South Korea’s Fashion Dilemma: Chinese Clothes Disguised as Local Goods!

A record influx of low-cost clothing from China is flooding into South Korea, with many items being illegally rebranded as Korean-made.

Last year, South Korea imported more Chinese apparel than ever before. According to the Korea Customs Service, the country brought in $4.83 billion worth of clothing from China, up 50 percent from 2020.

As import volumes rise, authorities have noticed a surge in a deceptive practice known in Korea as “label switching.” Imported garments, originally tagged as “Made in China,” are often re-tagged before reaching consumers. Korean sellers repurpose these items to appear as if they were produced domestically.

In some cases, they even alter shipping invoices and boxes.

Korean customs officials reported that during the first half of 2025, they seized 3.1 million illegally distributed goods. More than half of these (1.7 million) were flagged for missing or false country-of-origin labels, with most being Chinese clothes disguised as Korean products.

Korean sellers frequently purchase these garments for under $2 on platforms such as Temu or AliExpress, only to resell them on other e-commerce sites or via social media at prices up to 10 times higher. Many are marketed with vague claims like “luxury local fabric.”

Meanwhile, Chinese fast-fashion giant Shein has seen a sharp increase in sales in South Korea. According to Mobile Index, a data service operated by South Korea-based IGAWorks, Shein’s monthly active users in the country reached 1.75 million in June—almost four times higher than in January.

It now ranks sixth among fashion shopping apps in South Korea, up from 11th last year. Another analytics firm, WiseApp Retail, reported that Shein surpassed 2.2 million Korean users for the first time, marking its highest-ever record.