Even the National Flag is Made in China... Cheap Imports Push Domestic Makers to Closure

It has been found that a significant number of businesses in Seoul's Jongno insignia alley, which once manufactured and supplied Taegeukgi (South Korea's national flag) nationwide, have either closed down or relocated to other areas after being pushed out by Chinese-made flags.

Only about two places remain that directly manufacture or sell regular household Taegeukgi, and it was found that some businesses that previously handled Taegeukgi now deal only with custom-made, large-scale flag versions instead of household products.

As market conditions, which were overwhelmed by the onslaught of Chinese-made Taegeukgi last year, became known, movements to find domestically produced Taegeukgi emerged online.

Posts urging people to use domestic Taegeukgi instead of Chinese ones continued on social media as well.

However, in the actual sales market, the price competitiveness of Chinese-made products remains strong.

At Daiso, domestic Taegeukgi were priced at 5,000 won each, while Chinese-made ones cost 1,000 won, showing a fivefold difference in price.

Because of this, while domestic products remained in stock on the Daiso online mall, the 1,000-won Chinese products were sold out.

Merchants in the insignia alley also cited price as the biggest reason why domestic companies find it difficult to compete with Chinese products.

They say it is hard to win on price against mass-produced, low-cost Chinese goods.

The issue of cheap Chinese flags encroaching on domestic markets has also surfaced in the United States.

According to U.S. Senate data, out of 4.4 million dollars worth of American flags imported by the U.S. in 2015, about 4 million dollars worth were made in China.

In 2017, out of about 10 million U.S. flags imported by the U.S., only about 50,000 were non-Chinese products, bringing the proportion of Chinese-made flags to 99.5 percent.

In response, the U.S. enacted the All-American Flag Act in 2024, requiring federal agencies to purchase American flags that are produced entirely in the U.S. with domestic raw materials as a matter of principle.

Similar legislation is being pursued in South Korea as well.

Representative Yoon Jong-kun of the Democratic Party of Korea and 17 other lawmakers proposed an amendment to the National Flag Act of the Republic of Korea last September, which would require the heads of state agencies, local governments, and public institutions to preferentially purchase domestically produced national flags.

The bill was referred to the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee last November and is currently in the committee review stage.

Reported by Jung Da-eun | Video by Seo Byeong-wook | Graphics by Yang Hye-min | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.