Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2021. xiii, 281 pp. (Maps, figures.) US$99.99, cloth. ISBN 9781108842013.
Although historians are usually solo players who relish lonely desk work, Soju: A Global History began as part of a common academic project about the spread of fermentation and distillation technologies, the result of which was published in Crossroads: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Southeast Asian Studies in 2016. This book, which examines within a global context the historical trajectory of soju, the unique distilled alcoholic drink of Korea, is the first book to be published from this project. As the author repeatedly states in the book, it could be very interesting to see similar research about other spirits such as whiskey or vodka in order to truly celebrate the role of these spirits in our shared global experience.
Due to the multiplicity of its academic roots, this book stands to be welcomed in various academic disciplines. First of all, as a book about alcohol (which is a key element of food culture), and more specifically about Asian alcohol consumption, this book broadens and enriches literature in food studies that have so far mainly focused on Western food cultures in Western languages. In addition, this book is also about the history of science and technology insofar as distilled liquors, unlike fermented ones (which can be made indiscriminately), cannot be made without the transfer of scientific and technological knowledge. In this regard, Soju, by focusing on a very specific type of alcohol production and consumption in Korea, coalesces into a grand narrative of intra-Eurasian cultural interactions and even trans-Pacific cultural exchange.
In order to elucidate the place of a distinctive Korean liquor in the global historical context, this book scuttles down historical, anthropological, and archaeological corridors. This is achieved not just by the author’s deep dive into literary works written in five different languages, archaeological relics of distillation apparatus, and the etymology of various terms related to soju including Shaochun and shaojiu, Araq and arak, and others, but also by Park’s in-person visits to various places in Korea, Japan, and the US. Through these meticulous and laborious endeavours, Soju vividly unfolds pre-modern, modern, and post-modern cross-cultural encounters, both without and with the mediation of Western powers.
Comprised of six chapters, this book is organized into three sections. The first section carefully examines the global history of distilled liquors in search of their origins. After examining all kinds of evidence concerning the origin of the distilled alcohol generally called Arak in the Islamic world and Shaojiu in regions under Chinese cultural influence, the author concludes that compelling evidence is still lacking to differentiate between the theory of “multiple, independent inventions” of distillation technology and the theory of westward/eastward distillation technology transfer in Eurasia. According to the author, the more meaningful approach is to consider the popularization of the stills. In the second section, comprised of chapters 2 through 5, the book moves on to the introduction of distillation technology and its development in Korea. Here we learn that soju was first popularized during the Goryeo dynasty under the umbrella of the Pax Mongolica, then more deeply rooted in ordinary life during the Joseon dynasty. Soju was produced on an industrial scale under Japanese rule and Korean military dictatorship at the sacrifice of the rich locals, and eventually found its place at the tables of the world with the phenomenon of the Korean Wave in the twenty-first century. Finally, the third section of the book examines two other cases of distillation in Japan and Mexico, representing a similar development of technology transfer. Despite diverse theories of their origins, it is also apparent that the spirits popularized during the Mongol period spread to both countries.
This book strongly urges us to go beyond the dominant paradigm of nation-centred historical perspective and instead to explore historical contingencies and international connections. The basic tenor of this book is to emphasize cross-cultural encounters and the resulting diversity in subsequent local developments. Although the author has made an impressive effort to identify the origins of distilled alcohol in differing contexts of China, Korea, Japan, and Mexico, she convinces us that the more meaningful approach to the historical development of soju is not to isolate its moment of technological invention, but rather to showcase its popularization as a result of cultural mixing. In doing so, the book overcomes not just the Eurocentric approach to the history of science and technology, but also sends up the critical approach of Joseph Needham and his team, which so far has not sufficiently considered the interaction between Chinese technology and other non-European advances.
This approach is all the more necessary in the twenty-first century, which is again wrought with strong nationalistic tendencies despite today’s surface globalization. By capturing the moments of intersection between Korean history and trans-Asian and even trans-Pacific history, this book reminds us that everything local is global and vice versa.
Not just the production of soju but also the consumption of soju is global, uniting various peoples of the world under the same sheltering umbrella of both celebration and solace. This book emphasizes the shared experience of human beings in alternating moments of feast or suffering (and even loneliness), which historians often neglect in their explanations of conflict between people, nations, and civilizations. We endeavour to understand hostilities, rivalries, and struggles—so why not too the happiness and indulgences of the world’s citizens?
These truly global products—both soju and this book about soju—are invaluable assets to global academia and the global community in general, including lovers of soju. Particularly now, in the midst of the Covid-19 crisis worldwide, which clearly lays bare the commonality of human beings in our vulnerable bodies, the story of Soju stands to symbolize how we are all equally susceptible to the pains and pleasures of the physical world.
Soo-Hyun Mun
Hanyang University, Seoul