Soju, beer, and inflation, oh my!

The article translated here is on a subject no doubt near and dear to many of our readers’ hearts — the price of alcohol. Readers without experience of the intoxicating cheapness of Korean spirits may be surprised at the positively Marxist indignation given to a lousy 3-penny rise in their prices, but we think once you try them you’ll see it’s imperative that they be as cheap as can be.

Thanks go once again to the Munhwa Ilbo.

In line with those of natural gas, transportation, and oil, the prices of beer and soju are going up.

With the cost of living rising with them as if in a competition, the shoulders of the common people, afflicted by the severe economic hardship of these times, are increasingly weighed down.

On the third, following business circles, the domestic beer market leader Hite Beer raised production of all of its brands by 1.9% starting today. Following this, the price of Hite bottles (500 ml) has gone up from 923.65 won to 941.2 won. The prices of black beer Hite Stout (1,034.75 to 1,054.41 won) and 330 ml-sized Exfeel (767.42 to 782.00 won) also went up. Regular shops will raise prices by approximately 50 won. Following Hite Beer’s presentation of factory costs OB Beer, second in market share, is expected to follow suit.

A Hite Beer representative said “Due to the recent sharp increase in the price of domestic barley and the multiplying costs of other raw materials, production costs are increasing and so is the cost of beer.”

The representative ‘common man’s drink’, soju, is also showing signs of a price increase. Jinro, leader in the soju market, announced that its factory costs will eventually increase by 30 won per 800-ml bottle. This is due to a rise in the cost of its basic ingredient ethanol. A Jinro representative said “It’s not definite yet” but that “The truth is that because for the last three years the price of soju has not gone up even in the face of greatly increased raw materials costs, well, that’s the reason.” Jinro manager Yun Jong-woong also said at a press conference that he couldn’t deny the possibility of a price hike.

The rise of soju prices began around the end of last year. It was then that Doosan, seeking to defray the cost of the rise in ethanol prices, raised the retail price of 처음처럼 from 730 to 770 won.