07-08-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
How this red cap saved US-South Korea trade deal
A red golf cap embroidered with the slogan 'Make America Shipbuilding Great Again' (Masga) has emerged as an unlikely symbol of progress in recent
US
South Korea tariff negotiations.
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Behind the scenes, the urgent production of the hat by a small Seoul-based manufacturer shows how symbolism and speed converged in diplomacy.
The order came suddenly. 'The US and South Korean flags must be stitched side by side above the Masga slogan on the front of the cap,' a Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy official told the Seoul-based hat maker, Moja Factory, located in Dongdaemun district.
The design was intended not just as merchandise, but as a key visual aid in high-level talks.
The hat was designed to echo Donald Trump's iconic red Maga cap. Photo: Moja Factory
The Masga slogan, created by the ministry staff as part of a strategic policy proposal for bilateral shipbuilding cooperation, had helped break a stalemate in tariff talks.
