"Does Korean Water Always Taste Like This?" Japanese Tourist Buys 'PET Bottle Water' at Convenience Store, Turns Out to Be Soju

Mistaken for Bottled Water, Purchases PET Bottle Soju
Some Say, "I Would Have Been Confused Too"

Soju displayed at a mart. Photo by Kang Jinhyung

A review by a Japanese tourist who mistakenly drank soju, thinking it was bottled water at a Korean convenience store, is gaining attention online. The tourist confused soju sold in PET bottles for water, and this story is resonating with Japanese netizens who have traveled to Korea.

On December 25, the Japanese economic media outlet 'Limo' reported that a Japanese traveler, referred to as A, recently purchased a PET bottle of soju at Incheon Airport, mistaking it for bottled water. The incident has become a hot topic on social networking services (SNS).

According to the report, A, who works as an illustrator, visited Korea to participate in a pop-up event at a goods shop run by a Korean friend. Not knowing any Korean, A purchased the PET bottle product at a convenience store inside Incheon Airport without hesitation, as the packaging looked just like Japanese bottled water. The low price also raised no suspicions. Although it looked like water, the PET bottle A bought was actually 'Chamisul' soju with an alcohol content of 16 percent.

After taking a sip and being startled by the strong smell of alcohol, A wondered, "Does water in Korea usually taste like this?" Only after using a photo translation app did A realize that the 'bottled water' purchased was actually soju.

A posted a photo on SNS with the comment, "With this kind of packaging, of course I thought it was water." The post received nearly 200,000 likes.

Japanese netizens responded with comments such as, "It's natural to mistake it for water," "This is definitely confusing," and "The price being similar to water would make it even more misleading." Some also noted, "If you check the calorie information, you can tell it's not water."