NEWS
SURVEY: SOCHU VOTED THE MOST UNLOVED KOREAN FOOD ITEM BY FOREIGNERS
By Siulan Law Mathews DipWSET
25-1-2021
Credit: Samia Liamani/Unsplash
Despite being the world’s top-selling spirit by volume, the Korean speciality Sochu liquor is voted “the most unloved Korean food” by foreigners, according to a consumer survey conducted by the Korean government.
In the “2020 Overseas Major Korean Food Consumer Survey”, Korea’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Areas has polled 8,000 foreigners from 16 cities including New York, Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo, Rome and London.
They found that 14.1 percent of respondents rated Korea’s traditional Sochu liquor as the most unloved food and drink category, among other Korean specialities like fried chicken, bibimbap and kimchi.
This is in stark contrast to Sochu’s popularity in the Korean domestic market where the leading Soju brand Jinro was named the world’s top-selling spirit brand by volume in 2020, for the 19th consecutive year and is expected to break the 90 million case mark in the coming years.
“While our Korean food was well-received in major overseas cities, Soju did not get a positive response. It is probably because soju does not have a taste or flavour that is impressionable like wine despite it being an alcoholic drink,” Korean food writer Ryu Si Hyung commented to local media.
The Soju category, literally means “burned liquor”, is a clear, colourless distilled alcoholic spirit commonly consumed with meat.
With alcohol content varying from about 16.8 to 53% ABV, Soju is traditionally made from rice, wheat, or barley, with modern producers often replacing rice with other staples, such as potato and sweet potato.
(the writer can be contacted at: info@thewinechronicle.com)
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