LAST WEEK’S STRUGGLE REPORT (Seoul, 11.02)

Last week started, like usually with “Every Monday’s Solidarity Concert”. On that Monday expression dance group 들꽃 (Wild Flower) made the main performance and everyone in the audience was just filled with enthusiasm.

On Tuesday, October 23, KCTU organized in the afternoon a bicycle demonstration to support the struggle of irregular workers. As already reported, since long time irregular workers here – a large number of S. Korean workers have no contracts, no health insurance, no labor rights and just small wages – are fighting for transforming their jobs into regular work places. The bicycle demonstration was leading from downtown Seoul to Yeongdeungpo, actually a really long route and when you know about the traffic chaos in the city, alone the motorcycle express deliver service drivers - with goodwill you can call them traffic rowdies - are highly dangerous, you can imagine that this was a kind of hardcore tour.
But until the demonstrators, among them three members of Myeong-dong Sit-in Struggle Collective (MSSC), could start the rout they’d to argue with large units of riot cops, because they don’t wanted to allow the demo, but after some shouting and scuffling they opened the blockade, the route was free and about two hours later the demo reached the final destination.

Here in the park behind KCTU’s headquarter for the evening a culture struggle festival was organized, to support also the struggle of irregular workers.

The most impressive was the orchestra played revolutionary, but also traditional music, some sounded a little Chinese influenced. The musicians, all members of an art trade union, played on traditional instruments and filled the audience, about 150 Korean and migrant workers, with enthusiasm.

Of course the different expression dance groups were the next highlights.

Our one man show program

After all a really color- and powerful evening!
Last Thursday, like every day, the activists who are defending their houses in Cheongjin-dong downtown Seoul staged their protest in front of Jongno District Office.

But on that day they were observed by criminal gangsters, hired by the construction mafia. After a while we observed back and for a while they stopped their activities, but not much later they started again filming us until we finished the protest.

On Thursday after supper in Myeong-dong we’d our weekly struggle night rally. But on that night we got a beautiful surprise: A member of Namudak project performed a one man show and everyone was just like enchanted by the great performance.

On Friday MSSC had a full program: at first a rally in the early afternoon in front of Chosun Ilbo, one of the four leading reactionary dailies here, Here we wanted to protest against their remarks about possible links between migrant workers struggle here and “terrorist” organizations such as al-Qaeda (here about the remark it was already reported).

A while later we wanted to do the same in front of Grand National Party’s (GNP) headquarter. But we arrived to early and so some of us joined a protest against arch-reactionary National Security Law (an earlier article about the issue you can read here, but there are two mistakes in the article: you’ve to call 111 and you get a lot of more money for “leftwing criminal”. Just search by your own, you’ll find the announcement in every subway train, beside the doors). But during the speeches of the protestors from inside from the GNP grounds massive noise made by nationalist marching music disturbed the rally.

After that we held our protest – the same issue like in front of Chosun Ilbo. Chosun Ilbo is a kind of GNP’s central organ, you can say.

While many members of MSSC went over the weekend to Busan ETU-MB got for last Saturday an invitation for the opening ceremony of NFUP’s new headquarter.
The event was very traditional, but also very nice and enjoying. After the official ceremony a kind of party started during that the participants shouted revolutionary slogans, but had quite fun! Of course a lot of comrades from the daily struggles you were able to meet here. Just a nice event to finish a powerful struggle week!

Here just some more nice impression last Monday night (mainly from “Wild Flower’s” performance)

RELEASE ALL MIGRANT WORKERS FROM DETENTION CENTERS!
FREEDOM FOR ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS IN S. KOREA!
LET’S FIGHT TOGETHER FOR A WORLD WITHOUT EXPLOITATION AND OPPRESSION!
ANOTHER WORLD IS POSSIBLE, ONLY IF YOU WANT AND FIGHT FOR IT!