국내 가죽소파에 관한 연구

A Study on the Leather Sofa Industry in Korea

The sofa industry, which is now one of the major furniture industries in Korea, has developed since 1970s as the apartment building boom and the rise of living standards triggered its demand. Among others, durable and high-quality leather sofa had been most favored and excelled other sofas since mid-1980s along with the growth of national economy before IMF control tightened money market in late 1990s. Leather sofa is still favored and its industry has great possibilities to increase as people tend to seek higher and more personalized living conditions with the stabilization of economy. However, there are several problems in the sofa industry due to the current economic difficult conditions, i.e.; 1. It is hard to cut down the cost of raw material as the supply mostly depend on import. 2. It is hard to keep product quality due to technical difficulties. 3. There are still illegal duplicates of foreign or domestic competitors'design. The aim of this study is to examine the reality of the leather sofa industry in Korea and to suggest new vision for its progress.