Jinju City Council and Milan Consulate General Promise Cooperation for Silk Industry Revival

First Schedule of Overseas Official Training, Visit to Como, Italy, the Global Silk Hub

Group photo of the Jinju City Council in Gyeongnam during a meeting with the Consulate General of Italy.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Soon-kyung] The Jinju City Council in Gyeongnam Province has embarked on an overseas official training trip to Italy to learn from advanced foreign cases. As the first itinerary, they visited the northern Como region to accelerate efforts for the revival of the Jinju silk industry.

The City Council visited the Consulate General in Milan and explained the similarities between the natural environment and silk industries of Jinju and the Como region. They requested cooperation measures with the Como region and government-level interest to revitalize Jinju silk, the council announced on the 19th.

The Milan Consulate General oversees eight northern provinces of Italy, which are the economic and industrial centers of Italy. Jinju and the Como region share similar environments, such as clean lakes and a climate without snowfall. Both are among the world's top five famous silk production areas, where silk has long served as the foundation of the local economy, making it an ideal destination for overseas training.

Chairman Yang Hae-young said, “It is regrettable that Jinju silk’s recognition is quite low despite its reputation as one of the world’s top five famous production areas.” He added, “We take pride in our production technology and want to utilize what we learn from this training to foster the silk industry.”

In response, Consul General Kang Hyung-sik said, “We expect the City Council to deepen its understanding of the silk industry and find practical development plans through the visit to the Como region, a global center of the silk industry.” He continued, “In the future, we hope to assist the revival of the Jinju silk industry through technology exchanges between Jinju and Como in cooperation with KOTRA.”

The City Council secured active interest and cooperation from the Consulate General and KOTRA, planning to develop policies that incorporate ideas gained from the modernization of the Como region’s silk industry, specialized design, and dyeing technologies into Jinju. They also plan to devise continuous economic exchange measures.

The Jinju City Council’s official overseas training in Italy is scheduled for eight days from the 14th to the 21st, and the training report will be adopted at next year’s plenary session.