'Global General Store' Leewoo Shopping Center is "At War with Online"

[Report] On-site at Yiwu International Trade City, Zhejiang Province, China
Stores Quiet... Adapting by Creating Online Malls
Korean Residents in Sangju Reduced to One-Tenth in 10 Years... "Support Urgently Needed"

One of the paradoxically fastest-growing business types amid economic recession and high inflation is the "Cheonwon Shop" (1000-won shop). These stores supply daily necessities at low prices and operate on a low-margin, high-volume profit model. It is a market that inevitably draws attention as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts that the global economy will not grow by even 3% this year. On the 26th of last month, after a two-hour drive from Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province in China, we arrived at Yiwu International Trade City, which truly resembles a massive Cheonwon Shop serving customers worldwide.

Similar to Korea's Dongdaemun and Namdaemun shopping districts, the International Trade City is densely packed with small stores, but its scale is hard to grasp even with numbers. The total site area, including five buildings and outdoor shops, is 6.4 million square meters, with about 75,000 stores employing around 210,000 people. Converted into standard soccer fields, it is about the size of 870 fields, and if one spends just one minute at each stall for eight hours a day, it would take 156 days to see them all. The range of products is even more difficult to comprehend. It handles 1.8 million items, from accessories smaller than a fingernail and intimidating-looking Nerf guns to swimming goggles, tubes, and seasonal items like Christmas and Halloween goods.

Overseas buyers are examining Nerf guns with interpreters at a toy store in Zone 1 of the Yiwu International Trade City. (Photo by Kim Hyunjung)

An official from the Yiwu International Trade City is explaining the overall scale of the shopping complex, product composition, and operational status. (Photo by Hyunjung Kim)

The Bustling Stores Are a Thing of the Past... The War with Online Commerce Begins

Yiwu began forming a wholesale market in 1982 as an international trade city, benefiting from VAT exemptions and expanded logistics infrastructure, and grew significantly with support from Zhejiang Province starting in 1992. The densely packed shopping complex in its current form began to be built after 2000. Currently, export revenue from the International Trade City accounts for about 65% of Yiwu's total GDP.

However, the actual site visited that day, except for some toy and accessory stores, had a rather quiet atmosphere, making the past 20 years of boom seem distant. The rise of e-commerce, where prices can be easily compared and products inspected online, has also swept through here. Amir Roshan (38, male), who flew in from India and has been staying for two weeks, said, "I have been coming to Yiwu for over 10 years, but the number of visitors has rapidly decreased in recent years," explaining, "Many buyers now purchase goods online." He added that because his business is quite large, he visits at least once or twice a year to check trends and quality in person. Xiao Shan (29, female), who sells pearl accessories, said, "Many people now buy directly online, bypassing wholesalers," and noted, "The decline in crowds started even before COVID-19."

In fact, individual businesses and the Yiwu city government are jointly responding by creating online sales channels. As of the end of March, there were 500,600 registered e-commerce companies in Yiwu. Even without a homepage, orders are accepted online through WeChat, China's messaging app. Goods purchased by overseas buyers like Roshan are loaded into containers and exported worldwide within 2-3 days. In the first quarter of this year (January to March), Yiwu's foreign trade export value reached 107.09 billion yuan (20.6876 trillion KRW), an 11.0% increase from last year. Among this, e-commerce accounted for 23.47 billion yuan, with a growth rate of 12.56%, surpassing the overall average.

Foreign buyers visiting stores in Zone 1 of Yiwu International Trade City are climbing the stairs. Recently, with the increase in online transactions, the stores have had a somewhat quiet atmosphere. (Photo by Kim Hyunjung)

The Yiwu International Trade City Area 1, which sells children's toys and accessories, attracted not only overseas buyers but also a noticeable number of family visitors.
(Photo by Kim Hyunjung)

"Business Opportunities for Korean Youth... Support Measures Are Insufficient"

Despite setbacks such as the 2016 THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) incident and the COVID-19 pandemic, which shrank the scale to one-tenth over the past decade, Koreans are still seeking business opportunities in this place undergoing a major shift to online markets. According to the Yiwu Korean Association, the resident Korean population in Yiwu, which exceeded 10,000 until 2010, decreased to about 3,000 in 2019 and further dropped to around 1,000 last year. However, the number of containers heading to Korea still averages about 100 per day. Recently, young people aiming to start businesses have been steadily entering the market, according to Lee Sang-jo, president of the Yiwu Korean Association.

With Chinese wholesalers directly entering platforms like Coupang and local giant Alibaba Express expanding its business, the market share of trade with Korea is under threat, and the lack of government support is a regrettable point. Lee emphasized, "Youth unemployment is high in Korea, and many young people want to try distribution businesses in Yiwu," adding, "Currently, member companies of the association cover youth education costs, but we hope the government will provide strategic education and infrastructure support on a larger scale." Hwang Dong-sik, advisor to the Yiwu Korean Association, said, "First-generation elderly entrepreneurs find it difficult to keep up with online platform transactions, so consulting is needed," and stressed, "Support is urgently needed in various areas, such as shared logistics warehouses and Korean product exhibition halls."

The Yiwu city government has been requesting cooperation and investment with a friendly attitude toward Korea. From the 12th to the 19th of last month, Wang Wei, Yiwu's vice mayor, led a delegation to Korea to hold a trade promotion forum and visited exhibition and experience centers of major conglomerates such as Samsung, CJ, and SK to observe business trends. They also met with executives from CJ Logistics, Korea's largest logistics company. Yiwu and Jung-gu, Seoul, have maintained a friendly relationship for 18 years since signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for exchange and cooperation in 2005.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.