Jeju-based company revives island's 1st knitwear brand

In an era dominated by fast fashion and globalized supply chains, a Korean content company is breathing new life into a historic regional brand, weaving together the past, present and future of the country’s textile industry. Since 2021, Koh Sun-young, CEO of Jeju Island-based company Jaejusangwhoi, has successfully revived Hallym Handweavers, the island’s first and beloved wool knitwear brand, which closed its doors in 2005. Koh said the decision to revive the knitwear maker, which was originally launched in 1959 and once provided livelihood and pride to more than 1,300 Jeju residents, was made in order to preserve and honor the island’s unique industrial heritage. "The original founder, Rev. Patrick James McGlinchey, had a mission to create jobs so that young men and women would not have to leave the infertile island, because he held the profound belief that a business should always support its community,” the CEO told The Korea Times in a recent written interview. The brand began in the late 1950s when the Irish Catholic missionary brought sheep to Jeju to help poor residents