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Jeon Tae-il
Jeon Tae-il (Korean: 전태일; 28 September 1948 – 13 November 1970) was a South Korean sewing worker and workers' rights activist who committed suicide by self-immolation at the age of 22 in protest of the poor working conditions of South Korean factories during the Third Republic era. His death brought attention to the country's substandard labor conditions and advanced the formation of a labor union movement in South Korea.
Jeon Tae-il was born on 28 September 1948. He was the son of Jeon Sang-soo, a poor sewing worker from Namsan-dong, Daegu, and his wife, Lee So-sun. At one time, his father tried his hand at the domestic water industry, but failed repeatedly. His maternal grandfather was killed by a Japanese police officer on charges of joining the anti-Japanese independence movement. In 1954, he and his family members moved to Seoul, but were homeless under the Yeomcheon Bridge near Seoul Station. Jeon's mother begged in Manni-dong while his father worked, together making enough for the family to live in a monthly rental room.
However, the family returned to Daegu in 1960. Jeon did not finish elementary school and had an underprivileged childhood with little formal education; he began peddling on the street to survive. In March 1963, he entered Cheong-ok High School in Daegu, but his father forced him to drop out to do sewing work at home. Frustrated that he could not attend school, he ran away from home but returned within three days. His father repeatedly kicked and beat him afterwards.
Jeon learned to sew from his father, but he ran away from home again with his younger brother in 1964 and went to Seoul. He peddled at Dongdaemun Market, delivered newspapers, and did other menial work such as shoe polishing. He was later employed as an assistant at the clothing store of Seoul Peace Market (서울평화시장; Seoul Pyeonghwa Sijang). He worked for 14 hours everyday and earned a daily wage of 50 won and a cup of tea. When he turned 17, he became a sida ("chore" in Korean) at Sam-il sa in the Peace Market and soon became a tailor.
As a tailor, Jeon witnessed the horrendous working conditions in the Peace Market. Such conditions included rampant tuberculosis due to poor ventilation (or the lack thereof) in the sweatshops, and the forced consumption of pep pills or injections to keep them awake.
In 1968, Jeon became aware of the Labor Standards Act which protected workers' human rights. He purchased a guidebook of the act and began studying it. While studying the contents of the act, he grew angry at the reality that even the minimum working conditions prescribed by law were not observed. In June 1969, he founded the Fool's Association (바보회), the first labor organization in the Peace Market. The name "Fool's Association" reflected Jeon's belief that workers were fools to conform to an exploitative working environment. He informed the workers of the Peace Market of the contents of the act and the unfairness of their current working conditions. He also surveyed the Peace Market's current working conditions through a questionnaire.
Protesting against the actual working conditions in South Korea was by association, protesting against the rule of Park Chung Hee, South Korea's then dictator-president. Although Jeon succeeded in briefly creating awareness, he was soon met with resistance from the government, which ignored labor regulations and frequently sided with employers who were accused of exploitation. Scornful Labor Department officials told Jeon and his colleagues they were unpatriotic for complaining, and their employers simply cracked down harder.
In order to garner more attention on the issue, Jeon ultimately decided to set himself on fire and ran through the streets of downtown Seoul shouting slogans such as "We workers are human beings too!", "Guarantee the three basic labor rights!", and "Do not let my death be in vain!"
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Jeon Tae-il
Jeon Tae-il (Korean: 전태일; 28 September 1948 – 13 November 1970) was a South Korean sewing worker and workers' rights activist who committed suicide by self-immolation at the age of 22 in protest of the poor working conditions of South Korean factories during the Third Republic era. His death brought attention to the country's substandard labor conditions and advanced the formation of a labor union movement in South Korea.
Jeon Tae-il was born on 28 September 1948. He was the son of Jeon Sang-soo, a poor sewing worker from Namsan-dong, Daegu, and his wife, Lee So-sun. At one time, his father tried his hand at the domestic water industry, but failed repeatedly. His maternal grandfather was killed by a Japanese police officer on charges of joining the anti-Japanese independence movement. In 1954, he and his family members moved to Seoul, but were homeless under the Yeomcheon Bridge near Seoul Station. Jeon's mother begged in Manni-dong while his father worked, together making enough for the family to live in a monthly rental room.
However, the family returned to Daegu in 1960. Jeon did not finish elementary school and had an underprivileged childhood with little formal education; he began peddling on the street to survive. In March 1963, he entered Cheong-ok High School in Daegu, but his father forced him to drop out to do sewing work at home. Frustrated that he could not attend school, he ran away from home but returned within three days. His father repeatedly kicked and beat him afterwards.
Jeon learned to sew from his father, but he ran away from home again with his younger brother in 1964 and went to Seoul. He peddled at Dongdaemun Market, delivered newspapers, and did other menial work such as shoe polishing. He was later employed as an assistant at the clothing store of Seoul Peace Market (서울평화시장; Seoul Pyeonghwa Sijang). He worked for 14 hours everyday and earned a daily wage of 50 won and a cup of tea. When he turned 17, he became a sida ("chore" in Korean) at Sam-il sa in the Peace Market and soon became a tailor.
As a tailor, Jeon witnessed the horrendous working conditions in the Peace Market. Such conditions included rampant tuberculosis due to poor ventilation (or the lack thereof) in the sweatshops, and the forced consumption of pep pills or injections to keep them awake.
In 1968, Jeon became aware of the Labor Standards Act which protected workers' human rights. He purchased a guidebook of the act and began studying it. While studying the contents of the act, he grew angry at the reality that even the minimum working conditions prescribed by law were not observed. In June 1969, he founded the Fool's Association (바보회), the first labor organization in the Peace Market. The name "Fool's Association" reflected Jeon's belief that workers were fools to conform to an exploitative working environment. He informed the workers of the Peace Market of the contents of the act and the unfairness of their current working conditions. He also surveyed the Peace Market's current working conditions through a questionnaire.
Protesting against the actual working conditions in South Korea was by association, protesting against the rule of Park Chung Hee, South Korea's then dictator-president. Although Jeon succeeded in briefly creating awareness, he was soon met with resistance from the government, which ignored labor regulations and frequently sided with employers who were accused of exploitation. Scornful Labor Department officials told Jeon and his colleagues they were unpatriotic for complaining, and their employers simply cracked down harder.
In order to garner more attention on the issue, Jeon ultimately decided to set himself on fire and ran through the streets of downtown Seoul shouting slogans such as "We workers are human beings too!", "Guarantee the three basic labor rights!", and "Do not let my death be in vain!"