In short: A standard 360 mL green bottle of soju at 16–17% alcohol contains about 45–48 g of pure alcohol. That is roughly 4.5 to 5 Australian standard drinks, which on its own is more than the most that Australia’s national guidelines suggest for any single day (4 standard drinks). Soju feels light because it is served in small glasses, but the bottle adds up fast.
Last reviewed: November 2026
How to work out the alcohol in any drink
Every alcohol calculation uses the same formula:
volume (mL) × alcohol % × 0.789 = grams of pure alcohol
The 0.789 is the density of ethanol. In Australia, one standard drink is 10 g of pure alcohol, whatever form it comes in. Other countries use different sizes: the United States uses 14 g, and Korean researchers and health bodies have used both 7 g (about one soju glass) and 14 g at different times. That is one reason drinking advice can be confusing if you read sources from more than one country. Throughout this article we use the Australian 10 g definition.
Common Korean drinks, worked out
These are our own calculations using typical serving sizes and alcohol content. Always check the label: the standard drinks figure is printed on alcohol sold in Australia, and soju strength varies by brand and flavour.
| Drink | Typical serve | Alcohol | Pure alcohol | Australian standard drinks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soju, one glass | about 50 mL | 16% | 6.3 g | 0.6 |
| Soju, one bottle | 360 mL | 16% | 45.4 g | 4.5 |
| Soju, one bottle | 360 mL | 17% | 48.3 g | 4.8 |
| Fruit soju, one bottle | 360 mL | 12% | 34.1 g | 3.4 |
| Korean lager, can | 500 mL | 4.5% | 17.8 g | 1.8 |
| Korean lager, small can | 355 mL | 4.5% | 12.6 g | 1.3 |
| Makgeolli, one bottle | 750 mL | 6% | 35.5 g | 3.5 |
| Somaek, one glass | 50 mL soju + 200 mL beer | mixed | about 13 g | about 1.3 |
Two things stand out. First, a single glass of soju is small, a bit over half a standard drink, which is why it can feel harmless. Second, people rarely stop at one glass. Seven or eight glasses empty a bottle. Fruit-flavoured soju is lower in alcohol, but it is easy to drink quickly and contains added sugar.
What the guidelines say
Australia
The National Health and Medical Research Council’s 2020 guidelines say that, to reduce the risk of harm from alcohol-related disease or injury, healthy adults should drink no more than 10 standard drinks a week and no more than 4 standard drinks on any one day. The same limits apply to men and women, and the guidelines are clear that drinking less is safer.
Put in soju terms: one bottle in a night is already above the daily limit, and two bottles across a week uses up about 9 of the 10 weekly standard drinks.
Korea
Korea does not have a single official limit in the same form. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency tracks ‘high-risk drinking’, which it defines as seven or more glasses of soju (or five cans of beer) in one sitting for men, and five glasses (or three cans) for women, at least twice a week. In 2025, 12% of Korean adults met that definition.
Advice attributed to the Korean Association for the Study of the Liver, as reported in Korean media, is stricter: no more than about half a bottle (around four glasses) per session for men and about two glasses for women, drinking no more than once a week, and leaving at least two to three days between sessions.
If you go red when you drink
Many people of East Asian background flush when they drink. This is usually caused by a less active form of the enzyme ALDH2, which means acetaldehyde, a toxic by-product of alcohol, builds up in the body. A review proposing drinking guidelines for Koreans suggested that people who flush should keep to about half the limit for people who do not. The red face is not a sign of a healthy circulation. It means your body is struggling to clear alcohol’s breakdown products.
Why this matters for the liver
The liver processes almost all the alcohol you drink, and it can only work at a fixed speed. The NHMRC notes that an average healthy adult needs at least an hour, and often longer, to process one standard drink. Coffee, a cold shower and haejang-guk (hangover soup) can make you feel better, but none of them speeds this up.
Alcohol is especially relevant if you have fatty liver linked to metabolic health (MASLD). Under the 2023 international definitions, someone with MASLD who drinks more than about 140 g of alcohol a week (women) or 210 g a week (men) is reclassified as having MetALD, a combination that carries higher risk. In soju terms, 140 g is roughly three bottles a week and 210 g is roughly four and a half. Liver guidelines generally advise people with MASLD to cut down, and to stop completely if there is significant scarring. Read more in What Is MASLD?
Practical ways to drink less at a Korean table
Korean drinking culture is social. Glasses are refilled by others and turning down a drink can feel awkward. A few habits make it easier to stay within your limit:
- Count bottles, not glasses. Decide before you sit down how much of a bottle is yours. One bottle is about 4.5 standard drinks.
- Keep your glass partly full. In Korean etiquette, an empty glass gets refilled. A glass you are slowly sipping does not.
- Have water with every glass. The NHMRC suggests one non-alcoholic drink for every alcoholic one.
- Eat a real meal. Food slows how quickly alcohol is absorbed. Choose grilled fish, tofu and vegetable dishes over fried anju.
- Watch the somaek. A mixed glass looks like beer but contains more alcohol than a standard drink, and the bubbles speed up absorption.
- Have alcohol-free days. Several days between drinking sessions is better for the liver than drinking a little every day.
- If you flush, halve it. Or skip it. Non-alcoholic beer and zero-sugar soft drinks are now normal at Korean restaurants in Australia.
The bottom line
One bottle of soju is about 4.5 to 5 Australian standard drinks, more than the 4-drink daily limit in Australia’s guidelines. If you drink, keep track of bottles rather than glasses, drink water alongside, eat properly and give your liver several alcohol-free days a week. If you have fatty liver, raised liver enzymes or any other liver condition, ask your doctor what level of drinking, if any, is safe for you.
If you are worried about your drinking, in Australia you can call the National Alcohol and Other Drug Hotline on 1800 250 015.
This article is general information, not medical advice. See our Medical Disclaimer and Editorial Policy.
Sources
- National Health and Medical Research Council. Australian guidelines to reduce health risks from drinking alcohol. 2020.
- National Health and Medical Research Council. Practical information: how to apply the Australian alcohol guidelines.
- Lee S, et al. Korean alcohol guidelines for moderate drinking based on facial flushing. Korean Journal of Family Medicine. 2019.
- Korea Times. Korean men drinking less, women 30 and up drinking more (KDCA high-risk drinking data). July 2026.
- Asia Business Daily. Year-end parties raise red flags for liver health (reporting KASL drinking advice). December 2025.
- Rinella ME, et al. A multi-society Delphi consensus statement on new fatty liver disease nomenclature. Journal of Hepatology. 2023.