Episode Details
Back to Episodes
9 August 1979: YH wig workers occupation
Published 3 days, 7 hours ago
Description
On this day, 9 August 1979, the women workers of the YH wig making company in Seoul, South Korea, occupied the headquarters of the opposition New Democratic Party in protest at the closure of their employer.
The workers had gone on strike against the proposed closure, but to no avail, so they attempted to escalate their protest.
However, the US-backed military dictatorship instead sent 2,000 riot police to attack the 187 women and evict the occupation. One woman, Kim Kyung Sook, was killed by police, while the union leaders were arrested and the other workers sent home by bus.
While unsuccessful, the violent repression of the workers provoked mass anger, which was a major contributing factor to uprisings breaking out in Busan and Masan later that year.
Learn more about this period of Korean history in our podcast series: https://workingclasshistory.com/tag/south-korea/
Our work is only possible because of support from you, our listeners on patreon. If you appreciate our work, please join us and access exclusive content and benefits at patreon.com/workingclasshistory.
The workers had gone on strike against the proposed closure, but to no avail, so they attempted to escalate their protest.
However, the US-backed military dictatorship instead sent 2,000 riot police to attack the 187 women and evict the occupation. One woman, Kim Kyung Sook, was killed by police, while the union leaders were arrested and the other workers sent home by bus.
While unsuccessful, the violent repression of the workers provoked mass anger, which was a major contributing factor to uprisings breaking out in Busan and Masan later that year.
Learn more about this period of Korean history in our podcast series: https://workingclasshistory.com/tag/south-korea/
Our work is only possible because of support from you, our listeners on patreon. If you appreciate our work, please join us and access exclusive content and benefits at patreon.com/workingclasshistory.
- See all of our anniversaries each day, alongside sources and maps on the On This Day section of our Stories app: stories.workingclasshistory.com/date/today
- Browse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/date
- Check out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.com
- Check out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com
- If you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History