• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.141-153
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• 1999

To be successful, Korean exporters must understand how importers identify and select suppliers. This empirically based study investigate Korean exporter\`s perceptions of the supply selection criteria and information sources in US importers use. The specific purposes of this study were to identify the importance of the supply selection criteria and information sources and to examine the effects of the amount of export on the supply selection criteria and information sources in US importer use. For this study, data were obtained from Korean exporters by means of self-administered questionnaires. The questionnaires consisted of a series of statements covering a broad of specific selection criteria and information sources and exports\` characteristics including average annual amount of export. Using a base of 312 exporters, data were analysed by using mean, one-way ANOVA, and Ducan test. Major findings if this study summarized as follows; 1) Korean exporters perceived that US importers would place importances on product price, deliverly reliability, product wordsmanship-quality, and length of deliverly lead-time, in orders. Also, the more amount of export was, the higher product wordsmanship-quality, availability of piece goods and trims, and communication channel were importantly rate. 2) Korean exporters considered the third party sources, such as recommendation from trade association and buying office and import agency, as the most important information source in US importer use. Also, There was tendency that the more amount of export was, the more information sources on suppliers was importantly evaluated. From this study, several recommendation were suggested forward to encourage export in international apparel market.

• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.183-199
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• 2015

This study aimed to systematize the apparel vendor work processes and provide useful information to future employees of clothing export units by analyzing the processes of vendors' manufacturing tasks. A survey of 20 apparel vendors servicing mainly U.S. buyers was conducted on employees of overseas business departments working for more than five years. buyers. Based on the results, vendors mainly manufactured cut-and-sew knit products. Regarding the production method, OEM was used more frequently than ODM. Fourteen (70%) companies used the ODM method. This suggests that vendors are expanding their production method from OEM to ODM. In order to summarize the work of each business based on the clothing production process research results, buyers were in charge of planning products and the vendors were in charge of sampling. Production of materials and the approval of material tests were out sourced. Overseas factories of vendors were in charge of bulk (mass) production and garment finishing, as well as packaging and shipping the completed products. Even though the vendors' head offices do not directly produce clothes, they play a pivotal role in ensuring planning and management progress in clothing production. As buyers prefer direct contracts for cost reduction, the vendor additionally performs the role of an agent. Also, with the increase in ODM production ratio, the work area of the vendor is expanding. If Korean clothing exporters improve their global competitiveness by investing in the R&D of materials and design to enhance the ODM method, the development of Korea's clothing and export industry will benefit significantly.

• 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.32 no.3
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• pp.474-485
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• 2008

The purpose of this study is to examine the determinants and elements to enhance Korean international competitiveness, employing Porter's(1998) Diamond Model. Half of the 500 leading apparel exporters that were members of the Korea Apparel Industry Association in 2003 were selected as the target of this research. From May to June of 2003, survey questionnaires were sent to executives of these 250 companies in person or by telephone, e-mail, or fax. Seventy questionnaires were used for the final data anlysis. The items used were Reliability, Categorical Regression, and Frequency, using SPSS 11.5. The results were as follows: First, as a result of analyzing the influence of international competitiveness in Korean apparel industry, the firm's strategy, structure, and rivalry was the most influential factor. Others were related and supporting industries, government, chance, demand conditions, and factor conditions. Also, the elements that affect Korean international competitiveness were listed as the level of price competition in foreign markets, the level of labor cost, export marketing capacity, and exchange fluctuation. The most important element to improve the international competitiveness of the Korean apparel industry was a demand growth rate of the overseas markets(Demand Conditions), followed by the level of the labor costs(Factor Conditions), the capability of internationalization(Firm Strategy, Structure, and Rivalry), the change of currency(Chance), the quality and management of products(Demand Conditions), the capability of planning products(Firm Strategy, Structure, and Rivalry), free trade from 2005(Chance), and global sourcing strategy(Firm Strategy, Structure, and Rivalry). Korea's main rival country in apparel related and supporting industry factors is China. However, Korea has a higher level of technology development, quality, and price level than China.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.31 no.9_10
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• pp.1442-1452
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• 2007

During 40 years, clothing industry which took a charge of a pivotal role to lead Korea's economy development falls in a harsh state to maintain an international competitiveness by means of low wage-based-export and tech-deficit-past competitive advantage. From January first 2005 when the World Trade Organization started that developed countries abolished import quota on textile and apparel products. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to analyze Korea's apparel international market share, grasp Korea's apparel international competitiveness position, and examine the export features to enhance international competitiveness. We targeted members of Korea Apparel Industry Association among the 500's exporters of textile and clothing items in 'The Import and Export Textile Product 2003' Total 70 sheets were used of final data analyzing. Also, the statistical data of WTO wereselected for inquiry about the position of international competitiveness of clothing products made in Korea. First, the comparative analysis of the amount of export and international market share of each country's clothing products to capture the position of Korea's international competitiveness of clothing industry under the statistical data of WTO showed that Korea's international market share has been decreasing since 1989, and ranked in the 19th showing 1.31% in 2004. Second, as concerned with Korea's clothing export features, the experience of clothing companies in Korea was uniformly distributed like less than 10 to 30 and more than 30 years and knitted and woven male and female wears which cost mid price were exported to U.S.A. and Europe and Japan. Export items wereusually manufactured by Original Equipment Manufacturing way and directly exported through an exclusive responsible part for export.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.251-263
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• 2019

As the spread of the health and wellness trend continues worldwide, many consumers are spending much time on sports activities and expressing their individuality through sportswear. This study analyzes the trade networks of major exporters and importers of athleisure wear to provide an exporting policy for Korean apparel companies. As a result, The USA was found to import the most athleisure wear. On the other hand, China had the largest number of athleisure wear exports, and India's exports, which are becoming increasingly important as apparel producers were notable. Next, using the concept of the centrality of social network analysis, it was found that the USA was the largest importer and the center of athleisure wear's export network, but its influence has decreased gradually since 2010. China has the highest out-degree and betweenness centrality and center in the export of athleisure wear. The centrality of Asian countries such as India and Vietnam has increased. In Korea, the import of athleisure wear has increased greatly, but the export of athleisure wear has continuously decreased. Korea has less price competitiveness than other developing countries in Asia, but many Korean athleisure wear clothing brands are now attracting popularity not only in Korea but also in other countries with their excellent technology and design. In the future, the exporting policy of Korea's athleisure wear should focus on high value-added and differentiated products.

• Korea Trade Review
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• v.46 no.5
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• pp.131-152
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• 2021

Political connections may facilitate firms' exporting activities, particularly in developing countries, because politically connected firms may be more likely to receive informational and financial support, allowing them to overcome barriers to export. We test this hypothesis using a unique, firm-level dataset from traditional apparel and textile clusters in the Red River Delta Region in Northern Vietnam. We find that political connection of certain types increases the chance of receiving valuable information or financial support from the government. Moreover, those firms that have access to government information have higher chances of being direct exporters. However, firms that receive financial support from the government are not necessarily engaged in exporting activities. Although politically connected firms are more willing to export, they do not necessarily engage in more exporting activities than firms without such connections. These results suggest that the misallocation of information and financial resources to politically connected but insufficiently productive firms leads to a failure to promote exporting activities. In contrast, political connection increases the chance of importing materials and parts, possibly because high productivity is necessary for exporting, but not for importing.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.269-282
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• 2011

The purpose of this study was to compare consumer satisfaction by analyzing importance on characteristics of clothing, performance, and their inconsistency between Korea and the United States. The data was collected by using a survey based on three sages of pre-tests, and main survey conducted in The U.S and Korea. Data of 520 participants from each country (260 males and 260 females) was used. The results of this study is as follows: First, both consumers in Korea and U.S. showed five factors such as aesthetics/trend, body shape, practical use/wearing, care, and distorted. In performance factor of Korean students was consisted of wearing/care, aesthetics, body shape, distorted, and trend/symbolism while that of American students was consisted of wearing, aesthetics, body shape, trend/image factor, and distorted. Second, regarding importance rate, aesthetics/trend, practical use/wearing, care, and distorted affected satisfaction of Korean students whereas aesthetics/trend factor affected satisfaction of American students. Regarding performance, body shape factor, distorted, trend/symbolic affected satisfaction of Korean students whereas trend/image affected satisfaction of American students. Third, satisfaction of Korean and American students influenced re-purchase intention and positive word-of-mouth, so proved to be the result variable of satisfaction. By understanding the differences between consumers in Korea and U.S., apparel importers and exporters may develop effective business strategies to better fulfill their customers' needs and desires, and therefore, increase their profit.

• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.162-171
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• 2010

This study aims to discuss what changes Korean clothing companies and manufacturers have undergone with production facilities moving abroad due to offshore outsourcing and examine what conditions the clothing manufacturers are facing and how the clothing companies recognize those manufacturers. For these purposes, in-depth interviews were conducted with 24 firms with annual production capacity of more than 200,000 pieces among clothing brands for the domestic market, clothing exporters and promotion agencies. Those interviewed firms were the companies who were found to produce more than 200,000 pieces of clothing per year, and the interview-based survey was conducted from December 18, 2008 to January 30, 2009. The key findings from this study are as follows; first, a high percentage of interviewed firms were producing only a small number of items in Korea with a large part of their production line transferred abroad or outsourcing all of their production abroad only with their headquarters in Korea. Second, many were employing contractors rather than their own factories. Third, when asked about the wage levels of clothing manufacturers, many of the clothing companies gave responses such as: 'They are just our contractor, so we respect their decision,' 'We don't know because it's none of our business,' or 'We don't know at all.' Fourth, when asked about the work environment of clothing manufacturers, the clothing companies gave responses such as: 'We know in part,' 'To our knowledge, they conform to the Labor Standards Law,' or 'We don't know at all.' Fifth, the production line of clothing manufacturers featured straight-line systems, specialization, pairing and compounding/mixing. Sixth, it was found that clothing companies had interest in mass customization but their preparations were not satisfactory.

• 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.