Best Korean Drinks, Which One Wins?

If you just landed in Korea, or you keep seeing soju bottles on every K drama dinner table and wonder what you would actually order, this guide is built for first timers walking into a Korean bar or convenience store for the first time.

I have gone through most of these Korean drinks the hard way, ordering the wrong thing, getting poured for before I knew the rules, and asking bartenders to slow down and explain.

Below is what I actually learned about the most popular Korean drinks, what they taste like, where to find them, and how to order without feeling lost.

What Are the Best Korean Alcoholic Drinks for Beginners?

The five Korean drinks you will run into constantly are soju, makgeolli, Korean beer, bokbunjaju, and cheongju, and each one tastes completely different from the others.

Soju (소주) is the clear, bottled spirit that shows up on almost every restaurant table. Makgeolli (막걸리) is a milky, lightly fizzy rice wine that tastes closer to a sour yogurt drink than a typical wine.

Korean beer, labeled matge olju or just maekju (맥주), is a light pilsner style lager. Bokbunjaju (복분자주) is a sweet black raspberry wine, and cheongju, also sold as yakju (청주 or 약주), is a clear rice wine closer to Japanese sake.

Drink	Korean name	Typical ABV	Taste
Soju	소주 (soju)	16 to 20 percent	Clean, slightly sweet, almost no smell
Makgeolli	막걸리 (makgeolli)	5 to 8 percent	Tangy, milky, mildly fizzy
Korean beer	맥주 (maekju)	4 to 5 percent	Light, crisp lager
Bokbunjaju	복분자주 (bokbunjaju)	14 to 19 percent	Sweet, dark berry wine
Cheongju or yakju	청주 or 약주	12 to 16 percent	Clear, smooth, slightly nutty

Here is roughly how strong each one is side by side, since the alcohol percentage is the single biggest thing new drinkers underestimate.

What Does Soju Taste Like and Why Is It Everywhere?

Soju tastes clean and faintly sweet, with almost no burn compared to vodka, which is exactly why it is easy to drink too much of it without noticing.

The first time I had original Jinro or Chamisul soju, I expected something closer to harsh vodka. It is not.

Modern soju is distilled mostly from rice, wheat, or sweet potato, then diluted down to around 16 to 20 percent alcohol, with a touch of sweetener added, so it slides down far too easily for something that strong.

Soju is almost always shared, not sipped alone. At a restaurant table, someone pours for everyone else, and you hold your glass with both hands when it is your turn to receive.

I learned this one the awkward way, reaching for the bottle myself before an older guest at the table quietly took it from me and poured it for me instead.

Is Makgeolli Worth Trying, and Where Do You Get It?

Makgeolli is worth trying because it tastes nothing like a typical wine, and it pairs almost perfectly with Korean pancakes on a rainy day.

Makgeolli is unfiltered rice wine, pale and slightly cloudy, usually sold in a plastic bottle with a screw cap. You shake the bottle gently before pouring because the rice sediment settles at the bottom. It tastes tangy, a little sweet, and faintly carbonated, closer to a fizzy rice yogurt than a wine.

In Seoul, I found the easiest way to try makgeolli was at a pajeon, or Korean savory pancake, restaurant, where it is practically the house pairing. It is also sold cold at most convenience stores and grocery marts across the country, so you do not need a special bar to find it.

Where Can You Try Korean Beer and Fruit Soju?

Korean beer and flavored fruit soju are both sold at every convenience store, which makes them the easiest entry point for anyone nervous about ordering at a bar.

Major Korean beer brands like Cass, Terra, Hite, and Kloud are light pilsner style lagers, best compared to a crisp American or European lager rather than a hoppy craft IPA. Smaller craft breweries have grown across Seoul and Busan in recent years for travelers who want something stronger flavored.

Fruit flavored soju, sold under names like grapefruit, peach, or green grape soju, is lower in alcohol than original soju, usually around 12 to 13 percent, and tastes closer to a soft drink.

It is the version most first time visitors reach for, since it masks the alcohol almost completely, which is also exactly why people tend to drink it faster than they realize.

Drink	Where to find it	How it is usually served
Soju	Restaurants, convenience stores, bars	Shot glass, shared and poured for others
Makgeolli	Pajeon restaurants, grocery stores	Shaken bottle, poured into a bowl style cup
Korean beer	Convenience stores, pubs, hofs	Bottle or draft, often mixed as somaek
Fruit soju	Convenience stores, bars	Chilled, straight from the bottle

How Do Locals Order and Drink Korean Alcohol?

Locals rarely drink soju or beer alone, they drink somaek, a mix of soju and beer, or more recently a Korean style highball built with soju or whisky over ice and soda.

Somaek is made by dropping a shot of soju into a glass of beer, sometimes stirred with a chopstick or by tapping the table. It is cheaper and lighter tasting than straight soju, and it has become the default drink at many group dinners.

The highball trend, soju or whisky mixed with sparkling water or tonic over ice, has become one of the fastest growing bar orders in Seoul over the past few years, especially among younger drinkers who find straight soju too strong.

Table etiquette matters more than the drink itself. You pour for others before yourself, you turn slightly away from the oldest person at the table when you drink your first glass, and you never pour your own glass when someone else is reaching for the bottle.

Situation	Do	Don’t
Being poured for	Hold your glass with both hands	Hold the glass with one hand toward an elder
Your first sip	Turn slightly away from the eldest guest	Drink facing them directly
Empty glass	Offer to pour for others nearby	Pour your own glass while others watch
Refusing a drink	Leave the glass full and untouched	Take a sip then set it down half empty

What Should First Timers Watch Out For?

The biggest mistake new drinkers make is underestimating soju because it tastes mild, then standing up too fast and realizing it was never mild at all.

• Soju and bokbunjaju run 14 to 20 percent alcohol, stronger than most wine, even though they taste smooth.
• Mixing drink types, especially soju, beer, and makgeolli in one night, tends to produce a worse hangover than sticking to one.
• Convenience store prices are low enough that people often drink more than planned simply because another bottle is so easy to grab.
• Pouring your own glass at a group table can come across as rude, even though no one will usually say anything about it directly.
• Fruit soju hides its alcohol content behind a sweet taste, so it is easy to drink it like soda and feel the effects later than expected.

For background on how these traditional Korean drinks are classified and made, the Wikipedia entry on soju is a solid starting reference.

If you are also curious how far your food budget stretches once you add drinks to the bill, this breakdown of real Korean food costs in America is a useful companion read.

And if soju and makgeolli scenes in K dramas are part of why you are curious about Korean drinks in the first place, this guide on how to pick the best K drama to start with is worth a look too.

FAQ

What is the most popular Korean alcoholic drink for beginners?

Soju is the most common starting point, since it is cheap, available everywhere, and tastes milder than its 16 to 20 percent alcohol content suggests.

Is makgeolli stronger than beer?

Makgeolli usually sits around 5 to 8 percent alcohol, which is close to beer and noticeably weaker than soju or bokbunjaju.

What is somaek?

Somaek is a mix of soju and beer in one glass, usually built by dropping a soju shot into a glass of beer, and it is the most common group drink in Korea.

Can you buy Korean alcoholic drinks at a convenience store?

Yes, soju, makgeolli, Korean beer, and fruit soju are all sold cold at nearly every convenience store across Korea, with no special license needed to buy them as a visitor of legal drinking age.

So which one would you reach for first, a shot of soju, a bowl of makgeolli, or a soju highball? Let us know in the comments, and if this helped, the Korean food cost guide linked above is a good next stop before your trip.

Editlab, https://editlab.luvpp.com

EDITLABPublished by EditlabA media network of 8 titles with free data tools.About the network ›

Written by the Editlab editorial desk · Automated pre-publication checks (duplicates, format, house rules) · Report an error · Add this site as a preferred source on Google