Kaesong factories bridge North-South Korea divide
In brand new factories at the Kaesong industrial complex, a collaborative economic experiment on the edge of the demilitarised zone dividing the two Koreas, North Korean women sew flowery dresses and stitch fashionable trainers.
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Meanwhile, managers from the 11 South Korean companies operating there espouse the advantages of the zone.
“Shoe manufacturing is small and fading away in our domestic market so we were thinking about moving to south-east Asia,” said Bun Chang-sop, chief executive of Samduk Trading, a southern shoemaker employing 1,500 northerners. “However, North Korean workers are skilled so we’ve moved here instead.”
At $57.50 a month
