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Soju softer but 20 times more expensive than 55 years ago: Report

Published: 27 Nov. 2025, 16:56

A worker organizes bottles of soju at a restaurant in Jongno District, central Seoul, on July 8. [NEWS1]

Koreans are drinking softer but paying more for their favorite alcoholic drink, as soju prices climb while alcohol levels sink to record lows in a decades-long shift in consumer taste.

Soju, a clear distilled spirit widely consumed across Korea, has seen its price rise nearly 20-fold and its alcohol content fall to about half over the past 55 years, according to a new report from Korea Price Information.

The price tracker marked its 55th anniversary on Thursday by releasing a comprehensive price directory that reviews cost movements from 1970 to 2025.

It found that a 360-milliliter (12.2-fluid-ounce) bottle of soju cost 65 won (4 cents) in 1970, about the same as the price of beef or rice at the time.

Soju entered the 100-won range in 1975, rose to 350 won in 1988 and reached 510 won in 1996. Prices rose above 600 won in 1998, after the Asian financial crisis, and exceeded 1,000 won in 2004. Major retailers now sell soju for 1,260 to 1,340 won.

Soju brands are stocked at a supermarket in Seoul on June 9. [YONHAP]

While prices rose, alcohol content steadily declined. Distilled soju in the 1920s was about 35 percent alcohol, and 30 percent versions remained common through the 1960s. The 1970s brought 25-percent soju as the industry standard. Producers then began lowering alcohol levels in the 1990s, introducing products at 23 percent and 21 percent.

A 19.8-percent bottle debuted in 2006. The mid-2010s saw soju drop into the 17-percent range, and by 2019, 16-percent products dominated the market. A 14.9-percent bottle released in 2023 set the lowest level to date.

A 2023 Korea Gallup survey found that 52 percent of drinkers named soju as their favorite alcoholic beverage, ahead of beer at 38 percent.

“Soju, the nation’s drink, has changed along with the times, and its evolution also reveals shifts in everyday prices,” a Korea Price Information official said.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY JEONG JAE-HONG [[email protected]]