"57 years of single life in velvet, I still feel truly alive when I work"
Ryu Byung-seon, chairman of Youngdo Velvet, introduces various products made of velvet at Yeongdo Daum in Samdeok-dong, Jung-gu, Daegu, and explains the luxury of velvet and its various uses. Noik Park, waiting list noik@msnet.co.kr
[Senior Reporter Seokmin sukmin@msnet.co.kr] “Let wisdom be in the head, smile in the face, love in the heart, and work in the hands… . This is our life philosophy, company motto, and daily prayer. I think people can truly feel alive only when they are working.”
Ryu Byung-seon (78), chairman of Youngdo Velvet Co., Ltd., says whenever he hears the story, "Stop resting now," he says, "Work makes me happy, so I ask myself if I should make myself unhappy." He also emphasized, “Luck is important in life, but luck comes only when you work hard and work hard, and it doesn’t come when you stay still.”
With this philosophy and lifestyle, Chairman Ryu, along with his late husband, Chairman Lee Won-hwa, developed Youngdo Velvet into a world-class company that Korea is proud of. In 2001, 41 years after its founding, Youngdo Velvet, which ranked first in the world in production and export in the velvet sector, sells its products in the worlds finest fashion brands such as Giorgio Armani in Italy, Ann Klein and Talbot in the United States, Zara in Spain, and Itochu Fashion in Japan. It has become a popular material used. Famous designers active in the worlds fashion centers, such as Paris, Milan, and New York, are also choosing Youngdos Three Eagle Velvet.
Chairman Ryu was also active in his various social activities. But these days, Im sorting them out one by one. The main positions currently occupied are the president of the Buddhist Association of Buddhists, the vice president of the Daegu Sports Association, and the chairman of the Bogwangmyeong Scholarship Foundation, which provides scholarships to 108 people every year.
"Now I want to focus on nurturing talented people. We plan to increase the number of participants in small donations rather than large amounts of money, and to arrange frequent meetings for small donations with scholarship students."
◆ “There is nothing you have to be crazy about!”
Chairman Ryu, born in Urok-ri, Gachang-myeon, Dalseong-gun, in 1940, his father passed away when he was six years old. He lived in Daegu early and went through the Korean War in elementary school. He was not in a position to study as much as most people at the time. He helped his family make ends meet by working in a large house that ran a confectionery factory as a cottage industry. After seven years of entertainment, she married the late Chairman Lee Won-hwa, who was a friend of her brother. Her husband, Chairman Lee, was running a Meriyasu factory in partnership with his uncle. After marriage, he supplied yarn to an international rubber factory. “I only had one winter job to deliver wool. I had to work for 6 months and just play for the other 6 months. How can you call a company that cant even take responsibility for your own familys livelihood? My husband and I had to find something we could produce year-round.” At that time, the most popular coma necessity was virodo (velvet). There were no domestic products at all, and German and Japanese products were smuggled and distributed, but they were expensive. It was to the extent that if a burglar broke into the newlyweds house, they would leave everything else behind and steal only the products, even in the rain. So, Chairman Ryu and his wife in their late 20s and early 30s decided to make their own velvet. No one had ever weaved velvet, no one had dyed it, no one had ever built a machine.
In order to localize, it was first necessary to know how the fabric of velvet is woven (texture). He brought fabric made in Germany and commissioned it to be analyzed by a research institute, but he could not figure out how to properly weave it. He could not go to Japan or Germany to learn advanced technology. It was a time when overseas travel was strictly restricted.
“There was only one way. It is to figure out how to weave fabric by doing countless trial and error yourself. I sat in front of the fabric weaving machine day and night for eight months to find a solution through trial and error.”
Fabric weaving was a success, but then dyeing was a problem. There was no such thing as a velvet dyeing factory when velvet was not produced in Korea. When the cauldron was hung up and trial dyeing was performed 1 yard at a time, it worked well, but when a large amount of fabric was input, defects occurred repeatedly. Even after barely learning dyeing techniques, there were difficulties. This is because the dyeing factory had to be built without domestic dyeing machines.
“In fact, her husband knew nothing about machinery. Still, I had no choice but to design a dyeing machine in my own way and went to the ironworks to make it. It couldnt possibly work. On one side of the factory, obsolete dyeing machines were piled up as scrap metal. It has become a situation where the company is driven to the point of bankruptcy after all the hardships.”
At this time, something happened that made the Ryu couple realize the saying, “Heaven helps those who help themselves.” Sunotex (a type of velvet, long hair, easy to produce and dye), which started mass production, hit the jackpot. Thanks to this, he overcame the bankruptcy crisis and succeeded in producing velvet fabrics and localizing dyeing technology and dyeing machines in 10 years. At this time, her husband, Chairman Lee, said, “There is nothing that needs to be done if you are not crazy.”
◆ experiencing the harsh reality
The quality of Youngdos velvet, which succeeded in localization, was a little lower than that of German, but was comparable to that of Japans. But the price was much cheaper. Naturally, the reaction of the market was explosive. Now it seemed to be the end of hardship, the beginning of happiness. However, another unexpected ordeal awaited him. “One day, another company suddenly sued for patent infringement, and the founder (Chairman Lee Won-hwa) was arrested. The police and prosecutors kept urging me to come to an agreement. I refuted that I hadnt done anything wrong, and I protested, asking me to come to an agreement, and to bring in front of me even a single yard of velvet products produced by the company that sued me for patent infringement. However, it was truly a sutra.” I felt the injustice and sadness of the socially underprivileged. However, no matter how acquired the skill, it could not be taken away. Anyone with a small connection or connection would go to them and desperately appeal for help. To see if the efforts worked, the prosecutor in charge decided to ask an expert whether there was patent infringement, and the professor at Seoul National University who was requested gave the opinion at once, “This cannot be patent infringement.”
Something like this happened. At that time, to encourage exports, export products were sold cheaply and domestic products were sold expensively. However, a wholesaler sold cheaply purchased velvet products to the domestic market, saying that they were for export. Because of this, the founder also went through the ordeal of being arrested for 10 days, covering all his sins. Unjust chairman Ryu insisted, “Let’s find a wholesaler and punish him.” However, Chairman Lee, her husband, said, “That person must have had his own frustrating circumstances. Its already in the past, so lets forgive him,” he soothed his wife.
◆Challenges, Crises, and Blessings
Youngdo Velvet established the Ministry of Trade in Seoul in 1975, achieved its first export to the United States, and continued its steady growth. It introduced excellent machinery and equipment from Japan and Germany to enhance its competitiveness, and in 1995, it won the 10 million dollar export tower. As the company overcame various trials and difficulties in the early days and found stability, Chairman Ryu returned from being a co-founder and manager to a housewife. It was right before the IMF financial crisis that Chairman Ryu returned to the forefront of management. In the 1990s, when more than 70% of Daegu textile companies relocated their factories to places such as China, Youngdo Velvet expanded their factories to Daegu and Gumi and invested in high-tech facilities. In 1995, it made a large-scale investment of 50 billion won in the Gumi plant. It was the largest in the world with an annual velvet production of 8 million yards. “When the IMF crisis hit, the lease of 10 billion won increased to 30 billion won. To make matters worse, the city of Daegu urged the city of Daegu to complete the relocation of the factory in the distribution complex site in Sangyeok-dong by 1998.”
People around him continued to advise Chairman Ryu, "It is a national disaster, so there is nothing we can do about it. Bankruptcy." However, the two couples held hands and pledged, "No matter how difficult it is, lets not become bankrupt entrepreneurs." I sold my assets, including houses in Seoul and Daegu, and put them as collateral to pay off my debts. However, I couldnt afford the lease bomb. Boring workout negotiations with banks were the responsibility of Chairman Ryu. While running overseas for export, they continued to fight blood-drying pushes and pulls with domestic banks.
Paradoxically, the large-scale investment in state-of-the-art equipment that brought the company to the brink of bankruptcy immediately became an opportunity. It was thanks to the investment made in 1995 that the company established a integrated production system covering weaving, dyeing and processing in 2001 and became the worlds No. 1 in the velvet industry. Workout also graduated early in July 2004 after three years. As Youngdo Velvets THREE EAGLE brand was recognized as the best in the world, imitation products poured out in China and elsewhere. As a countermeasure, since 1997, Youngdo Velvet Jacquard Selvage, a trademark mark for product quality assurance (Jacquard Selvage: can be woven with Youngdo Velvets own facilities and technology. Products without this jacquard logo are not recognized as Youngdo Velvet products) developed and strengthened intellectual property rights.Chairman Ryu said, “For 57 years since my marriage, I have only walked on the velvet road.” , paintings, summer clothes, watches, etc. are expanding to general household items. He even produces family photos in velvet for VIPs abroad.”
◆Established in 1960, Youngdo Velvet Co., Ltd...
Youngdo Velvet, founded in 1960, has developed acetate velvet in the 1970s, cotton velvet in the 1980s, washable microfiber poly velvet in the 1990s, and interior materials in the 2000s through ceaseless research and development. It is the first company to develop and dominate the worlds finest velvet market. Sales volume is about 50 billion won. In addition, after 8 years of research and development from 2002, it succeeded in developing rubbing cloth for LCD panel manufacturing, and successfully transformed from a textile company into a high-tech material company. Rubbing cloth for LCD manufacturing determines the quality of LCD products as a material that rubs the glass substrate so that the electronic liquid crystals that make up the LCD screen can be arranged in a certain direction. Built in 2012 in Samdeok-dong, Jung-gu, Daegu, Youngdo Daum (1,256㎡) has a velvet art experience center on the first basement level, a concept store on the first floor (selling velvet art works + a cafe), and a velvet lifestyle hall on the second floor. , consists of a gallery on the third floor (exhibition of artists velvet art works). As the only velvet exhibition hall in the world, it is a space that buys surprises and envy from foreigners. Daum of Youngdo Daum means that things can have the most desirable appearance when they have self-likeness, and it contains the meaning that becoming youngdo is the way to the best in the world.
She received the Steel Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit in 2004 (the late Chairman Lee Won-hwa), the Bronze Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit in 2006 (President Seong-yeol Lee), and the National Order of Merit Seokryu Medal in 2009 (Chairman Byung-sun Ryu).
Senior Reporter Seokmin sukmin@msnet.co.kr
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