Soju is a clear, colourless distilled alcoholic beverage of Korean origin. It is usually consumed neat, and its alcohol content varies from about 16.8% to 53% alcohol by volume (ABV). Most brands of soju are made in South Korea. While soju is traditionally made from the grains of rice, wheat, or barley, modern producers often replace rice with other starches, such as potato and sweet potato. This liquor features in the drinking culture of Korea.

The origin of soju dates back to the 13th century, when the Levantine distilling technique was introduced to the Korean Peninsula during the Mongol invasions of Korea (1231–1259), by the Yuan Mongols who had acquired the technique of distilling arak from the Persians during their invasions of the Levant, Anatolia, and Persia.

Soju is traditionally made by distilling alcohol from fermented grains. 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 sot (cauldron) topped with soju gori (two-storied distilling appliance with a pipe). In the 1920s, over 3,200 soju breweries existed throughout the Korean Peninsula.

In the early 2000s, soju started to gain a share in the global spirits market. As of 2015, Jinro soju had been the largest selling spirit in the world for more than a decade.

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