A pilot firewall test has cleared the certification path for Canadian wood assemblies in a market where British Columbia alone recorded $239 million in annual forestry exports — and where approval through the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology would open buildings of up to 12 storeys to wood construction for the first time. That is according to Tai Jeong, Country Director of Canada Wood Korea, who detailed the two-hour resistance rating achieved at the Fire Insurance Laboratory of Korea in a report published this week by Canada Wood Group.
The result addresses the precise obstacle that Bruce St. John, president of the federally funded Canada Wood Group, had identified as the first and most fundamental barrier to Canadian wood entering any new market. St. John had warned that building codes and standards were the starting point—not a detail—when entering unfamiliar construction markets, telling reporters: “If the country doesn’t have that, we’re starting from the very grass roots.”
Working with the Architectural Institute of Korea (AIK, ITCC-Dankook) and KCC Plasterboard, Canada Wood Korea has developed two-hour fire-rated wall and floor assemblies, along with sound-rated party wall systems, for Korea’s multi-family and mid-rise residential sector. Assembly configurations were drawn from both regulatory requirements and current Korean construction practice — a deliberate choice, Jeong said, to ensure the systems can be adopted without significant changes to how Korean builders currently work.
“If wood is to gain traction in the mid-rise multi-family segment, the market needs practical, code-compliant systems that can move beyond concept promotion and into real project application,” Jeong said. “Fire and acoustic certification are not just technical milestones — they are enabling tools for market access.”
Full fire and acoustic certification testing is planned for later this year, with KICT the target body. Jeong said certification would support a pathway for wood buildings of up to 12 storeys — or 50 metres — with Canada Wood Korea undertaking extensive coordination with KICT and FILK ahead of the pilot test to confirm assembly configurations and testing methodologies before full-scale certification begins.
Dr Steve Craft of CHM Fire Consultant Ltd. guided the fire testing approach through virtual consultations and an in-person visit to Korea, with the February 27 result producing what Jeong described as “an important proof point” ahead of full certification. The Korea Land and Housing Research Institute — which signed an agreement with Canada Wood and Forestry Innovation Investment to promote wood-based housing as part of South Korea’s carbon-neutrality goals during B.C.’s 2024 trade mission — has expressed growing interest alongside several modular construction firms.
The Korea certification push sits within a broader Asian strategy, with lenders in Japan already adjusting appraisal models for mid-rise timber to reflect shorter construction schedules and lower embodied carbon: “This is a strategically important step in expanding wood use in South Korea, particularly in the mid-rise multi-family segment where long-term growth potential is strongest,” Jeong said
