Low-priced clothing pours in from China
Sewing schools and factories are closing down one after another.
“I’ve been protecting Changsin-dong for 48 years, and this is the first time it’s been this difficult.”
On the afternoon of the 23rd, Changsin-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul. Mr. Cha Gyeong-nam (65) looked at the empty sewing factory interior in despair. He had been running this factory, which was about 40 pyeong in size, on rent, but now not only the employees but also all the sewing equipment had disappeared. Mr. Cha said, “I could no longer handle the deficit, so I put the factory up for sale in February of this year, but it still hasn’t sold out. “I’m also operating a jeans factory, and I’m worried about that too,” he said, looking tearful.
The domestic sewing industry, which has been centered around Jongno-gu and Jung-gu in Seoul for over 60 years, is facing a crisis. In the Changsin-dong area (pictured), where sewing factories were crowded due to the boom in the textile industry in the 1960s, the ‘rumbling’ sound of sewing machines did not stop. The alleys of Changsin-dong were bustling with Dongdaemun Market merchants who came every morning to order clothes.
However, recently, as cheap clothes have been pouring into the domestic market through Chinese e-commerce companies such as AliExpress and Temu and Chinese ‘instant fashion’ company Shein, the sewing industry has been hit hard. Park Man-bon (55), who runs a women’s clothing factory in the area, sighed, saying, “Sales this year have decreased by nearly 30% compared to the previous year due to the increasing number of people trying to buy low-priced clothing made in China.”
On this afternoon, the streets of the sewing alley in Changsin-dong were filled with signs saying ‘40 pyeong for rent’ and sewing companies with their lights off. October is usually known as the peak season for the industry when fall and winter clothes are made, but there was no more vitality in the sewing alley.
Fashion academies that would produce world-class designers such as the next Andre Kim and Woo Young-mi have been closing one after another recently. On this day, the five fashion academies in the Changsin-dong area that the reporter visited were closed and closed. A building manager said, “If you learn at a fashion academy, you should be able to get a job, but that didn’t work, so we closed down the business in February of this year.” Jeong Jae-woo, a professor of fashion design at Dongduk Women’s University, said, “If the domestic sewing industry dies, both the textile industry at the back and the fashion design industry at the front will collapse along with it. Measures to revive the industry are urgently needed.”
“50 years of sewing… “Everyone leaves security and cleaning work.”
China’s low-cost clothing, sewing industry takes a direct hit
‘Altesh’ clothing offensive in the 20,000-30,000 won range… Sewing companies couldn’t bear it and 11% went out of business.
“There are no young people who want to learn a job anymore”… Number of employees in Seoul decreased by 10,000 in 3 years
On this day, in the sewing alley of Changsin-dong, there were two or three factories with their lights off every 30 meters. There were many underdeveloped places where you wouldn’t even know they were factories because the factory signs had fallen off. There were numerous areas where clothes were left unattended along with piles of trash inside the windows, which were clouded with dust. The streets were filled with places with tightly closed iron doors with signs such as ‘Factory Inquiry’, ‘Store Lease’, and ‘Customer Team Looking’ attached.
● The number of workers in the sewing industry in Seoul has decreased by 10,000 in three years.
According to Dong-A Ilbo’s analysis of microdata from the National Statistical Office’s National Business Survey, the number of workers in the sewing and garment manufacturing sector in Seoul plummeted by more than 10,000 people, from 70,875 in 2020 to 60,266 last year. During the same period, the number of businesses decreased from 15,571 to 13,769. This means that 11.6% of companies have disappeared in three years.
Last year, Seoul was the only local government in the country to see a decline in both the number of businesses and employees, and Statistics Korea cites the decline in sewing companies as the main cause. An official from the National Statistical Office explained, “The scale of businesses such as women’s outerwear manufacturing and shirt and blouse manufacturing have decreased to the extent that it has affected the overall number of employees in Seoul.”
Not only Changsin-dong, but also Bongje Street in Sindang-dong, Jung-gu, and Wangsimni, Seongdong-gu, are virtually at a standstill. Mr. Hamo (66), who has been making clothes samples in Sindang-dong for 13 years, met with a reporter on the 23rd and said, “I have been in the sewing business for nearly 50 years since I was 18, but now there are no young people who want to learn this trade.” He added, “There are about 200 sewing workers here. “Many of the companies left to work as security guards or cleaners because they could not afford the monthly rent,” he said.
Joo Jong-nyeo (59), who ran a sewing factory in Wangsimni for over 15 years, also said, “I had no money to pay salaries, so I laid off three out of six former employees one by one starting this spring. “I ride,” he said. Mr. Joo decided to hold out until next spring and then close the business.
● ‘Altesh’ takes a ‘direct hit’ in Chinese e-commerce raids
The reason that domestic sewing companies are experiencing a sharp recession recently is because they have lost their market to cheap clothing coming through Chinese e-commerce, such as the so-called ‘Altesh’ (Ali, Temu, Xuin). Women’s outerwear, such as coats, can be purchased for around 20,000 to 30,000 won on AliExpress, but coats supplied by sewing companies must be purchased for at least 100,000 won at the retail market.
According to the ‘2024 Distribution Logistics Statistics Collection’ published by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in August, the size of overseas direct purchases increased from 1.6 trillion won in 2014 to 6.7 trillion won last year. Last year, among overseas direct purchases, the clothing and fashion sector accounted for the largest portion at 3 trillion won.
There is an analysis that the overseas direct purchase craze from China has been a fatal blow to the domestic sewing industry, which relies on offline stores by more than 90%. According to the ‘2023 Survey on the Status of Sewing Companies’ conducted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea Fashion Industry Association, the distribution share of sewing companies is 38.9% in traditional markets, 21.1% in direct sales to consumers, and 11.7% in deliveries to brand companies, while 7.1% are in online shopping malls. It stops at
Young sewing workers are also leaving the industry because they cannot endure the long-term recession and poor treatment. According to the ‘2023 Survey on the Status of Sewing Companies’, most sewing workers work more than 12 hours, but their average monthly wage is only about 2.4 million won. Kang Hee-myeong, a professor at the Department of Knit Fashion Design at Hanyang Women’s University, said, “Currently, the majority of people working in the sewing industry are in their 70s.” He added, “We need to create a system and working environment that can attract young people interested in fashion, such as creating a national certification.” He said.
Reporter Son Jun-young [email protected]
Mi-kyung Jeong, intern reporter, graduated from Kyung Hee University, Department of Economics