"Made In China" Cannot Occupy A Place In South Korea

With the advent of spring, South Korea has set off another wave of tourism and shopping. Recently, the reporter visited famous department stores, large chain supermarkets and shopping malls in South Korea to explore the situation of Chinese goods in the Korean market. The result of the visit is that "Made in China" is not common in South Korea, and most of them are concentrated in middle and low-grade sales windows.

At present, the design ability of Chinese products is far less than that of South Korea, and most of them follow the "Korean Wave". If“ made in China ”Without getting rid of the status quo of low added value and establishing its own brand, the cold situation that it can only survive in the low-end market in South Korea will continue to be maintained.

Low ratio of clothing cases and bags in the high-end market of South Korea

In the high-end shopping malls, the reporter chose Lotte Department Store with the best sales performance in the Korean department store industry. The reporter found that there are not many Chinese goods sold by Lotte Department Store. Even if the clothing category is more "Made in China", the proportion is not high.

Take women's clothing, which is the most popular, for example, the proportion of goods directly marked "Made in China" does not exceed 20%, of which winter style Down Jackets The proportion from China is the highest. Because Chinese clothing lacks its own brand and unique design, most "Made in China" women's clothing is processed and produced by Korean brands in China.

The reporter interviewed several customers who were choosing clothes at random. They all said that they were most concerned about the style of clothes, followed by the fabric composition. In terms of quality and workmanship, they think that the products that can be sold in Lotte will not be poor, but it doesn't matter where they are produced.

In the luggage sales department, Lotte introduces bags from world famous brands or domestic high-end brands in South Korea, and the proportion of Chinese production is also low. Among the domestic brands in South Korea, the reporter saw only one brand whose products were all "made in China". The salesperson at the counter told the reporter that as we all know, China has become the "world factory", so "Made in China" will not have any impact on sales. Among the top brands in the world, only in China processing factory "Burberry", for example, is "Made in China".

Small appliances only have a place in supermarkets

In large supermarket chains, the reporter visited the 24-hour discount store "Homeplus" of Samsung Group. Compared with Lotte Department Store, there are many more Chinese goods here. Computer accessories such as mouse, headset and keyboard are almost "made in China", and small household appliances such as irons, hair dryers and microwave ovens also come from China in a very high proportion. Occasionally, products produced in South Korea or Southeast Asian countries are mixed in. However, among small household appliances, rice cookers are an "alternative" - not only Korean brands dominate the world, but even many exhibits are marked with "applicable to the Chinese market" in Chinese. It turns out that the pressure stone pot liner multi-purpose electric rice cooker made in South Korea is favored by Chinese tourists because of its unique function and the lack of similar products in China. In recent years, more and more Chinese tourists have brought it back to China as a "must buy".

In the clothing, shoes and socks sold by Homeplus, "Made in China" accounts for nearly half. In addition, there are many Chinese products in terms of hardware fittings and tools. However, TV sets, refrigerators, washing machines and other large household appliances are still Korean products, because South Korea itself has world famous household appliances brands such as "Samsung" and "LG".

However, to the surprise of the reporter, in many other countries, the categories of stationery, household plastic products, bedding and other products with a high share of Chinese products are rarely seen in large supermarkets such as Homeplus, and Korean products still occupy an absolute advantage. Among kitchen gadgets, Japanese products are popular for their unique design and ingenious design.

Some relevant people believe that the transformation of South Korean industry is not long, and some SMEs are still producing such products. Many small commodities, such as "Le Kou Le Kou" sealed fresh-keeping boxes, are independently developed and patented by Korean manufacturers, which are highly recognized by consumers.

Food is rare in the Korean market

During the visit, the reporter found that no matter in department stores or supermarkets, as long as the sales window is directly facing ordinary consumers, there is almost no food from China. Only in large wholesale markets, which are open to restaurants, canteens and other business operators, can there be some agricultural products such as mushrooms, garlic sprouts and aquatic products produced in China. Even in the wholesale market, businesses are very particular about whether their goods are "domestic" or "made in China". The reporter thinks there are the following reasons: {page_break}

First, Koreans are very particular about "native origin" of food. There is a saying in South Korea called "body and soil are not equal", which means that "Koreans can only be healthy by eating food produced on their own land". This was originally a slogan put forward by the Korean agricultural management group in the 1960s to protect the development of the country's agriculture. After decades of indoctrination, it has become the creed of most Koreans. Even when South Korea encountered the "kimchi crisis" due to the shortage of cabbage supply in October 2010, South Korea temporarily increased its imports of Chinese cabbage, but Chinese cabbage is still not very popular among the general public, mostly digested by restaurants and canteens.

Second, the image of Chinese food ingredients in South Korea is not good. South Korean media often "compare" the original ingredients of China and South Korea, disparaging Chinese food and elevating South Korean food. For example, during the "Kimchi Crisis" period, a well-known television station in South Korea specially produced programs to compare the difference in taste between Chinese cabbage and Korean cabbage, and concluded that Korean cabbage was better.

Third, in order to protect its own agriculture, South Korea restricts the entry of foreign agricultural products with quota system and high tariffs, which is one of the reasons why there are few Chinese food products.

South Korea emphasizes its own brand and personalized design

In Mingdong, a well-known shopping district in South Korea, the reporter visited the underground shopping street, chain sports brand stores, mass fashion market, cosmetics chain stores, etc. Most of the cheap bags and shoes sold in the underground shopping street come from China. In addition to "Made in China", there are also "Made in Malaysia", "Made in Indonesia", "Made in Vietnam" and other world-famous brand sports shoes Adidas, Nike, Converse, etc. in the sports brand stores. The cosmetics and skin care stores are dominated by Korean products. Each cosmetics store is equipped with Chinese and Japanese shopping guides, and most of the customers are Chinese and Japanese tourists. In the mass clothing market or open-air stall in Mingdong area, several stall owners contacted by reporters casually said that their clothing products were "made in South Korea".

In addition, according to the reporter's understanding of the clothing centralized sales areas such as South Gate and East Gate in Seoul on weekdays, the situation is mostly similar to Mingdong area. Generally speaking, clothing aimed at the middle-aged and the elderly is more commonly produced in China, while clothing aimed at the young is mostly designed and produced in South Korea. South Korea has its own advantages in leading the fashion trend in East Asia, forming the so-called "Korean Wave", which has also attracted many Chinese businessmen to come to South Korea for wholesale purchase. In particular, the Dongdaemun Business District in Seoul has gathered manufacturers from various industries such as the sales of surface and auxiliary materials, planning and design, production and processing, and circulation in a very small area, which can meet the personalized needs of customers in the shortest time and at the fastest speed, and has become a "pacesetter" in the Korean clothing industry.

In addition, Koreans have a strong sense of national pride, which will also affect their choice when shopping - Koreans are willing to choose their own brands and products when the cost performance ratio is appropriate and the quality is comparable.