Wanna be Kim Joeongillin'? Try a bottle of this!

[I]SEOUL (AFP) - North Korean-made soju liquor is about to go on sale in the United States for the first time despite Washington’s trade restrictions with the communist state, a news report said Thursday.
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South Korea’s Hankook Ilbo newspaper, quoting the importer, said the first shipment of “Pyongyang soju” left last month.

The main ingredient of Korea’s traditional drink is rice, almost always in combination with other ingredients such as wheat, barley or sweet potatoes. It is clear-coloured and typically varies in alcohol content from 40 to about 90 proof.

US-North Korean trade is rare as Washington imposes sanctions on Pyongyang, which it lists as a state sponsor of terror. Imports need approval from the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.

But Steve Park, 59, the Korean-American importer, told Hankook he secured the office’s approval last July.

Park said a cargo ship carrying 2,520 boxes of soju, or some 60,000 bottles, left the North’s western port of Nampo for the United States on April 9.

“If the customs procedures go as scheduled, the soju will be sold at US stores, marketplaces and restaurants as early as late this month or early next month,” Park was quoted as saying.

“The North Korean government shows a positive response to this business in that its product is to be exported to the US, which has long been considered as a hostile country, through legal procedures,” he said.

“I think this will serve as a good opportunity to improve relations between the two countries in the future.”

Park, owner of a firm called Korea Pyongyang Trading USA, emigrated from South Korea to the United States in the early 1980s. He has been engaged in North Korean trade for the past 10 years.

The Korea Times said the North Korean brand would initially go on sale in the eastern US states.
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Wanna know what it tastes like?

Rubbing alcohol.

How do I know?

Because that’s what all soju tastes like.

That’s what makes it good…

EDIT: Credit to Embeosso for bringing this to my attention.

If you want a real drink try Absinth with wormwood.

Dude, I already have brain damage. Why would I want more?

y’know what’s better than a $60 bottle of absynthe? $60 worth of any other kind of booze. especially soju.

I doubt any of the places I go to will start carrying this. If anything, it will just become trendy in yuppity white joints.

So, stupid question here, but everybody (mostly derauslander) talking about this shit has me wondering.

My liquor of choice lately has been Kettle 1 straight up. Is there a similarity?

Can you reccomend a brand of Soju? I live in nyc.

HAHAHAHAHHAHA come see me please . You will never look at absinthe the same way again .

It will cure you of almost any worms plus my absinthe gravity tests at around 60-64 % (120-129 proof ) . So you only need one or two shots to get the effects one is looking for with absinthe .

Soju , I have been trying to find for ever . I doubt any will make it to my neck of the woods .

I still haven’t found any soju.

I’m waiting for Der to freight me one as an exercise in loving non-attachment.

Maybe in the next incarnation…

I want so badly to like soju, but I just can’t make myself. I have a nearly full bottle of Awamori Ryukyu Ohcho sitting in the fridge that I can’t bring myself to drink.

You can send it to me on behalf of Der.

My friends always bring soju back from trips to korea, a liquor store here also sells soju.

Yeah I’ve seen the bottles…

I was hoping for a brand. Anybody?

In other news…soju and tequila should not be drunk on the same night.

Even on Cinco de Mayo.

In other news Vinhthekid hits really fucking hard.

you know what i mean. the $60 stuff is the cheap stuff which isn’t the real absynthe. you said your’e making homebrew, right? that’s the real deal.

Just checked with my friend who manages nights at a liquor store … still no word on any Soju coming in , but he is gonna poke around and see what he can dig up .

Neildo , I replied to you on the Absinthe thread .

sorry again about that aus. but hey, at least we didnt get jumped by a bunch of korean dudes.

I found some small bottles in a liquor store in Duluth last time I was there. Picked one up but haven’t tried it yet…

It’s something you drink straight right? Not a mixer? (obviously you can drink anything straight, but you know what I mean…)

I get a taste for Soju sometimes, especially when I’m eating Korean food. If you want something a bit stronger go for Moon Bae Sool. I have had North Korean liquor once before while in China, it was 120 proof and tasted like gasoline, I am sure I could have run a car off of it.

How do Soju and Sake differ?

From the sounds of things, the difference is this: Sake is a drink, Soju is a weapon.