hankyoreh

By Park Hyun-jung 　

At 6:30 pm on Saturday, “Kim,” an employee on the human resources team at a major company based in Seoul, boarded a bus at the site of a sit-in protest for JEI temporary employees near Seoul Plaza. It was the No. 4 “Hope Bus for a World Without Layoffs and Temporary Workers,” bound for Hanjin Heavy Industries’ Yeongdo shipyard in the Yeongdo District of Busan. There, Kim Jin-suk, a member of the Direction Committee for the Busan branch of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), was in the 158th day Sunday of her aerial protest in the 35-meter-high No. 85 crane demanding that the company withdraw its layoff plans.

“I’m irregular worker, so it was not easy getting here. On the job, I have gained an acute sense of how bad the irregular positions are. When I found out about the ‘Hope Bus’ event, I felt a knot in my throat. So I just came.”

Kim provided this self-introduction to the other passengers, saying that it was still heartbreaking after more than three years of the same work. This was the case, Kim said, for a contracted employee at the information desk who, as in all the other cases, departed the company just ahead of her conversion to full-time status after working for two straight years.

The 44 people on board bus No. 4 ranged in age from their 20s to 50s, but all seemed somehow similar in their generosity of feeling. Many of them said that they wanted “to help out with something good, even if just by adding to the numbers,” and “to see Kim Jin-suk for ourselves.” A number of people present were not KCTU members or labor activists, but ordinary people who had boarded alone or with friends, in a kind of “infusion of fresh forces from outside” into a labor movement that had always been a lone struggle.

The Hope Buses, which departed not only from Seoul but also from cities like Jeonju, Suncheon, Suwon, and Pyeongtaek, let the roughly 750 participants off at Bongnae Market in Yeongdo District after midnight on Sunday. They lifted candles to let the citizens of Busan know their solidarity with the workers at the Yeongdo shipyard. As soon as they entered the road, their path was blocked by police, who declared the gathering an “illegal assembly.” White-haired progressive activist Baek Gi-wan stood at the very front of the crowd. Around twenty minutes after the confrontation began, a single lane opened up on the road to the shipyard.

The candles were followed by tears of hope. The wives of Hanjin Heavy Industries employees wept as they waved a banner reading “Thank You” toward those participating in the candlelight vigil demonstration in front of the shipyard. The entrance to the shipyard was shut tight. At 1:30 a.m. on Sunday, around ten ladders came down over a four-meter wall right next to the sidewalk where the candle-bearing ranks were standing. Using the ladders, which had been prepared by Hanjin Heavy Industries workers striking inside, the participants were able to enter the shipyard.

Belatedly arriving to examine the situation, police tried to seize the ladders, and scattered clashes broke out. In the process, a KCTU member lost consciousness and was transported to the hospital. Clashes also erupted between workers and security staff hired by the company at the front gate, which was blocked off with containers. According to the company, around twenty security staff members were hurt, and workers also sustained injuries.

It was only after 3 a.m. that participants were able to look up at the 35-meter crane and cheer. Finally, they were seeing Kim Jin-suk, who had spent the last 158 days in solitude. Sobs were heard from the crowd as Kim’s words rang out clearly from her high perch.

After 4 a.m., a performance began by “Punk Outsiders” assembled via Twitter. Hanjin Heavy Industries workers, Ssangyong workers who had come to show their solidarity, and poet Song Kyung-dong, who scurried to prepare for the event despite a disabled leg, gathered together for an energetic round of dancing.

At around 11 a.m., actress Kim Yeo-jin and five other participants were briefly held by police after departing the shipyard early. At one point in the morning, the police surrounded the shipyard and considered arresting participants. During the afternoon, however, they changed their policy and began assuring participants the ability to return home. One participant expressed concern about what would happen after the Hope Buses left, worrying that suppressions of Hanjin Heavy Industries workers might intensify.

“Through this event, I saw the seeds of new solidarity sprouting,” said Song Kyung-dong. “If the Hanjin Heavy Industries problem is not resolved, we should send more Hope Buses.”

The gathering was set to disperse at 3 p.m. The gate leading out of the shipyard opened up. Hanjin Heavy Industries workers clapped for the line of participants on their way out. Kim Jin-suk also waved down with both hands. The participants, who continued looking up and waving throughout the events, expressed a mixture of tears and smiles. Up on crane No. 85 and in the hearts of people gathering from all over the country, the flowers of hope blossomed.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]