H clothing company, which operates women’s clothing in gmarket, moved its production base in China back to South Korea this year. For the past four years, the company has been producing by OEM in Guangzhou, China, but recently began to place orders with domestic sewing factories in dongdamen, Seoul and changandong. “Until four years ago, the cost of production in China was relatively low, but recently, due to rising wages and other factors, the unit price of products has increased by more than 30%, so there is no reason to continue to produce in China,” said the relevant person in charge of the enterprise
Lee seung-u, general manager of goocyflow, a clothing company, recently left China and returned to the production base in South Korea. “The cost of production in China has gone up, and in contrast, if it is produced in South Korea, even if the unit price is slightly higher, it is more advantageous in terms of quality and speed,” Lee seung-u said
recently, more and more Korean small and medium-sized garment enterprises have moved their production bases back to Korea from China. 1n terms of production cost, South Korea is about 20% higher than China, but considering the quality and delivery time, domestic production is more cost-effective
there are many reasons for evacuation, such as increased cost, flexibility, etc.
therefore, recently, domestic sewing factories located in dongdamen, shuiyudong, Gyeonggi government and other places have regained vitality. These enterprises have faced bankruptcy crisis in the past four or five years due to the inflow of orders into China, but the situation has improved recently. Kim Yong Hwan, general manager of geumwon textile, a knitwear manufacturer, said: “we have received a large number of orders from Korean enterprises, which are 10% to 30% higher than five years ago.”
in addition to the production cost, Korean enterprises have withdrawn from China one after another because of the “flexibility” of Korean sewing enterprises. 1f it is produced in China, it is difficult to realize the production mode of just in time because the production base is far away. But if it is produced in Korea, we can update the product design and adjust the inventory in real time through close cooperation with sewing factories. “We have a good relationship with garment enterprises. We can check the production process at any time, which has great advantages,” said a person in charge of Sejin clothing, a women’s clothing manufacturer
in addition, in order to place an order in China, more than 1000 pieces must be produced each time, but in South Korea, a small number of varieties can be produced, which is also a reason. Kim Tae won, general manager of NC apparel, said: “compared with China, the sewing factories in South Korea have a great advantage in the field of ‘matching’ production.”
there is an urgent need for stimulus policies aimed at training professional sewing talents.
sewing factories in South Korea also have troubles. Although orders have increased, but can produce high-quality clothing in a short period of time senior talents present aging trend, and relatively lack. Park sin 1M, general manager of clopia, which operates a large-scale sewing factory in Donglai District, said: “in the past four or five years, due to the bankruptcy of many sewing factories, many skilled technicians have left the industry, but no new talents have entered, so the talents in the sewing industry are aging.”
industry insiders pointed out that it is necessary for the government to make efforts to train relevant talents systematically. A person in charge of a sewing enterprise said: “the sewing support center under the clothing industry association has been operating various education programs, but most of them are held two or three times a year, and they are only in the form of walking, so it is not helpful to improve the actual technical level.”< According to Kim Wang sik, head of sewing support center of Korea garment industry association, "the sewing industry is a labor-intensive industry, so the employment effect is great. We will work out a reasonable plan for expanding the talent team of domestic sewing enterprises and training new talents. "