Korea's first sour-ale brewery collapsed as drinkers switched to highballs

Wild Wave was founded in Busan in 2015 by Kim Gwan-yeol and began brewery operations in 2017. It was the first craft brewery in South Korea to focus on sour and wild ales, a niche that earned it a loyal following and the title 'Busan's craft beer pride.' At its peak, Wild Wave had two taprooms and distribution through convenience stores and hypermarkets.

The craft beer boom that began in the mid-2010s drove the domestic market to ₩152 billion by 2021. But the boom faded fast. Consumer tastes shifted toward highballs and whiskey, the end of the No Japan boycott let Japanese beers reclaim shelf space, and major brewers and imported brands outcompeted craft breweries on price in the convenience-store channel. The craft beer market shrank to ₩75.2 billion by 2023 — a 51% decline in two years.

Wild Wave's expansion into large retail platforms forced it to invest in production capacity and compete on price, squeezing margins and pulling resources from the taproom experience that had built the brand. Accumulated losses grew beyond what the company could absorb. On April 15, 2026, Wild Wave filed for bankruptcy with the Busan Bankruptcy Court. It had 93 creditors. 'Since starting the brand in 2015 and starting brewery operations in 2017, it has always been difficult,' Kim wrote on social media. 'Eventually, the accumulated losses reached a point where it was no longer manageable.'