Dongdaemun’s unique ‘one day’ production system is a truly remarkable one. The order is placed one day prior and delivery is made within 24 hours.
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Dongdaemun’s unique ‘one day’ production system is a truly remarkable one. The order is placed one day prior and delivery is made within 24 hours. The system enables fast cash flow for manufacturer, supplier and customers are provided with new releases on a daily basis. This is probably the most important driving force of the Dongdaemun market which deems it attractive to buyers around the globe.
It is quite a wonder if you think about it. Dongdaemun is a vast sized market comprising of around 35,000 wholesale and retail stores and they are being supplied on a daily basis. You must have wondered how this is possible. This is closely related to the history of Korea’s traditional merchant “Jang-dol-bang-ee.”
“Jang-dol-bang-ee” is an old Korean word meaning “around the market.” It was used to refer to merchants who would travel around different regions and markets to conduct trades. In the old days before the modern development of transportation, these “jang-dol-bang-ee”s went around all regions of Korea by foot to make their living. They would stay in one region when the market opened and when closed, would walk all night to another region to participate in the new market. They were hard working, relentless group of people. They are represented in many Korean classic novels. The “Jang-dol-bang-ee” spirit lived on and with the modern development of transportation, came to be set against Dongdaemun. Instead of having to walk all night throughout different regions, the merchants have now developed this unique system of Dongdaemun where the lights never go out.
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| Traditional Korean market |
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| Traditional "Jang-dol-bang-ee" |
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| Traditional "Jang-dol-bang-ee" |
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| Traditional Korean market |
As for the business owners in regions outside Seoul, they open stores during the day and take the bus to come to Dongdaemun at night to select items to sell the next day. It’s near morning when they finish buying, pack up and head back to their places. One can say it’s the modern version of “jang-dol-bang-ee”s. This may seem strange at first but considering the fact that you can reach from one destination to almost any another in Korea within 6 hours ride, not so strange. And naturally, manufacturers and suppliers came to release new products on a daily basis to meet the demands of these modern version of “jang-dol-bang-ee”s.
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| A modern "Jang-dol-bang-ee" |
When the wholesalers close stores early morning, it’s time for them to place order on fabric and materials, and arrange them to be delivered to manufacturer. The manufacturer operates the production line and is ready to send off the products by market open. This process is backed up by, again, the geographical convenience; any relevant businesses, including materials supplier, primary production, the wholesalers, retailers are all clustered within 10km radius.
Now you know the ‘one day’ system. When you’re next in Dongdaemun and find out the item you like is out of stock, ask the staff
“Can I get it tomorrow?”
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