The Edison Agency – MoonBear Brewing

In 2011 the American-born Head Brewer of MoonBear Brewing, Rob Titley, was responsible for pioneering the local Korean craft beer scene and has been an advocate for raising its global profile. In 2015, he and a group of passionate enthusiasts embarked on a journey to put Korea on the global brewing map – their vision was to create a unique destination experience where nature, beer and food collide. The MoonBear Brewing story centres around Gangwon Province on the North East Coast of South Korea, home to MoonBear’s state-of-the-art 4.5 million litre (per year capacity) brewery and tap house.

In a market dominated by global European and Asian beer ‘giants’, MoonBear is the first genuine brewery experience of its scale. When Indulge Co Korea approached The Edison Agency to bring to life their vision, Edison was immediately attracted to the idea of being part of an international collaboration of designers, marketers, writers, architects and brewers. Leveraging previous experience in the Korean FMCG market, Edison undertook an extensive research phase seeking expertise and insights from both local market consumers and international cultural experts – synthesising the learnings to inform the design outcome.

Inspired by the beauty of the natural landscape, Edison shaped a design language that reimagines craft beer through the cultural lens of the distinctly Korean provenance and global spirit of its founders. MoonBear Brewing is the newest craft brewery in Korea born from a pioneering spirit, grit and determination. Being a heroic and powerful mountain totem, the moon bear is the brand’s visual symbol – made iconic by the crescent moon on its chest.  The moon bear is also a strong cultural symbol of Korea and its majestic statue marks the entrance to the Seoraksan National Park – not far from the home of the brewery. Utilising both the strength and mysticism of the local Korean mountains — Hallasan, Baekdusan and Geumgangsan —  the first series of brews have been crafted to compliment contemporary Korean food with an aesthetic underpinned by the natural texture and diversity of the brewery’s people and region.

This new craft beer start-up in Korea establishes MoonBear Brewing as a progressive, adventurous and collaborative brand that showcases the best of modern Korea to the world.