Korea: KCTU Annual National Labor Cultural Celebration For Chun Tae-il
Every November 12 and November 13 a national commemoration is held in Seoul
Korea to celebrate the life of labor martyr Chun Tae-il. Chun committed
suicide in protest of the conditions of garment workers. When his mother refused to take a bribe for silence about this act she was jailed by the military government.
The celebration also includes an 8 hour choreographed cultural celebration
of music, film, theater, acrobatics and performance by worker cultural and media
groups from throughout the country.
The celebration takes place before 8,000 workers at the Korean Broadcasting
System Coliseum in Seoul. This year it was attended by a delegation of over 100 Japanese labor activists.
In the same period a national march/rally takes place with from 30,000 to
80,000 workers from throughout the country. This year the KCTU which represents over 600,00 is also launching a general strike on December 1, 2005 against the casualization, contingency workforce
in Korea and for pension/medical and other protections for part time workers.
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