Weird History Food - Season 4 Episode 35 : Why Nearly Everyone In Korea Drinks The Same Liquor 2025

Soju, literally translating to “burned liquor”, is Korea’s most popular spirit. The clear, colorless beverage traditionally brewed from rice has experienced a boom in the U.S. in recent years, thanks in part to the popularity of Korean entertainment like the Netflix series Squid Game and K-pop groups like BTS. Unlike Scotch or bourbon, there are no specific legal rules for producing soju and there’s no precise definition of what soju is or has to be, but if you want to order a traditional round, there ARE rules to how you drink it. So… what is it?