The Most Popular Soju by Region in South Korea
Did you know that there is a representative soju (Korean distilled alcoholic beverage) for each province in South Korea? In 1973, to prevent excessive competition between different companies in the soju market, the government allowed only one soju brand to be sold in each province. In 1996, this was decreed unconstitutional and now companies are allowed to sell their soju anywhere, but there are still particular popular brands in each region. Below, we’ve listed each region in Seoul and the most popular soju consumed in the region, as well as the distiller of each soju. Bucket list item #10: Go on soju tour in South Korea to do a taste test while I am young and my liver can handle it. Trivia: Korea makes you enter your birthdate in order to browse the website of soju brands.
The provinces of South Korea:
Seoul
Chamisul (참이슬)
From: Hite Jinro
Model: IU (former)
*Seoul is not a province but a special city surrounded by the Gyeonggi-do region. As the largest city in Korea, it gets its own soju icon. As for the controversy surrounding IU as Chamisul’s model, read more about it here: New Law Prohibits IU’s Soju Advertisement Campaign
Gangwon-do
Cheoeum cheoreom (처음처럼)
From: Lotte Chilsung Liquor
Model: Shin Min Ah
Chungcheongbuk-do
Cheongpung (시원한 청풍)
From: Chungbuk Soju
Model: Ha Yeon Joo
Chungcheongnam-do
O2Linn (맑을 린)
From: Sunyang
Model: Yoo In Young (former)
Jeollabuk-do
Hite (하이트)
From: Hite Jinro
Jeollanam-do
Yipsejoo (잎새주)
From: Bohae
Model: Hong Jin Young
Gyeongsangbuk-do
Cham (참)
From: Kumbokju
Model: Kang Sora
Gyeongsangnam-do
Joeun Day (좋은데이)
From: Muhak
Model: Park Soo Jin
White (화이트)
From: Muhak
Busan
C1
From: Daesun
Jeulgeowuh Yeh (즐거워예)
From: Daesun
Busan is not a province, but as the second largest city in Korea, it gets its own soju icon like Seoul.
Jeju
Hallasan (한라산물 순한소주)
From: Hallasan
Visual representation of the popular brands by region:
Read more: Trends in Korean Alcohol: More People Preferring Weaker and Smoother Liquor