Soju

Hyunhee Park is Associate Professor of History at the City University of New York, John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the CUNY Graduate Center.

• Introduction; 1. Soju and Arak: The Eurasian Roots of Distilled Liquors; 2. The Mongols and the Rise of Soju in Koryŏ Korea; 3. Contextualizing Soju: Political Relations and Cultural Transfers between the Mongol Empire and Koryŏ Korea; 4. Distilling Soju at Court and Home in Chosŏn Korea; 5. Challenges of Modernity: The Rise of Modern Industrial Soju and Revival of Traditional Soju; 6. Alcohol Globalism: Distillation Technology in Afro-Eurasia and other areas of the World – The Cases of Japan and Mexico; Conclusion: Soju in Global Cross-Cultural Exchanges.

'This is a thorough, scholarly, excellently researched study of the origins and rise of soju, Korea's distinctive distilled alcoholic drink, which extends our knowledge of food and of technology significantly, by putting the rise of soju in global context over a thousand years of history. Providing unique documentation of a beverage world otherwise almost unknown outside Korea, it is a welcome addition to global food studies.' Eugene N. Anderson, Professor Emeritus, University of California, Riverside