Staff of Hallym Handweavers of Jeju Island pose with their handmade wool merchandise throughout the model’s early years on this Nineteen Sixties file photograph. Courtesy of Jaejusangwhoi
In an period dominated by quick style and globalized provide chains, a Korean content material firm is respiratory new life right into a historic regional model, weaving collectively the previous, current and way forward for the nation’s textile business.
Since 2021, Koh Solar-young, CEO of Jeju Island-based firm Jaejusangwhoi, has efficiently revived Hallym Handweavers, the island’s first and beloved wool knitwear model, which closed its doorways in 2005.
Koh stated the choice to revive the knitwear maker, which was initially launched in 1959 and as soon as offered livelihood and pleasure to greater than 1,300 Jeju residents, was made to be able to protect and honor the island’s distinctive industrial heritage.
Koh Solar-young, CEO of Jaejusangwhoi, which operates Hallym Handweavers / Courtesy of Jaejusangwhoi
“The unique founder, Rev. Patrick James McGlinchey, had a mission to create jobs in order that younger women and men wouldn’t have to depart the infertile island, as a result of he held the profound perception {that a} enterprise ought to all the time help its group,” the CEO informed The Korea Occasions in a latest written interview.
The model started within the late Fifties when the Irish Catholic missionary introduced sheep to Jeju to assist poor residents change into self-sufficient.
Irish nuns taught native ladies Aran knitting patterns, as the ladies used these expertise to create high-quality handmade knitwear that grew to become well-known throughout Korea.
Though the model as soon as employed 1,300 staff and operated shops in high inns, it was compelled to shut in 2005 as a result of rise of low-cost mass-produced clothes and artificial fibers.
Jaejusangwhoi began with the launch of a neighborhood Jeju journal in 2014 and has since expanded its scope to the life-style sector because it focuses on creating sustainable native content material.
Koh stated the standard and longevity of Hallym Handweavers’ unique items satisfied her {that a} model with such an origin story holds timeless worth.
“It completely aligned with Jaejusangwhoi’s mission as an organization to unearth and develop essentially the most priceless native content material,” she stated.
Fashions put on Hallym Handweavers knitwear merchandise / Courtesy of Jaejusangwhoi
Reclaiming legacy
Koh defined that the historic significance of Hallym Handweavers on the island is deeply private for a lot of locals.
“When Hallym Handweavers was restored in 2021, many ladies who remembered it cried, considering of their moms,” Koh stated. “In Jeju, Hallym Handweavers is sort of a reminiscence of mom, a supply of pleasure for the skillful and diligent ladies who supported their households, offering heat consolation in opposition to the chilly island wind.”
Koh stated that she was capable of meet many purchasers who nonetheless have their treasured reminiscences of the model whereas she was reviving it.
“There are such a lot of shocking and touching tales as we collected many reminiscences from individuals who nonetheless keep in mind and personal Hallym Handweavers merchandise, and I even met a daughter who nonetheless makes use of an previous rainbow blanket inherited from her mom by patching the holes with silk cloth,” she stated.
“One particular person stored his or her late mom’s sweater with out ever carrying or washing it as a result of her scent would possibly fade away, and a middle-aged couple not too long ago visited our pop-up retailer in Seoul carrying their previous Hallym sweaters to purchase a brand new one for his or her future son-in-law.”
Staff of Hallym Handweavers on Jeju Island knit detailed patterns on this Nineteen Sixties file photograph. The model was based by Rev. Patrick James McGlinchey, who introduced sheep to the island, and Irish nuns launched conventional Aran designs to assist the local people obtain financial self-sufficiency. Courtesy of Jaejusangwhoi
Nonetheless, she needed to face a slew of challenges in reviving the model. The unique Hallym Handweavers used wool from over 10,000 sheep raised on the close by St. Isidore Farm. Upon restoration, solely 60 to 70 sheep remained, and Korea had just one manufacturing unit able to washing uncooked wool.
“We simply did it,” Koh stated when requested how they overcame the logistical hurdles. “We believed it needed to be carried out and it needed to be the unique approach.”
The staff labored exhausting to make the precise yarn for the garments and introduced again the distinctive patterns that symbolize Jeju. They even spent six months studying easy methods to use the sophisticated machines once more to recreate the model’s well-known blankets.
Fashions put on Hallym Handweavers knitwear merchandise. Courtesy of Jaejusangwhoi
Handmade in Jeju
Whereas the corporate stays dedicated to native manufacturing, the availability chain displays trendy realities.
The revived model initially integrated about 16 % of St. Isidore Farm’s wool into its yarn. This determine has now decreased to round 5 % as a consequence of lowered sheep numbers and elevated manufacturing quantity. However, the complete course of, from spinning the yarn to weaving and ending the merchandise, is carried out domestically, with all hand-knitted items created in Jeju.
“All our handmade merchandise are made proper right here in Jeju as we’re probably the one model in Korea to take action. Nonetheless, I’m a bit anxious as a result of we have to produce extra however the wool from the farm is restricted, so we’re searching for new methods to resolve this,” Koh stated.
The model adheres to its extremely complicated knitting strategies however places its give attention to designs which are snug, long-lasting and will be worn anytime.
“Our design philosophy is to maintain the superior knitting strategies of Hallym Handweavers whereas we give attention to creating designs that anybody can put on comfortably and luxuriate in for a very long time,” Koh stated. “We additionally insist on utilizing one hundred pc pure wool as a result of artificial fibers can’t be recycled, whereas one hundred pc wool will be utterly damaged down in order that it may safely return to nature when it’s thrown away.”
Their efforts have been met with enthusiasm. Signature cardigans are the preferred merchandise, and demand for the small-batch hand-knitted line is so excessive that orders are presently closed till 2027.
Prospects searching for custom-made objects usually journey to Jeju, displaying how the model naturally connects buying with a go to to the island.
Sharing her imaginative and prescient, Koh stated that essentially the most priceless issues are sometimes discovered inside native communities.
“An area model’s largest energy is its deep understanding of the native language and the main points of every day life, which huge firms can’t simply copy,” she stated. “By uncovering and restoring these treasured regional manufacturers, we wish to show that new industries and inventive jobs are doable proper right here in Jeju past simply being a vacationer vacation spot.”
