Q. Hello, first of all, welcome to our association! Would you tell us about your company Combase?

Hi! Combase has manufactured toner cartridges in Shiwha lndustrial Complex and exported them to japan, Australia and Europe. In the meantime, we newly established a factory in Gaeseong lndustrial Complex in an attempt to have competitive price against China in 2008, Our products have also been selected as superior products by KOTRA (KORTA Global Brand Gold), the Small and Medium Business Administration (Inno Biz) and Public Procurement Service.

However, we faced difficult period too.In2010,Cheonan Warship s Affair and Yeonpyeong lsland Attack broke out and as a result, we lost important ties-up in foreign trade. Since then, we have mainly focused on the manufacturing of plastic toy for domestic purpose.

Currently we undertake toll processing of Young Toys'Ttobot.

Q. Now your company bases production facility in Gaeseong lndustrial Complex.How come you chose to base your company there?

I was planning to shift the base of business to Vietnam in concert with buyers in Europe as we were losing price(especially, labor cost) competitiveness to China. In the meantime, I happened to see the recruitment advertisement posted by Gaeseong lndustrial Complex and decided to apply for it.

Though small, I wanted to do business contributing to peaceful unification of two Koreas and I was certain that doing so would make the rest of my life more meaningful.

Q. How is your production facility in the complex big?
Have you had some difficulty due to cultural gap, especially when you got in there first?
How do you communicate with the resident work the resident workers in Gaeseong lndustrial Complex?

At present, 325 North Korean workers and 4 South Korean resident workers are working in the product factory. 3-store building on lot of 1050Pyung. The factory is run by North Korean representative(who has a title of head of work) of the workers, not by South Korean resident workers. So it is kind of indirect management. The head of work had authority over human resources and managed production. Therefore, it was pretty inconvenient at first. Furthermore, wage was same, regardless of the date an employee was hired for both men and women. There was no incentive system then. So I was worried about poor productivity.

In 2008 when we started first production, I told them I would give handsome incentive, the North Korean workers said,
"No, we North Koreans work hard without such. Incentive system is nothing but a tool to exploit the people."
But now, they even urge us to bring more works to do. Their way of thinking has changed a lot. Whenever I visit the factory, they greet me saying,
"Boss, did you bring a lot of works to us?"
It seems that they see me as order sheet of Ttobot.

Good things there are managers and workers communicate in the same language. And North Korean workers are very proud of themselves, so the products they make are greater than by anyforeign works. AS a result, productivity increases very considerably..

Q. What is the current status of Gaeseong Industrial Complex?

In total, 124 companies and 52,000 workers are currently working in Gaeseong Industrial Complex.

Especially, the companies that came to the model complex in 2004 have successfully secured superior workforce and it is much stabilized now. While businesses related to textile and sewing are so busy with schedule that they have to do night shifts, it seems that some of electronic part assembling companies haven't recovered yet. Since last September when machine started running again in the complex, buyers has had stronger trust and credibility to the complex then before it closed. As a result, the land price and charge of toll processing increased a lot from this spring. As the existing companies demand more labor force, the complex suffers lack of workers, about 16,000, which is one big problem.

Q. On the contray, what kinds of problems do you think that Gaeseong Industrial Complex has or what should be improved?

There are emotional unrest felt among foreign buyers worrying about the political conflict between South and North Korea and lack of labor force. Of 3 difficulties (Communication, Passage and Clearance), passage and dearance seem to be improving but internet can'tbe accessed and we can't use mobile phone. It causes much inconvenience.

Q. Do you have a special reason why you've decided to engage in toy business? And what toys have you manufactured so far?

I was sorry to see domestic toy importers of Chinese products suffering from inferior goods and malicious long-lasting stocks. As Chinese toy industry is losing its competitiveness after long dominance in toy supply to the world, I am pretty sure that it will move its production base to Gaeseong Industrial Complex, North Korea.

Korean race is second to none in dexterity and furthermore we are competitive even against China in plastic resin, which is one of raw materials for plastic toy, and the cost of electricity, In addition, we are more advantageous in labor cost and quality than other competitors. Also, domestic buyers can free themselves from the worries of malicious stocks and inferior goods because they can order goods after receiving orders from customers.

We are manufacturing plastic transforming robot toys "Tobot" for Korean market and toys for girls. In addition, we are also partly engaged in the production of plastic household goods.