Korean cooper crafts new vision with Scottish tradition

In a bustling workshop, wooden shavings swirl as the steady hammering echoes through the space. For Jeon Chang-hyun, this bustling atmosphere marked the place where he ultimately discovered his true vocation. Jeon, an alumnus of Hongik University's Department of Woodworking and Furniture Design and a former product developer at Hanssem, South Korea's largest furniture and home furnishing enterprise, followed an unconventional route for a Korean artisan when he relocated to Scotland to serve as a cooper's apprentice.

Upon returning to his homeland, Jeon established Wee Branch Cooperage in Yeongwol, Gangwon Province. The establishment's name merges the Scots term "wee," meaning diminutive, with "branch," representing a minute Scottish offshoot taking root in Korean territory to produce wood. "I sought a profession that felt distinctly my own," Jeon shared with The Korea Times at a café in Seoul, Friday.

"In a large corporation, I was contributing meaningfully yet remaining but a small cog in an enormous machine. During my university days, I was accustomed to orchestrating every phase of a project, from inception to completion. I recognized the necessity for a trade that would allow me complete control."