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Witness History: Striking in South Korea in 1980

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South Korea in 1980 - a striker's story

18/05/2021 GMT

Striking in South Korea in 1980

BBC World Service - Witness History, Striking in South Korea in 1980

Strikes and protests against South Korea's military government came to a head in May 1980

South Korea saw strikes and student protests in May 1980. There was a brutal military crackdown in the city of Gwangju and elsewhere thousands of workers faced arrest and torture.

There were strikes and student protests across South Korea in May 1980. The military government responded with a brutal crackdown in the city of Gwangju and elsewhere striking workers faced arrest and even torture. Heongjun Park has been hearing from one of those strikers, Bae Ok Byoung, who worked in a factory making wigs in Seoul. She, and the other female employees had gone on strike demanding better working conditions, but after the industrial action ended she was jailed, tortured and then blacklisted for decades. This is a 2 Degrees West production. 

Photo: Labour activist Bae Ok Byoung talking to some of the workers at the wig factory in Seoul where she worked in 1980.

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