Korean Acoustic Guitar Brands

The brands at a glance

Korean guitar companies change their factories more often than their addresses, so confirm any current model with the maker or the label inside the guitar.

Korea’s role: the builder behind other names

Korean makers became important in the 1970s and 1980s as brand-name companies looked for lower-priced guitars. Cort began as a piano importer in 1960 and turned to guitars in 1973. For years it was strictly a contract builder for foreign brands, and contract work is still its main focus. Samick took over many contracts after the Japanese factory Matsumoku closed in 1987, including work for Aria Pro II and Washburn.

This means you may already own or play a guitar that a Korean company built, with another brand on the headstock. It also means the Korean brand names themselves are often less famous than the guitars they built.

Cort

Cort is a privately held company in Seoul, run by the family of its founder. The Wikipedia history gives its start as 1960 (as Soo Doh Piano) and its guitar-making start as 1973. It builds lower-priced guitars for other companies, which sell them under their own brands. Brands named in its history include Ibanez, PRS (the SE line), Squier and G&L’s Tribute series, though most of those are electrics rather than acoustics.

Cort also sells its own guitars. Its acoustic ranges, according to its history, include Earth, Core, Jade and Luce series, plus classical and bluegrass models. Factories are in Indonesia and China; earlier Korean plants in Daejon and Incheon have closed. The Parkwood line has been reported as built in Korea.

Cort suits a first guitar buyer who wants a plain, well-built entry guitar. Match the body shape to how you play, using acoustic guitar body styles and sizes.

Samick

Samick began as Samick Pianos in 1958, founded by Lee Hyo-Ik, and is headquartered in Eumseong County. It opened a large plant in Cileungsi, near Bogor in Indonesia, in 1992, and that factory now produces most of what Samick makes. A joint venture factory in Shanghai, China, is run with Bechstein.

Samick is both a maker of its own brands and a major contract builder. Its own guitar brands include Greg Bennett (electric, acoustic and archtop guitars, plus basses and ukuleles) and Silvertone. It has supplied guitars for Squier, Epiphone, Washburn, Hohner and Silvertone, and built for Kramer from 1998 to 2009. Samick suits budget buyers who want a simple guitar for learning, or a spare travel guitar.

Crafter and Sungeum

Crafter traces its start to 1972, when HyunKwon Park began making guitars in his basement in Korea. The first brand name was Sungeum, which means “accomplishing the sound” in Korean. The company moved to a larger site in Yangju-gun in 1978. Park’s son Injae joined in 1986 and pushed for a more international name, and the company began exporting under the Crafter name. Sungeum remains a recognised brand inside Korea. A new 7,000-square-metre factory opened in 2000.

Crafter’s acoustics suit players who want a steel-string or classical guitar from a maker that builds its own brand, rather than a contract guitar. Where a given Crafter model is built now should be checked on its label or spec sheet, as this guide could not confirm current production sites from a company source.

How to tell where a guitar was made

1. Label inside the soundhole. Most guitars list the country of manufacture. A Korean company name on the label does not mean the guitar was built in Korea.
2. Serial number. Korean makers use their own formats, and the maker can decode the year and factory.
3. Spec sheet or catalogue. The model page lists the country for that line.
4. Headstock and neck block. Some builders stamp the country or the factory code there.

Because a contract builder may supply the same factory with different brands, two guitars with different names can be near-twins. Compare top wood, neck width and setup instead of brand reputation.

Which Korean brand suits which player

• First guitar or budget spare: Samick’s Greg Bennett and Silvertone ranges, and Cort’s entry lines.
• Classical or steel-string from a smaller maker: Crafter.
• A guitar from the same factory as a famous name: Cort and Samick built for many brands, but check each model individually.

Whichever you pick, a low-priced guitar plays much better with a good setup. How to tell if a guitar needs a setup shows what to check. For the other major Asian guitar-making tradition, see Japanese acoustic guitar brands.