Invest Korea

The Korean fashion market has been growing amid attention from Asian consumers, thanks to the Hallyu phenomenon which was launched by K-pop in the mid 2000s.
The Korean luxury market in 2019 reached USD 12.7 billion, the eighth largest in the world,
and it showed an average annual growth rate of 6.5% from 2013 to 2019.

In the past three years, over 4,500 fashion designers were fostered every year, thereby developing an excellent human resource pool.
Korea also has global competitiveness in the synthetic fiber field, including high value-added fibers such as spandex, polyester tire cord, and low melting fiber.

Sales of the Korean textile and fashion industries reached USD 32.1 billion (KRW 37.4 trillion) in 2019, up 13% YoY,
and operating income was increased by 28.3% from the previous year to reach USD 1.9 billion (KRW 2.2 trillion).
Even though more production for the Korean textile and fashion industries moved overseas,
exports ranked 7th in 2018. The fashion industry also applies high levels of ICT, such as AI, VR,
and AR to develop smart textile materials and clothing and advance mass customization technologies. The Korean textile and fashion industries are expected to explore new markets actively based on convergence with ICT.

Global fashion companies have been entering the Korean market to target Korean and Chinese consumers.
Foreign direct investment is concentrated in distribution of global fashion brands, rather than manufacturing.
Global SPA brands, such as Zara and H&M, have invested in the form of joint ventures.

The Korean government established the Textile and Fashion Industries Vitalization Plans in June 2019. The plans include “Smart Factore” (factory + store) to improve the manufacturing environment and productivity and the advancement of industrial structure by focusing on high added-value industrial fiber.
The government, in particular, aims to integrate value chains and realize a data platform based cooperative system to manufacture small-scale, customized clothing efficiently in smart factories.

Moreover, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced the Dongdaemun Fashion Market Vitalization Plan in April 2019,
which includes a five-stage project that constructs smart industrial foundation and value chains connecting materials, manufacturing, and distribution in the Dongdaemun area.
The primary objectives are to create new industries, such as customized clothing services applying ICT, and digitalize or make a premium ecosystem.