The 2017 Fall Winter Hera Seoul Fashion Week attracted some 280,000 visitors, attesting to South Korea's burgeoning fashion industry. Coupled with the Korean Wave, the country's innovative approach to fashion has taken the world by storm. As a future growth engine tapped by the Korean government, the country's apparel and textile industry promises to grow tremendously in the coming years.
   At the heart of the industry's incubation process is Gyeonggi-do. Literally translated into "the area surrounding the capital," Gyeonggi-do is located next to the nation's capital of Seoul. It is also the most populous province in South Korea with more than 12 million people as of 2014.
   With the recent shift of the country's focus from heavy manufacturing to soft power industries like service and retail, Gyeonggi-do has stepped up to the task of becoming the hub of the textile industry. Over 2,800 textile-related factories are located in the province, which produces 59 percent of Korea's textile exports and 83 percent of the country's knit exports.

Yangju-si

   Located northeast of Gyeonggi-do, Yangju-si is poised to become the mecca of the textile industry. Tapped to become the base of the textile industry complex by the government, Yangju broke ground for the G-Textopia in 2011 and is now home to the Korea High Tech Textile Research Institute (KOTERI), the Textile Startup Business Incubation Center, the Green Knit Research Center and the Gyeonggi Textile Center (GTC).
   The G-Textopia's KOTERI is a unique government organization fully involved in everything from textile manufacturing to distribution. It is the only institute of its kind to have a research and development (R&D) sector. The institute is especially

known for its Cold Pad Batch (CPB), innovative eco- friendly dyeing process and the world's first liquid ammonia process technologies to produce knit textiles. KOTERI signed a memorandum of understanding (MOUs) with major textile and apparel companies like Kolon Fashion Material and Huvis, and more recently with Korea Mingbao Textile and CHTC HELON.
   The GTC was also established to promote the provincial Gyeonggi textile and apparel industry in the United States following the Korea-US free trade agreement. Its operations and services include trade promotion, new product sourcing and development, vendor introduction and consultation. It also set up an office in Los Angeles to further promote trade.
   Thanks to its ideal business environment, Yangju-si is already teeming with textile, apparel and textile manufacturing companies, including Daejin Textile Co, Dowel International Co. Ltd., Elzion, Heasung Textile, Kwang Il Textile Co. Ltd., Nam Kwang Textile Co. and Young Shin Textile Co.

Pocheon-si

   Bordering Yangju is the mountainous, up-and-coming city of Pocheon. Home to roughly 2,166 small and medium-sized manufacturers of textiles and metal products, including Hyesung Knitting Machinery Co., Ltd., Seong Shin Textile Co., Ltd. and Samheung Co., Ltd., Pocheon is quickly developing into an industrial powerhouse.
   The city is currently focusing on developing industrial complexes for the fiber and furniture industries, including the Jangja Industrial Complex and the Pocheon Eco Development Co. Ltd. (Yongjeong Industrial Complex), both of which are expected to revitalize the local

economy by forming a system of knitting and dyeing factories, deregulation and incentives. The Jangja Industrial Complex alone is expected to produce an economic effect of KRW 166.5 billion (USD 148.02 million) and a USD 167 million increase in exports. The provincial government is also working to further deregulate and amend ordinances to develop a more business-friendly ecosystem.
   In 2015, Pocheon also landed the K-Design Village Project, a joint operation with the Gyeonggi Province, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Korea Fashion Designers Association. The project, a combination of a 500,000 ㎡ industrial complex and a 300,000 ㎡ park, will foster the region's textile and furniture industry as well as promote tourism. A total of KRW 700 billion (USD 622.3 million) will be invested in the project, including KRW 200 billion (USD 177.8 million) in government spending and KRW 500 billion (USD 444.5 million) in private capital. Pocheon is currently focusing on creating transportation networks by creating and expanding roads and is expected to be completed by the year 2022.