Park Andong
Andong
the home of Korean soju
The history of Andong soju reaches back more than 700 years: in the Goryeo era, the art of distillation, originally Persian arak, arrived on the Korean peninsula with the Mongol troops, by way of Andong. The city’s Confucian scholar families made distilling a mark of culture: each house developed its own recipe and kept it for centuries. To this day, Andong remains the undisputed centre of traditional Korean soju.
The terroir of Andong
Three things shape this spirit’s character: the soft, low-mineral water of the Nakdong River watershed, which gives fine distillation its purity; the rice of the Andong basin; and the cold northern winters that slow fermentation and lend the base wine depth and complexity. Andong’s nature is present in every glass.
Three generations
with a vision for the future
Today three generations work side by side: Park Jae-seo, the master; his son Park Chan-kwan, who leads the company; and grandson Park Chun-woo, who studied microbiology and refines the spirit’s quality scientifically. “Tradition disappears if it is not passed on.” This saying of the master is the guiding principle of the house: classic soju, ready for the next generation.