Korean Whisky

Type: Country

Fans queued for 16 hours for Kimchangsoo's first bottling. It sold out in 10 days, according to 88 Bamboo: an eager reception for whisky made at a small distillery in Gimpo.[9]

Korean whisky includes locally distilled single malts from Kimchangsoo and Three Societies in Namyangju. A second Kimchangsoo distillery opened in Andong in July 2026. Ki One is credited with the first Korean single malt release, in September 2021; who distilled the earliest spirit remains unresolved.[4][9][10]

What makes Korean whisky worth understanding?

Start with two contrasting settings: a wooded hillside in Namyangju and a 309-square-metre site in Gimpo. Both are in Gyeonggi Province. At the first, Three Societies brings together founder Bryan Do and Scottish master distiller Andrew Shand. At the second, Kimchangsoo began the business that later expanded to Andong in North Gyeongsang.[4][5][8][10]

The stories lead in different directions: Three Societies through Do's partnership with Shand and the arrival of Ki One; Kimchangsoo through Kim's interest in traditional Korean liquors, his small Gimpo premises and the expansion to Andong. Those details reveal more than a single national flavour description.[4][5][8][9][10]

Three Societies and Ki One

Three Societies takes its name from three groups: founder Bryan Do, master distiller Andrew Shand and Korean consumers, according to The Korea Times. Do, born in the United States and raised in California, founded the distillery in 2020. In its 2021 report, the newspaper described Shand as a Scottish whisky veteran with 40 years of experience.[4][5]

Ki One arrived in September 2021: a first edition of 1,506 bottles, aged about one year. The Korea Times credited it as Korea's first single malt release and explained that its name carries two meanings in Korean, “a beginning” and “to hope or wish”.[4]

A published product account describes fermentation lasting at least 100 hours in stainless steel, followed by double distillation in Forsyths stills. Fermentation precedes distillation; its reported duration is a production detail, not a tasting description for every Ki One edition.[6]

By September 2024, The Korea Times reported that Three Societies had filled 4,800 oak casks and shipped 150. Those figures capture its cask record at that date, rather than annual production capacity or current whisky availability. Export destinations included the United States, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom.[5]

Climate as the producer explains it

Documented: Bryan Do's climate explanation. Hot summers, cold winters and a north-facing slope shape Do's account of maturation at Three Societies. He says these conditions accelerate flavour extraction, as reported by The Korea Times in 2024.[5] This is the producer's explanation, rather than an independently measured comparison with another country's warehouses. The earliest known source and exact check date must be established before publication.

Kimchangsoo: Gimpo and the move to Andong

Kimchangsoo began in Gimpo in 2020. Kim told Korea JoongAng Daily that he signed the distillery lease in June that year; a separate account dates the first spirit to January 2021.[7][8][9]

Documented: the first bottling queue. The 16-hour queue and sell-out in 10 days described above come from 88 Bamboo; the year of that first release remains disputed.[9] The earliest known source and exact check date must be established before publication.

The Gimpo premises covered just 309 square metres. That measurement says more about the distillery's original physical scale than the broad label “craft”, without making a claim about the quality of its whisky.[8]

Kim's early inspiration included Park Rok-dam, an expert on traditional Korean liquors. That connection places Korean drinks knowledge within the distillery's story, alongside the account of its whisky production.[9]

Gimpo the First Edition 2024 brought together nine casks aged from 3 years 1 month to 3 years 7 months, bottled at 50.1% ABV. Reporting put the release at 2,000 bottles and said it sold out within a minute through outlets including CU. The cask ages and strength describe this edition, rather than a standing specification for Kimchangsoo whisky.[8][9]

Exports to Britain began in March 2025, according to Korea JoongAng Daily. Smaller amounts also went to Singapore, Vietnam and Japan.[8]

Documented: Kim's Scotland ambition. Scotland was the export destination Kim wanted above all, he told Korea JoongAng Daily.[8] That was his ambition, not an established export outcome. The earliest known source and exact check date must be established before publication.

Story box: Kimchangsoo's early release record

When Kimchangsoo first released whisky and who first distilled Korean single malt are separate questions. The reporting leaves both unresolved.

Disputed: the first Korean single malt. The Korea Times credits Ki One with the first release in September 2021, while 88 Bamboo dates Kimchangsoo's first spirit to January 2021. These accounts describe different milestones: a released whisky and newly distilled spirit. They do not settle who distilled the earliest spirit.[4][9] The earliest source for the wider claim and the exact check date must be established before publication.

Korean whisky's next production chapter

Andong marks a substantial change in scale. For the distillery opened in July 2026, Chosun Biz reported annual production capacity of 140 kilolitres of whisky: 140,000 litres, or about 200,000 bottles of 700 ml. These are capacity figures, rather than verified actual annual output or litres of pure alcohol.[10]

The same report says the distillery uses barley grown under contract in Yecheon County. Chosun Ilbo described Andong's production and ageing capacity as ten times Gimpo's. It also reported plans for an Andong Soju, a separate project from the whisky already released.[7][10]

Documented: Kimchangsoo's malted rye experiment. A Kimchangsoo travel exclusive recorded by Whiskyfun in 2026, identified as 2021/2025, combined 71% malted barley with 29% malted rye.[12] That composition applies to the individual release, not the whole Kimchangsoo range. The earliest known source and exact check date must be established before publication.

Products named in reporting during 2026 include Celestial Series Dal, Mokseong and Gimpo 2026 Edition. These are specific releases to investigate, each with its own production questions; their names alone do not establish a shared recipe or maturation history.[11]

What Korean law establishes

Whisky has an explicit place in Korean alcohol law. The official Liquor Tax Act text lists it separately from soju among distilled alcoholic beverages. Another official extract includes time stored in wooden casks among the specifications.[1][2]

The often repeated one-year maturation threshold comes from a different source. The Korea Times reported in 2021 that one year was sufficient for whisky in Korea. The supplied statutory extracts do not establish that exact minimum, so the threshold is reported practice here, rather than a verified statement of current law.[4]

A reported domestic threshold is not automatically a rule that applies wherever a bottle is sold.

Common mistakes when reading about Korean whisky

The main traps are confusing first release with first distillation, and uncertainty over a maturation provision with the absence of a legal whisky category. The release record and legal evidence above keep those distinctions clear.

Scale needs a date, too. Gimpo's documented 309-square-metre premises challenge the assumption that Korean whisky is necessarily mass-produced, but the Andong expansion means those dimensions cannot describe the whole operation in 2026.[8][10]

Where to go next

• Japanese Whisky Distilleries and Regions: continue exploring whisky production in Asia.
• Scotland: The Home of Scotch Whisky: follow the Scottish connection in the Three Societies story.
• Craft Whiskey Across the United States: explore another setting for smaller distillery businesses.

Sources

[1] Korea Ministry of Government Legislation, National Law Information Center. Liquor Tax Act. Official English text supplied in the fact sheet; revision date not specified.
https://law.go.kr/lsInfoP.do?lsiSeq=206337&chrClsCd=010203&urlMode=engLsInfoR&viewCls=engLsInfoR

[2] Korea Legislation Research Institute. Liquor Tax Act, Statutes of the Republic of Korea. Official English text supplied in the fact sheet; revision date not specified.
https://elaw.klri.re.kr/eng_mobile/viewer.do?hseq=63738&type=part&key=20

[4] The Korea Times. Korea's first single malt whisky produced in hills of Namyangju. 24 September 2021.
https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/lifestyle/travel-food/20210924/koreas-first-single-malt-whisky-produced-in-hills-of-namyangju

[5] The Korea Times. INTERVIEW: Constraints are holding back Korean whisky boom. 22 September 2024.
https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/business/companies/20240922/interview-constraints-are-holding-back-korean-whisky-boom

[6] Booze City. Three Societies Korean Single Malt Whisky Ki One. Product account, undated.
https://boozecity.com/products/three-societies-korean-single-malt-whisky-ki-one-virgin-american-oak-batch-1

[7] Chosun Ilbo. Kim Changsoo Whiskey Unveils Andong Distillery, Boosts Production Tenfold. 7 July 2026.
https://www.chosun.com/english/travel-food-en/2026/07/07/PAEYGUCLJFCV5MMCBU2HSCCY2Q/

[8] Korea JoongAng Daily. Can distiller Kim Chang-soo's labor of love give Korea the top-shelf whiskey it deserves? Publication date not specified in the supplied sheet.
https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/lifestyle/can-distiller-kim-chang-soos-labor-of-love-give-korea-the-top-shelf-whiskey-it-deserves/11629119

[9] 88 Bamboo. Taste Testing Kimchangsoo Whisky Gimpo Korean Single Malt First Edition 2024. Publication date not specified in the supplied sheet.
https://88bamboo.co/blogs/whisky-reviews/kimchangsoo-whisky-gimpo-korean-single-malt-first-edition-2024-%EA%B9%80%EC%B0%BD%EC%88%98%EC%9C%84%EC%8A%A4%ED%82%A4-%EA%B9%80%ED%8F%AC-2024

[10] Chosun Biz. Kim Chang-soo opens Andong distillery. 7 July 2026.
https://biz.chosun.com/en/en-society/2026/07/07/5NWX7WHRMJFEPKSVSR5XL3K3IE

[11] Herald Corporation. E-mart24's Bottle Order sells out Kim Chang-soo whisky. 2026; exact publication date not specified in the supplied sheet.
https://biz.heraldcorp.com/article/10927823

[12] Whiskyfun. Another small world tour of whisky. 2026.
https://www.whiskyfun.com/2026/Another-small-world-tour-of-whisky.html

This article is desk research based on the supplied verified fact sheet, distinguishing official legal extracts, reported production details and attributed producer explanations.

Last checked: November 2026