"Greetings everyone!

This is Ahn Myung-hee, the CEO of Agahoho, making aesthetic and organic Newborn clothing with the hope that every family will fill with the laughter of babies."

Born in North Korea, I went to China and was shocked by capitalism. In particular, I was fascinating to see how goods move back and forth via phone calls. I dreamed of starting a trading company where employees could enjoy working. However, I couldn't start a business as a North Korean Defector in China. Hence, I came to South Korea.

Female North Korean defectors are discriminated against in South Korea only because they are from 'North Korea' and 'women'. Since I am also a female North Korean defector, I thought I should start a company where female North Korean defector can demonstrate their competence in the workspace.

I got interested in newborn clothing when my nephew was born. I was going to buy clothes for my precious nephew. There were so many colorful clothes. but I was worried that clothes using chemicals to be artificially colored would be harmful to the baby. With the idea of making organic clothes that my child would wear, I started an eco-friendly premium newborn clothing brand, Agahoho.

Peretz Partensky from San Francisco, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Cotton plantation accounts for only 5% of the arable land in the world, but a quarter of all pesticides used for cotton plantation. According to a report from the World Health Organization and the International Labor Organization, between 20,000 and 40,000 farmers die of pesticide poisoning each year.

Also, dyeing chemicals irritate the delicate skin of the baby, which can cause skin diseases. The eco-unfriendly clothing production is harming the environment and the people’s health.

Agahoho manufactures and sells eco-friendly newborn clothing. We use organic cotton fabric, made from cotton produced without using chemicals for more than three years. Also, it is not bleached or dyed. We are not only preventing environmental pollution but also protecting the health of farmers and babies by making eco-friendly clothing.

Female North Korean defectors are exposed to poor working conditions such as wage discrimination and sexual harassment because they are 'North Korean defectors' and 'women'. Agahoho employs female North Korean defectors as clothing manufacturing workers, so they make use of their abilities to adapt to Korean society. Every female North Korean defector has good sewing ability because they have no choice but to make their clothes due to the harsh environment in North Korea.

In the future, Agahoho will provide high-quality jobs for more female North Korean defectors to develop their sewing ability and unleash their competence. However, we have difficulties securing raw materials and promoting them. Through The Bridge crowdfunding, I want to hire female North Korean defectors and make a company where South and North Korean employees can experience unification in advance while receiving equal treatment!

Please join us with Impact Donation, so that North Korean women defectors demonstrate their capabilities and settle down in Korean society!