[INTERVIEW] Korean cooper crafts new vision with Scottish tradition

Jeon Chang-hyun, founder of Wee Branch Cooperage in Yeongwol, Gangwon Province, said he built a new career in Scotland as an apprentice cooper before returning to Korea. He now plans a mobile cask-repair service for local distilleries and breweries. Jeon said manual coopering remains essential even in the AI era, and he hopes to expand into cask manufacturing with native Korean oak.

Jeon Chang-hyun is a graduate of Hongik University’s Department of Woodworking and Furniture Design and formerly worked as a product developer at Hanssem.

He earned an apprenticeship at Lowland Cooperage in Scotland and is believed to have been the first East Asian apprentice cooper in the region.

He said he personally repaired 2,301 casks during his time at Lowland Cooperage, including bourbon barrels, Scotch hogsheads and sherry butts.

Jeon said Korea has no industrial-level cooperage or trained coopers capable of properly repairing oak casks.

He plans to expand his business beyond cask maintenance into full-scale manufacturing using native Korean oak trees.

Published Oct 3, 2026 7:00 am KST

Jeon Chang-hyun poses in front of stacked wooden casks at Lowland Cooperage in Scotland. Courtesy of Jeon Chang-hyun

Inside a workshop, wooden shavings fly through the air as the rhythmic sound of hammering fills the room. For Jeon Chang-hyun, this demanding environment is where he finally found his true calling.

Jeon, a graduate of Hongik University’s Department of Woodworking and Furniture Design and a former product developer at Hanssem, Korea’s largest furniture and home furnishing company, took an unusual path for a Korean craftsperson as he moved to Scotland to become an apprentice cooper.

Now back in Korea, Jeon launched Wee Branch Cooperage in Yeongwol, Gangwon Province. The name combines the Scots word "wee," meaning small, with the English word "branch," symbolizing a small Scottish branch taking root in Korean soil to craft wood.

"I wanted to do a job that felt entirely my own," Jeon told The Korea Times at a cafe in Seoul, Friday. "At a big company, I was doing meaningful work, but I was just a small piece of a huge project. During my university years, I was used to handling every stage of a project from concept to final creation. I realized I needed a craft where I could take full ownership from start to finish."

Jeon Chang-hyun swings a hammer to repair a wooden cask at Lowland Cooperage in Scotland. Courtesy of Jeon Jeon Chang-hyun

Sweat, hammering, accomplishment

His journey into coopering began with a conversation with a friend planning to open Hwasimjujo, a local craft distillery. Knowing Jeon’s woodworking background, the friend recommended that he learn coopering, the craft of making and repairing wooden casks for aging spirits.

Intrigued by the craft and foreseeing the growth of Korea's premium spirits market, Jeon took advantage of working holiday visa age limit extensions for the U.K. and headed to Scotland. There, he earned an apprenticeship at Lowland Cooperage, becoming what is believed to be the first East Asian apprentice cooper in the region.

"Coopering is undeniably physical 3D work (dirty, dangerous and difficult)," Jeon said. "A standard bourbon barrel weighs between 50 and 60 kilograms, and repairing just one requires hundreds of hammer swings. In your first year, it’s common to accidentally hit your own hands or bruise your legs. By the end of the day, charcoal dust fills your nose and face."

Despite the physical toll, Jeon found deep satisfaction in the grueling labor. Over his time at Lowland Cooperage, he personally repaired 2,301 casks, ranging from bourbon barrels and Scotch hogsheads to sherry butts.

"It’s a job where you get instant feedback on your work," he explained. "When you carve a replacement stave to fit perfectly into an old cask and it passes quality inspection, all the physical fatigue transforms into a sense of accomplishment. It makes you feel like you are living every moment without regret."

Currently operating temporarily in Yeongwol, Jeon is preparing a mobile, on-site cask repair service for local distilleries and breweries.

"Right now, Korea has no industrial-level cooperage or trained coopers capable of repairing oak casks properly," Jeon pointed out. "Distilleries import expensive casks, but when a barrel gets damaged or loses its flavor profile, they often have to abandon or discard it because there's no local technician to fix it. It’s like buying imported cars but having no auto repair shop in the country."

Jeon compares casks to tea bags, saying that even older casks can be restored and reused by repairing the inside. By establishing a professional maintenance service, he hopes to help local distillers reduce production costs while driving resource circulation in the industry.

"Repairing casks is not just an operational necessity. It is an effective way to practice eco-friendly resource management," he emphasized.

"Instead of constantly importing new wood or discarding usable barrels, repairing them saves timber and reduces carbon footprints. It contributes directly to sustainability in the spirits industry."

Jeon Chang-hyun repairs a wooden cask at Lowland Cooperage in Scotland. Courtesy of Jeon Chang-hyun

In an era increasingly driven by artificial intelligence and automated manufacturing, Jeon firmly believes manual coopering remains irreplaceable. While major global liquor companies and cooperages rely heavily on automated systems to manufacture new casks, the repair process requires human touch.

"We are living in an age where robots work in factories, and I questioned whether I could make a living doing this," Jeon said. "Making new casks can be automated because cutting timber to standard sizes is straightforward. But wood is a natural material that warps, cracks and drops knots over time. Automation is difficult when it comes to repairing because you never know where a defect will appear. When I visited cooperages in Portugal and Spain, production was mechanized, but the repair section was still done manually by people swinging hammers."

Looking ahead, Jeon plans to expand his business beyond cask maintenance into full-scale manufacturing, using native Korean oak trees.

"Korea’s second most common tree species is oak," Jeon said. "Just as Japan built a global brand, Korea has immense potential to craft its own unique premium casks and export them to the world.”

江原道灵越郡Wee Branch制桶厂的创始人全昌铉表示，他曾在苏格兰当过学徒制桶匠，之后返回韩国。他现在计划为当地的酿酒厂和啤酒厂提供移动式木桶维修服务。全昌铉认为，即使在人工智能时代，手工制桶仍然至关重要，他希望未来能用韩国本土橡木生产木桶。

全昌铉毕业于弘益大学木工与家具设计系，曾任汉森公司产品开发员。

他在苏格兰的低地制桶厂当学徒，据信是该地区第一位东亚制桶学徒。

他说，在 Lowland Cooperage 工作期间，他亲自修理了 2301 个木桶，包括波旁威士忌酒桶、苏格兰威士忌酒桶和雪莉酒桶。

全先生表示，韩国没有工业级制桶厂，也没有训练有素的制桶工人能够妥善修理橡木桶。

他计划将业务从橡木桶维护扩展到使用韩国本土橡树进行大规模生产。

发布于2026年10月3日 上午7:00（韩国标准时间）

全昌铉在苏格兰低地制桶厂（Lowland Cooperage）堆叠的木桶前摆姿势拍照。图片由全昌铉提供。

在工作室里，木屑飞溅，锤击的节奏声充斥着整个房间。对于全昌铉来说，正是在这种充满挑战的环境中，他最终找到了自己的人生方向。

全先生毕业于弘益大学木工与家具设计系，曾任韩国最大的家具和家居用品公司韩森的产品开发人员。他走了一条与韩国工匠截然不同的道路，前往苏格兰成为一名制桶学徒。

回到韩国后，全先生在江原道灵越郡创办了Wee Branch Cooperage制桶厂。厂名由苏格兰语“wee”（意为“小”）和英语“branch”（意为“分支”）组成，象征着一根小小的苏格兰树枝在韩国的土地上生根发芽，最终成为制桶匠。

“我想要一份完全由自己掌控的工作，”全先生周五在首尔一家咖啡馆接受《韩国时报》采访时说道。“在大公司里，我虽然做着有意义的工作，但我只是庞大项目中的一小部分。大学期间，我习惯于负责项目的每一个阶段，从概念到最终成品。我意识到我需要一份能够让我从头到尾完全掌控的工作。”

全昌铉在苏格兰低地制桶厂挥锤修理木桶。图片由全昌铉提供。

汗水、锤炼、成就

他走上制桶之路始于与一位朋友的一次谈话。这位朋友计划开设一家名为“花心酒造”的当地精酿酒厂。朋友知道全先生有木工背景，便建议他学习制桶技艺，也就是制作和修理用于陈酿烈酒的木桶。

全先生对制桶工艺很感兴趣，并且预见到韩国高端烈酒市场的发展潜力，于是利用英国工作假期签证年龄限制的延长，前往苏格兰。在那里，他在Lowland Cooperage制桶厂获得学徒资格，成为该地区据信的首位东亚制桶学徒。

“制桶无疑是一项体力活（又脏又危险又难），”全先生说。“一个标准的波本威士忌酒桶重达50到60公斤，仅仅修复一个酒桶就需要挥锤数百次。第一年，不小心砸到自己的手或者腿上青一块紫一块是很常见的。一天下来，你的鼻子和脸上都会沾满木炭粉尘。”

尽管体力消耗巨大，但全先生却从这份艰苦的工作中获得了深深的满足感。在洛兰制桶厂工作的这段时间里，他亲自修复了2301个酒桶，从波本威士忌酒桶、苏格兰威士忌大桶到雪莉酒桶，种类繁多。

“这份工作能让你立刻得到反馈，”他解释说。“当你雕刻出一块完美契合旧木桶的替换木条，并且它通过了质量检验时，所有的体力消耗都会转化为成就感。这让你觉得你活在当下，毫无遗憾。”

Jeon目前在永越临时运营，正在为当地的酿酒厂和啤酒厂准备移动式现场酒桶维修服务。

全先生指出：“目前韩国既没有工业级制桶厂，也没有训练有素的制桶工匠能够妥善修理橡木桶。酒厂进口昂贵的橡木桶，但一旦橡木桶损坏或失去风味，他们往往不得不弃用或丢弃，因为当地没有技术人员可以修理。这就像买了进口汽车，却发现国内没有汽车修理厂一样。”

全先生将酒桶比作茶包，认为即使是年代久远的酒桶，只要修复内部，也能恢复使用。他希望通过建立专业的维护服务，帮助当地酿酒商降低生产成本，同时促进行业资源循环。

“修复酒桶不仅仅是运营上的必要之举，也是践行环保资源管理的一种有效方式，”他强调说。

“与其不断进口新木材或丢弃可用的木桶，不如修复旧木桶，这样既能节约木材，又能减少碳排放。这直接有助于酒类行业的可持续发展。”

全昌铉在苏格兰低地制桶厂修理木桶。图片由全昌铉提供。

在人工智能和自动化制造日益普及的时代，全先生坚信手工制桶工艺仍然不可替代。尽管全球大型酒业公司和制桶厂都高度依赖自动化系统来生产新桶，但维修过程仍然需要人工操作。

“我们生活在一个机器人工厂的时代，我曾质疑自己能否靠这个谋生，”全先生说道。“制作新木桶可以实现自动化，因为将木材切割成标准尺寸很简单。但木材是一种天然材料，随着时间的推移会变形、开裂、掉节。维修方面很难实现自动化，因为你永远无法预知缺陷会出现在哪里。我参观过葡萄牙和西班牙的制桶厂，那里的生产已经实现了机械化，但维修环节仍然是由工人用锤子手工完成的。”

展望未来，Jeon计划将业务从木桶维护扩展到全面生产，使用韩国本土橡树。

全先生说：“韩国第二大常见树种是橡树。正如日本打造了全球品牌一样，韩国也拥有巨大的潜力，可以打造自己独特的优质橡木桶并出口到世界各地。”