강화 직물의 역사적 재고(再考)와 소창의 가능성

Abstract

Ganghwa County has long been well-known for textiles. Ganghwa once consolidated its reputation as ‘the home of the textiles’ despite its historical hardships. Due to the national economic development policy, however, the emergence of cheap textiles and the environmental problems, various kinds of textiles gradually disappeared, and thus the textile industry declined accordingly. Consequently, only the factory that once produced sochang (cotton fabrics) among the textiles now remains. Fortunately, as part of its ‘2019 Incheon Folk Culture Year’ project, the National Folk Museum of Korea chose ‘sochang’ and conducted research. The one-year research includes weaving process, weaving loom, and the stories of the weavers. Though the investigation and research shed light on the value of sochang, the definite answer for its cause on how Ganghwa textile industry was developed further compared to other regions was not clarified. Also, limitations existed in the diversity and professionalism of the research due to the lack of historical records. Even in relation to textiles, a vast amount of research has been accumulated from various angles, whereas the textile research of Ganghwa had been neglected. Currently, the few remains of the sochang factory proves the marginalized reality of Ganghwa textiles. This text concentrates on the marginalized Ganghwa textiles, especially sochang. Through a closer look at the background of the emergence, the historical development, decline of Ganghwa textiles, the cause and the factors have been contemplated carefully as to how the development of the textile industry was possible in Ganghwa of all places. In the process, the historical value of sochang, the only remaining Ganghwa textile, was reconsidered. Also, the operational reality of the sochang factory was widely reviewed in a sense of facing the reality of the declining textile industry after liberation. Solution was also sought based on creative economic utility. The workers in the textile industry of Korea were mainly women. As it was seen as a side job, each family owned a step-powered weaving machine. Meanwhile, Japan, which had taken exclusive control over the Joseon dynasty immediately after the Russo-Japanese War, reorganized the economic structure by setting up agricultural model farms and industrial training centers in each region to exploit the labor force of women and to expand its production base. Since the Manchurian Incident, Japan chose to fully invest in Joseon, a geographically close country, and Ganghwa was no exception. Ganghwa drew attention as the center of the textile industry since the 1910s. The region originally produced textiles through the domestic industry but marked a breakthrough by bringing in mechanical textiles through the efforts of the community leaders Hwang Woo-Cheon and Kim Dong-Sik. It helped produce a variety of fabrics, including silk, artificial silk, linen cloth, and sochang. Artificial silk was popular due to its low cost and good glossy texture. In the case of linen cloth, the fabric was encouraged and invigorated by the Ganghwa Industry Association. Sochang was also known as cotton cloth, which was one of the finest cotton fabrics of the time. Artificial silk and linen fabrics have been replaced by nylon and Chinese fabrics, but sochang is the only fabric still produced due to its high quality and functionality. It is not easy to clarify the exact production year and the origin of sochang. However, referring to the records, it can be seen that the Japanese cotton fabric ‘kokura-ori (小倉織, ゴクラオリ)’ was translated into the Korean word ‘sochang.’ There are several factors behind the development of the textile industry in Ganghwa. The sophistication of Ganghwa women, their ambidexterity and abundant labor force, the introduction of improved looms and joint workshop operation, and the structural completion of the peddlers to sell goods are some of the developmental factors. Ganghwa’s reputation as ‘the home of fabrics’ remained steady. By 1975, there were 15 textile factories with more than 1,000 employees, and the number was much higher when considering minor plants. However, due to the influence of national economic development policy and the emergence of cheap fabrics, the industry suffered a blow. Even worse, environmental issues related to the purification system arose, and caused the center of the textile industry to move to Daegu City, which eventually led to a decline in the textile industry. Entering the 2000s, overshadowing its old reputation of ‘the home of textiles,’ only a small-scale sochang factories of Ganghwa were barely maintaining the reputation. As the weaving scenes were hard to observe, it seemed as if Ganghwa fabrics were disappearing into the back streets of the past. However, recently, movements have occurred to restore and inherit the forgotten tradition, and as an extension of such movements, the tradition of Ganghwa and the textile industry were newly reviewed. Public projects were led by the local governments, and the old factory and factory site were refurbished accordingly. As a result, the old Pyeongwha Textile Factory and Hanok, Korean traditional housings, which were left as the ruins of the city, could transform into tourist attractions where visitors could experience weaving sochang. Other than these examples, there have been many attempts and fruition for the revival of the Ganghwa fabric industry, but the practical problems sochang factory face remain challenging. Problems such as the lack of stable manpower supply and demand, poor industrial environment, the lack of standardization, the lack of internal roles of the factory workers, and instability in purchasing raw materials and selling products of cotton are the unstable truths that sochang factory faces. The following measures could be taken as solutions to overcome the difficulties. As for the internal measures, organization and quality management of sochang manufacturers, the establishment of a consistent textile production education system, understanding consumer preferences, and innovative changes for the operation of textile factories are necessary. External measures include forming an organization to involve product developers and textile factories. Above all, reinforcement of legal foundation and administrative-financial support should be required for the development of textile factories. It is certain that sochang will no longer remain as a historic relic and go forward into a new age, with much attention and effort of the parties involved.