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.
The first global study of the distinctive Korean soju, tracing cross-cultural exchanges and Korea's place in Eurasian history.
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.
'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
'Soju is a very useful addition to the field of early modern
alcohol studies. The depth and breadth of the evidence is
extraordinary and Hyunhee Park's easily accessible style makes the
work valuable to audiences well beyond Asian specialists.
Ultimately, the book may help to shift the gaze away from
sixteenth-century Europe and toward early modern Asia when
discussing the origins of globalization.' Gina Hames, Pacific
Lutheran University
'Hyunhee Park shows how Korea's soju arose in the global context of
a Mongol world, how it developed as a local and national liquor,
and how it has become global itself in a new globalization.
Brilliant and interdisciplinary, the volume explores the deep and
dynamic roots of a popular liquor.' Dongwon Shin, Jeonbuk National
University
'… Soju: A Global History is a study in possibilities for how to
think about global history as well as how to reframe Korean and
northeast Asian history therein. Foregrounding material exchange
and technology as the chief lens for Korean globalisms allows not
only an escape from the myopia of ethno-centric nationalism, but
also a clear glimpse at the dynamic interplay of material
mobilities, technological acculturation, and identity
(re)formations. That dynamic at the heart of Soju is both proof of
Korea's global entanglement and a clarion to excavate the bedrock
of this cultural powerhouse's globalism.' Aaron Molnar,
International Journal of Asian Studies
'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 … 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, Pacific Affairs
'Those interested in premodern Korean history will find this book a
welcome addition to a field that needs more studies in English.
Recommended.' M. J. Wert, Choice
'… an impressive work that should appeal to a range of audiences …
Korean historians and food studies scholars will benefit from the
books ability to synthesize an eclectic range of primary and
secondary sources on soju and distillation. More broadly, the book
serves as an exemplary model for students of transnational
history—it demonstrates how toeffectively navigate the interaction
of the global and local contexts across time and space.'
H-Soz-Kult
'There is hardly any doubt that Park's monograph will become an
essential read to anyone interested in soju, or even more broadly,
the history of distilled liquors.' Cho Wonhee, Acta Koreana
'Park's Soju: A Global History represents an ambitious project
adroitly rendered. It follows soju and its attendant culture and
technology from premodern Afro- Eurasia, throughout the Mongol
empire, across the Choso˘n dynasty and Japanese colonial period,
and finally to the contemporary Korean Wave. It will amply serve as
an end in itself as well as a fecund point of departure for both
researchers and students in a wide range of academic disciplines
and historical periods.' John M. Frankl, Seoul Journal of Korean
Studies
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