• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.931-955
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• 2024

International trade in the clothing industry has contributed significantly to South Korea's economic development. This study examines the interplay between textile and clothing exports, imports, and gross domestic product (GDP) growth from a macroeconomic perspective using a model with vector autoregressive with exogenous variables (VARX). The findings indicate that GDP growth negatively impacts textile and clothing exports but is positively correlated with imports. Furthermore, GDP growth from one and two years prior negatively affects current exports while positively influencing imports. Macroeconomic indicators, including the consumer price index, private consumption index, and producer price index, significantly impact the textile and clothing trades. By contrast, the won/dollar exchange rate and the Bank of Korea's base interest rate do not appear to exert any substantial effect. An unexpected impulse from GDP growth strongly affects the status of textile and clothing imports. Predictions for the future indicate stable GDP growth over the next five years, with high volatility anticipated in the clothing industry's trade balance. This study applies endogenous growth theory to the global clothing trade, yielding theoretical insights, and offers empirical guidance for government agencies wishing to support domestic clothing trade firms.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.462-473
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• 2008

In recent years, Korea's apparel exports to the USA have faced a great threat, as the trade environment around the world has changed continually. The purpose of this study is to analyze the competitive position of Korean apparel exports to the USA, and to enhance export competitiveness by applying to offshore sourcing. The trade data of the Office of Textiles and Apparel(OTEXA) in the U.S. Department of Commerce were selected for inquiry about export competitiveness of apparel products made in Korea. In addition, we targeted members of the Korea Apparel Industry Association among the 500 exporters of clothing items in "The Import and Export Textile Product 2003." A total 70 sheets were analyzed. The results of this study were as follows: 1) Korean apparel exports to USA have decreased by 20-35 percent per year since 2005 under the Free Trade Area, showing that Korean apparel industries have not adapted to the new trade environment. Although Korean apparel exports to USA have indicated a trade surplus from now on, Korean apparel industries should find new ways to overcome this situation, diminishing exports and increasing imports. 2) Korean apparel companies selected more offshore sourcing than domestic sourcing. Also, as Korean apparel companies manufactured apparel products offshore, foreign subcontracting outranked manufacturing in their own foreign plants. When they chose foreign countries to source, they turned mainly to China and Vietnam. Also, they considered the target country's manufacturing price, labor stability, apparel products, quality, lead time, and so on. In order to increase apparel exports, Korean apparel industries should focus more on developing competitively new apparel products, improving the ability of sourcing management, and establishing on-the-spot agencies.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.28 no.910
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• pp.1341-1350
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• 2004

With the advent of the globalization trend of the industry, the enterprises in the fashion industry around the world have witnessed a surge in exports and foreign direct investment (FDI). Many fashion enterprises in each country, along with the multi-national enterprises, have engaged in global outsourcing of the production process in order to increase their global competitiveness, and have attempted to expand their commercial presence in the world market by entering into other foreign markets. Such market entry attempts have lead to the increase of FDI and trade by the fashion enterprises. This study attempts to examine the interactive relation between FDI and export/import of fashion products in different fashion industries both worldwide and in Korea. First, we will look into the relation between export/imports and FDI of each regional fashion industry, then expand the study to the relation between those two factors found in the fashion industry of Korea in general, and finally, to the relation between the two factors in the fashion industry of countries that are the major export nations of fashion goods into Korea. The data which this study is based on were collected from the International Trade Statistics Yearbook Vol. II (UN, 1991-2002, New York: UN), UNCTAD Handbook of Statistics (UN, 1996-2001, Vienna: UN), UNCTAD database, the archives of the Korea Federation of Textile Industry and the archives of the Export-Import Bank of Korea. The methods of analysis used in this study were correlation, regression, and descriptive statistics of the data. The result of this study showed that each fashion industry of different regions was subject to a diversity of effects. For one, the fashion industry in Korea showed a significant correlation between outbound investment and both export and import. On the other hand, the apparel industry in Korea showed a significant correlation between outbound investment and imports, but no such correlation between outbound investment and exports.

• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.347-353
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• 2014

The purpose of this research was to present the possibility of an alternative production base for clothing business of South Korea through the analysis about textile/clothing industry production activities in the Gaeseong industrial complex. It is necessary for the Gaeseong industrial complex to cope with the issue about FTA and country of origin, manpower supply and demand, paying wages and labor productivity, the exclusive industrial complex of clothing. The Country of Origin on imports and exports tells the country of manufacture or production, where the product comes from. Rules of Origin are the special regulations to determine the country of origin of a product and exist in the forms of international law, legislation, precedent and administrative decisions. But the economy in the North and the Gaeseong industrial complex is a comparative advantage combined with elements of North-South interdependence as a South-North economic cooperation business and can contribute significantly to the stabilization of the North-South relations. Among the models using criteria of the determination of origin, it has directly provided the models of general regulation for offshore products, of limited offshore products. These models are to help Korean exporters in understanding and utilizing the Rules of Origin for their manufacturing. In addition, the development of the Gaeseong industrial complex will contribute to establish peace on the Korean peninsula as well as in Northeast Asia. Also economic cooperation between South and North Koreas is essential for peace and prosperity of the Korean people.

• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.158-175
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• 2001

The purpose of this study was to understand and improve the clothing habits and the apparel industry of North Korea in preparation for the reunification of South and North Korea. For this study, literary data, reports, periodicals, interviews and internet data of the two Koreas were reviewed. North Korean clothing habits used to be monotonous and uniform but nowadays people's clothes have become somewhat brighter in color and more diverse in design than before. In particular, liberal and individual dressing habits appeared among the privileged classes. When taking part in national events, women have to wear the traditional Korean costume, Hanbok, while men wear business suits for formal wear. In general, men don't wear Hanbok. Students have to be in uniforms but blue jeans, T-shirts with English logos were popular among them reflecting their sensitivity and openness towards western cultures. The brides usually wear pink Hanboks and the bridegrooms wear black business suits for their wedding. North Koreans also wear Hanbok on national holidays like South Koreans. Clothing is the most important item in the trade of process commission between North and South Korea. Trading items are mid to low end men's clothing for the most part due to less emphasis on fashion in the North. The processing is indirect trade and composed of sample making and contracting, sending out materials and production, carrying in goods and setting accounts. To activate South-North trade, establishment of infrastructure, stabilization of shipping, reducing high costs of distribution, building direct communication system by setting up office in a neutral zone and simplifying procedures in applying for the South and North Korea Economic Cooperation Fund. On the other hand, clothing and textiles education is carried on at art colleges, light industries colleges and commercial colleges in Pyongyang. Clothing institutes which study Hanbok and Western clothes, are installed in each city and province. Graduates who majored in clothing and textiles are posted in institutes or apparel factories. Their job is designing, patternmaking and sewing for their customers. Most of them are women and in good state of economic conditions. The North Korean clothing industry has been the core national industry that has developed based on overseas demand form the mid 1980s. The standard is that of South Korea in the early 1980s. In 1999, trade of North Korean textile products with trade counterparts such as Japan and China was $1.3 million in exports and $1.27 in imports. Of this amount the export takes up 25.4% of the total exports in North Korea. However, fundamentally even in sectors that are irrelevant to politics such as the fashion clothing industry, trust between the South and North should be a prerequisite. Only through this can exchange between North and South and economic cooperation contribute towards the reunification.