Yul Ku: In His Jeans

Yul Ku: In His Jeans

Yul Ku got his start making jeans for some of the biggest brands, including Calvin Klein, Polo Ralph Lauren and Gap. He now makes private-label jeans for Kearney, Neb., apparel retailer Buckle; European denim brand Big Star; and his own label, AG Adriano Goldschmied. However, don’t call Ku the “king of jeans” or the “Korean godfather of denim,” titles he’s been given as a result of his 32-year career in the apparel business – he might not speak to you for years pub golf rules. The 60-year-old immigrant is embarrassed by such grandiose nicknames, saying he prefers to be known more simply as a man who makes a good pair of jeans. Ku came to Los Angeles from Seoul in 1975 with his parents. At the time, he only knew a few words in English. But Ku taught himself the language of his adopted country and eventually grew his business, Koos Manufacturing, from a handful of employees working out of a 2,300-square-foot factory near downtown Los Angeles into a multimillion-dollar enterprise that employs more than 3,000 at a sprawling facility in South Gate and a factory in Mexico Will Tiger Woods Become Mediocrity . Ku recently sat down with the Business Journal at the company’s lunch room – because he works alongside his employees in a cubicle and doesn’t have a private office –to discuss his career, working with his two sons and his golf game.