Soju Day becomes official in California
The US California Legislature has officially established Soju Day to celebrate Korea’s national spirit and its growing cultural significance in the US.
California Senator Steven Choi welcomed elected officials, community leaders and cultural organisations to a festival in Sacramento this week (25 August) to celebrate soju and Korean Culture.
Choi officially designated 20 September as ‘Soju Day’, recognising the spirit’s growing significance among US consumers.
The festival, which included soju tastings and cultural performances, aimed to raise awareness of Korean traditions, support cultural exchange and promote the Korean American community’s contributions to the state’s multicultural identity.
“Soju is about Korean heritage, culture, and community bonds,” said Senator Choi. “It has become an emblem of unity, celebration, and tradition for Korean Americans, serving as a bridge of cultural exchange and enhancing cross-cultural understanding in our diverse society.”
Korean Americans make up about 1.43% of California’s total population, representing a significant portion of the Korean population in the US, where the ethnicity ratio is about 0.59%.
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The festival also recignised the passing of Assembly Bill 2069 (2023-2024), Sale of soju and shochu. The bill authorises beer and wine license holders to sell soju and shochu, a Japanese spirit, without requiring a special liquor license.
Shochu has only been sold under its correct name in California since October 2023, when the state passed a bill ending decades of the spirit being mislabelled as Korean soju.
Governor Gavin Newsom signed California state legislature AB 416 into law on 10 October 2023, impacting the way Japanese shochu can be sold to Type 41 liquor license holders.
Type 41 liquor licensees are generally restaurants and bars where beer and wine is permitted to be sold and consumed.
Since the 1990s, before the passing of AB 416, Japanese shochu with an ABV of 24% or less could be sold to Type 41 licensees labelled as soju, a Korean distilled alcoholic beverage. This was a result of the prior passage of an exception for Korean Soju and guidance from the California ABC directing such labelling. This overlooked cultural distinctions between the two products, and was also confusing for consumers.
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