Women's handicraft startups take off with Seoul's aid
Kim Eun-jung, design director of ObjetOgam, and Goh Hoon-a, creative director, stand for a photo in their workspace at the Seoul Women’s Venture Plaza in southern Seoul, Sept. 22. / Korea Times photo by Kim Se-jeong
By Kim Se-jeong
Kim Eun-jung works as a design director at ObjetOgam, a small startup she and her colleague established to make and market jewelry and interior design items.
This is not the first time that she has been engaged in business. She had to fold her previous entrepreneurial venture in 2008 due to high rent and other hurdles she could not overcome alone.
“I couldn’t handle bills that I had to pay every month, including rent,” Kim said during a recent interview in her new workspace inside Dogok Subway Station in southern Seoul.
On top of the rent issue, Kim had other challenges — filing tax returns and meeting the right people to sell her products to.
“I was alone and I had too much to take care of.”
She still has a lot to do now, but says her stress feels much lighter now because of the help from Seoul Women’s Venture Plaza.
Located inside the subway station, the plaza, run by Seoul Metropolitan Government, is specifically designed for women who start handicraft businesses like Kim.
The extent of assistance is broad, ranging from affordable office rent to training sessions for filing tax returns and copyrights, and lectures on marketing and trade basics.
The photography session was particularly helpful, she said, because she had to take photos and edit them for online sales in China. The plaza also runs a small market inside the subway station every other Friday where she sells her products.
“I can save a lot by not paying so much for rent,” Kim said. She pays 84,000 won monthly for the space of 21 square meters, plus utilities.
Kim is among 15 young entrepreneurs who are renting space at the plaza.
The help center was founded in 2013 in line with the city government’s policy to encourage female city residents with handicraft skills to start their own businesses. The city runs 23 such places, with a similar range of services.
“What we found is that handicrafts are where women could excel and distinguish themselves from others,” said Kwon Jin-young from the city’s Women and Family Policy Affair Department. Also, there was strong support from Mayor Park Won-soon, said Kwon.
The city’s support focuses on sustaining the new startups for three years. “The first three years are the toughest period in business, and our programs are particularly aimed at their survival during that time,” Kwon said. Kim who rented the space early this year can also stay there three years.
Korea is a tough place to work for women. Maintaining a balance between career and family life is a daunting task. Many quit their jobs after having babies. Many never go back, and those who wish to do so are discouraged because of the hostility of the corporate environment for female employees with families.
A project like this is one of many efforts the central and local governments are using to improve the situation and to get women back into the workforce.
With the help of the city, Kim’s business is making progress, slowly.
Since July, her jewelry has been selling on a Chinese luxury online shopping mall, called www.secoo.com. She managed to get her products onto a couple of other domestic online venues for handicraft items. “We’re more hopeful that our brand gets its name out, and we will have good sales,” Kim said.
There are other success stories.
Kim Mi-mi is also successfully running RUBLUM, a jewelry brand. She is supplying her products to Alibaba.com, a leading Chinese e-commerce site, prominent department stores and gift shops at the Korea National Museum and the National Assembly. As her business grew, Kim left the plaza at the end of last year and is expanding her business on her own.
The door for support is open for any woman, but competition is fierce. The first round of competition is the women venture handicraft contest which the city organizes every year. Only the winners of the annual contest can apply for the space and training sessions at the plaza.
This year’s contest will take place in mid-October. Those who want to get more information about the city’s support, visit https://wrd.seoulwomen.or.kr.