hankyoreh

but the items are not openly displayed. (by Park Seung-heon

By Park Seung-heon and Kim Mi-hyang, reporters

“I don’t know. I was just selling what I got from the broker.”

The answer was always the same. The vendors had been caught in a crackdown on counterfeit goods, launched on Sept. 11 by the Dongdaemun Special Tourist Zone at Seoul’s Central District Office, but they remained tight-lipped. They refused to talk about where the goods had come from. The merchants had created a complex distribution network to evade the police crackdown, evolving into veritable “corporations” by taking over entire blocks of vendors and turning the Dongdaemun area into a world-famous “mecca for knockoffs.” Counterfeits of high-priced imports - Chanel and Louis Vuitton bags, Breitling and Rolex watches, and more - flowed into the neighborhood like an endless river.

■ ‘Global knockoff mecca’: Right under the cops’ noses　

Most of the knockoffs enter Dongdaemun via the very same side street where the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency has its task force headquarters. When a Hankyoreh reporter visited on the evening of Oct. 10, around 200 yellow-tented stalls were there under the now darkened lightning bolt selling their illegal wares.

The road leading up to the headquarters from Dongdaemun Design Plaza has been called the “Jobok line” - named for the person who manages the stalls here. At around 10 pm, the stalls go up underneath the tents, with only an empty central display stand. The method is used to avoid the police crackdown. In the past, vendors would simply lay the items out in public.

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Today, vendors only bring the items out only if asked for them by tourists or passersby. For this, they use brokers (called by the Japanese word “nakama”), who are waiting nearby on motorcycles or in vans with the knockoffs. The brokers get those items from another intermediary, called a “purchase uncle.” The main suppliers are wholesalers who get the fakes from China, or from factories in South Korea.

The reason the process is broken up, and stalls supplied with only a bare minimum of wares, is to reduce the amount seized if the goods from a stall are confiscated. The goods only go up on the stands after one o‘clock in the morning.

“They’re evolving and becoming more sophisticated with every crackdown,” said Jeong Jeong-jae, an action officer with the district office’s market economy department.

If vendors are arrested, the organization that trafficks in the counterfeit goods starts a sophisticated set of moves. Vendors on the run after being found out are caught by the managers of the “nawabari” (zone) and handed over the authorities. The idea is to give the authorities their “sacrifice” and get back to work in their area.

■ Hundreds of thousands’ worth confiscated in a single night　

The Jobok line is not the only knockoff mecca. Over by Dongdaemun History and Culture Park subway station and in the Dongdaemun Design Plaza area are another stalls selling knockoffs. Once, there were as many as 800 stores burning the midnight oil. According to data from the district office, the number of stalls dropped to 544 as of last August because of continued crackdowns. By September, the number was down to 405. Of these, a total of 283, or around 70%, are selling counterfeit goods.

The amount of money changing hands is staggering. On Oct. 11, the district office set out with a brand expert from the European Chamber of Commerce in Korea (ECCK) and found three stalls selling knockoffs. Louis Vuitton bags, Bally shoes, Ferragamo belts, Tag Heuer watches - 146 items were seized in all. The genuine articles would have been valued at 1.37 billion won (US$1.28 million).

“Typically, the fakes go for around 10% to 20% the cost of the original,” said a South Korean employee of the ECCK on condition of anonymity. “Just the places we busted today would be worth more than 1.3 billion won (US$1.2 million) in retail prices. The amount of money that changes hands at Dongdaemun during the day would boggle your mind.”

This year alone, the district office has seized knockoffs with a retail value of around 1.9 billion won (US$1.8 million).

Some have grumbled about the authorities choking off vendors who are “just trying to make a living.”

“I work to survive, and my sales have dropped by about 200,000 won (US$187) a day because of this ‘special crackdown,’” said a 35-year-old vendor, identified by the surname Kim, who was caught selling fake Chanel T-shirts.

But the squad conducting the busts disputed the notion that the vendors were “just getting by.”

“They’re systematically bringing in low-cost items, and they typically sell upwards of 500,000 won (US$467) in a single day,” said one member.

Foreign tourists have been somewhat startled to see the fakes being sold right underneath the logo of the SMPA task force.

“It’s something else to see these stalls right below the police building,” said a Chinese visitor who had come to South Korea during their national holidays.

Around 80% to 90% of customers at the Dongdaemun fake market are from overseas. While the authorities were taking photographs during the bust, they were repeatedly approached by foreign visitors asking “How much?” and “Do you have any Louis Vuitton bags?” The foul smell of crushed ginkgo fruits and sewage welling up nearby seemed likely to become a lasting memory for them.

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]