diluting ethanol (from sweet potatoes, etc.) with water and additives.
2. The First Soju War: The Fall of an Empire & Forced Peace
- In the 60s-70s, the “emperor” of the soju market wasn’t Jinro; it was a brand called ‘Samhak Soju.’ Jinro was the #2.
- But in ’71, Samhak collapsed overnight due to a tax scandal.
- Just as a fierce war was about to begin, the government stepped in. In ’73, they created the “1 Province, 1 Soju” policy, forcing companies to only sell in their designated region. (Busan = Daesun, Gwangju = Bohae…).
- The national war stopped, and an era of regional warlords began.
3. The Second Soju War: ‘Clean’ vs. ‘Smooth’
- This forced peace ended in 1996 when the policy was ruled unconstitutional. The shackles were off, and a new national war began.
- The king of Seoul, Jinro, unleashed its secret weapon to conquer the nation: ‘Chamisul’ (1998). With its revolutionary concept of being “clean soju filtered through bamboo charcoal,” it crushed the competition.
- Just as Chamisul was about to achieve total domination, Doosan (now Lotte) launched a rebellion: ‘Chum Churum’ (2006).
- Chum Churum’s weapon was ‘smoothness’ from using alkaline-reduced water. They attacked with the concept that they were “smoother than Chamisul.” This created the “Clean vs. Smooth” rivalry that continues to this day.
4. The Current War: The Zero-Sugar Battlefield
- The war is still ongoing. lol. Recently, a new battlefield opened up: ‘Zero Sugar’.
- Lotte’s ‘Saero’ made the first move, and Jinro is now counter-attacking with ‘Jinro is Back Zero Sugar’.
The conclusion?
Two emperors are fighting a bloody battle for the throne, while the rest of the regional kings are just trying to live quietly in their own castles.
#KoreanSoju #SojuWars #Chamisul #ChumChurum #Jinro #Saero #KoreanHistory #KDrink #AfterVenice