All language subtitles for Factory Complex 2015 Theatrical Cut.1080p bluray x264 Eng

What good would crying do?

I should get a manual labor job.

What will we do about my poor sister?

She is on the graveyard shift list.

It's nice to be making
money and all, but...

But how do you survive,
if you work all-night?

Factory Complex

If I was able to reach out,
I'd call my beloved

But alas, I have nothing,
I have nothing to my name

Here we go!

To the bright future of
Industrial Complex for Export!

One!

Two!

Three!

70' Female Factory Workers
Cecil Theater, Seoul, South Korea

You held her like this, right?

This is the young Shin Sunae

You pulled her up

You feel sorry for her

You can hold her hand, too

Stop crying

Minors under 18 needed
parents' agreement,

but I wasn't 18 yet

Back then, at textile companies like
Wonpoong or Dong-il

many workers were hired
under their older sisters' name

After a few years of work
they would change to their real name

But Pyeonghwa Market was a place
that hired anyone no matter what

My throat always hurts
because of the dust

There was so much dust. The napkin
would be black whenever I blow out my nose

Too hungry to work!

Too hungry to work!
My phlegm and spit
were always dark with dust

Working 3 years at Pyeonghwa Market
is enough to turn you into a patient

No!

Gyeongsuk!

The YH(wig factory) Incident

One day a seamstress
didn't come to work

Shin Sunae
Hired in 1966 at Pyeonghwa Market
Imprisoned and dismissed in 1977
One day a seamstress
didn't come to work

Shin Sunae
Hired in 1966 at Pyeonghwa Market
Imprisoned and dismissed in 1977

We'd been working together just a day ago
but she suddenly disappeared

I found out a few years later

that she was raped by the tailor

Courageous women these days
would fight back

But most women tend
to avoid the situation

Back then women were even weaker

So some women had no choice
but to disappear without a word

But once I started hating it
It was like hell

The factory was dark
and it leaked of sour smell

Lee Chonggak
Hired in 1966 and dismissed in 1978
by Dong-Il Corporation
And the place was full of dust

Lee Chonggak
Hired in 1966 and dismissed in 1978
by Dong-Il Corporation
Although we had partitions

Although we had partitions

the noise from the machines
were so loud

We used whistles to communicate

I was only 18
when I started working

But I worked 12, 13 hours a day

I don't think
we had sanitary pads back then

So it was very difficult
during my periods

Especially in the summer...

I would smell and
my groins would hurt

I also suffered
from athlete's foot

Some men burst through
the union office

and dared us to vote that day

With leather gloves
they smeared waste on us

There was an old restroom
next to the union office

The men dug up
human waste from there

Hiring Female Production workers
and waited through
the night drinking

Hiring Female Production workers

They were hired by the company
to prevent us from voting

We needed photos for evidence
of us smeared with waste...

So we ran to a nearby
photo studio

and asked the owner
to take pictures

That's why we at least have
some photos as evidences

I believe it was at night

The phone was ringing and
people were running into my studio

Lee Gibok
Owner of Photo Studio
near Dong-Il
The phone was ringing and
people were running into my studio

Lee Gibok
Owner of Photo Studio
near Dong-Il

It was hectic
with so much commotion

It was urgent and
they didn't have time to explain

They said,
"Something terrible is happening."

So they needed me to come
and take some pictures for evidence

One of the workers called
Oh Cheongja

was 5 or 6 years older than me

She was the company's target

When the waste bucket
was almost emptied

they put it over her head

People may do anything to survive

But what they did was horrible
I've never told this to anyone

but I cried alone in the studio
as I developed the photos

What they did was subhuman

Tears just came out

Naked Demonstration
at Dong-il Textile Factory

I've been running
this studio for decades

and I've met all kinds of people

But those girls had
the most innocent faces

I haven't seen a purer face yet

Everyone who lived here worked
at the Guro Complex

Usually, we never got off work
at 7 or 5

We would come home at around 9,
and have instant noodles together

And we'd study until midnight

And then we slept all together
in this cramped room

we were almost folded
with each other

And in the dawn, we woke up
and took shower one by one

It's nothing too serious

But petty theft would happen

Little things such as a
slice of briquette would get stolen

It was all just a part of life

Now that I look back,
it makes me sad

But it's also a part of my memory,
that's how my life was

I don't know if we got tuberculosis
from not eating enough

Kim Yeongmi
Hired in 1983 and dismissed
and imprisoned in 1985
by Hyosung at Guro Industrial Complex
I don't know if we got tuberculosis
from not eating enough

Kim Yeongmi
Hired in 1983 and dismissed
and imprisoned in 1985
by Hyosung at Guro Industrial Complex

Kim Yeongmi
Hired in 1983 and dismissed
and imprisoned in 1985
by Hyosung at Guro Industrial Complex
or if the bad working environment
caused the disease

But many workers came down
with tuberculosis

If you got the disease
you had to quit

Bars were worse
than sewing factories

Pretty workers who got sick
would end up in bars

If I ran into them on the streets
they told me to ignore them

and warned me
not to end up like them

I still remember their eyes

The Bridge of Export

President Park Geun-Hye
was on TV the other day

I still get the chills
even thinking about it

She said she'd give more
opportunities to diligent workers

But is there a worker in Korea
who is not diligent?

The passengers on the first bus
of each morning are all workers

Only workers take the first bus
and subway to go to work

They've worked hard
all their lives

But...

Can they have a better life?

Are they well-off?

My sister said she'd
send me to night school

so I came to
Garibong-dong in 1978

I started working for
a small textile factory in Mapo

as an assistant seamstress

Kang Myeongja
Hired in 1982 and imprisoned
and dismissed in 1985
by Daewoo Apparel,
Guro Industrial Complex
I had to pull all-nighter everyday

Kang Myeongja
Hired in 1982 and imprisoned
and dismissed in 1985
by Daewoo Apparel,
Guro Industrial Complex
But my sister's company
seemed to have

a better working environment

So I transferred
to Daewoo Apparel in 1982

Back then

companies would team up
with elementary schools or middle schools

and pick up
their graduates for work

Before transferring there
I would visit my sister at work

and she'd be in uniform
with a name tag and head scarf

She would be sitting on the lawn
during lunchtime

and that looked so peaceful

Because I'd never
worn a school uniform

her uniform looked so cool

To wear that uniform, I'd ask her
if her company was hiring

People in the countryside especially
older people think Samsung is the best

Whether it be a factory job
or an office job at Samsung

the older people would all congratulate you
for getting a job at Samsung

From outside, it looked like
such a big and peaceful company

But once inside

it wasn't the peaceful scene
I had imagined

but a living hell

It was the same routine
every day

We'd work overtime and even all night
if we were ordered to

After working all night
we'd take stimulants

Have you ever had
stimulants and coffee powder?

Or coffee and energy drinks?

Park Minsuk
worked from 1991 till 1998
Samsung Electronics
Breast Cancer
The production lines where
we worked were very clean

Park Minsuk
worked from 1991 till 1998
Samsung Electronics
Breast Cancer

The problem was the Isopropyl alcohol
we used to clean the lines

It seemed like a very
hazardous chemical

Working on semiconductors was known
to be harmful for pregnant women

Lee Seongok
worked from 1995 till 2002
for Samsung Electronics
Thyroid Cancer
Working on semiconductors was known
to be harmful for pregnant women

Lee Seongok
worked from 1995 till 2002
for Samsung Electronics
Thyroid Cancer
There were rumors of deformed babies

So I quit as soon as I became
pregnant for fear of my baby

I've been working as
a seamstress since 17

and the only time
I could take a break

was during my pregnancy
and for a short period after I gave birth

That break seems to be
the only benefit for women

Except for those periods
all I did was work

One colleague was infertile for 7 years
so we shared the same concerns

Another co-worker was
infertile for 10 years

One worker had uterine cancer
and returned after being treated

But she had trouble adjusting,
so she quit

Another worker's hair
kept on falling out

So she had to get hormone shots

One morning, I swept my hair

and my hand was full of hairs
that had fallen out

Kim Miyeon
worked from 1997 till 2012
for Samsung Electronics
Gestational Choriocarcinoma
I feel like I'm going to cry
whenever I talk about it...

Kim Miyeon
worked from 1997 till 2012
for Samsung Electronics
Gestational Choriocarcinoma
So I...

It's okay,
just tell it as it is.

Miyeon hated having her head shaved,
and so did I

I had it shaved
on a hospital bed

I was recommended a person
at the hospital who shaved heads

As I lay down to shave my head,
I felt very sad as a woman

At first, the medication
wasn't so strong

High-Alert Medication
At first, the medication
wasn't so strong

At first, the medication
wasn't so strong

My hair didn't fall out

But later, the medicine
started to wear off

The doctor recommended
I take a stronger medicine

but explained that my hair
would start to fall out

Hearing that made my heart sink

Some people might think
losing hair is no big deal

I also thought the same way

But once it's about you,
it becomes a serious issue

So when I shaved my head
at the hospital

another patient who had shaved
her head comforted me

We organized a labor union in 1984

I was arrested in June, 1985

and imprisoned for one year

They told me if I wrote a letter of apology
I was free to go, but it felt so unfair

If only they had adhered
to the collective agreement...

Making some concessions
would've stopped our strikes

The government announced
the minimum wage as $100 back then

A word of comfort,
courage and hope for the others
We weren't even paid
the minimum wage

A word of comfort,
courage and hope for the others

I still remember
the younger workers saying

I want to wear Nike shoes, too

They put it on posters

One of our slogans was
"I want to wear Nike shoes, too"

They were just 17,
right out of middle school

I adored them,
but I've lost contact

Guro Joint Strike

Stop the oppression!
Release the laborers!

Is it twenty or thirty years ago?
It is thirty years ago

I think I was too afraid

because I had been beaten so much
in that boiler room underground

I couldn't even cry

My face was so much swollen,
so it aches badly if I cry

I remember, one day

I was so terrified so I just flopped down and
started crying while walking on the street

There was a friend who just couldn't
overcome the fear and got mentally ill

think it was just too much
for us to bear

The security 365 days

When I was in middle school my teacher
asked me to present what my dream was

I said, even it's nothing big
or nothing so meaningful,

Jang Youngsun
Hired in 1982 and
Forced resignation in 1985
by Garibong Electronics,
Guro Industrial Complex
I said, even it's nothing big
or nothing so meaningful,

Jang Youngsun
Hired in 1982 and
Forced resignation in 1985
by Garibong Electronics,
Guro Industrial Complex

Jang Youngsun
Hired in 1982 and
Forced resignation in 1985
by Garibong Electronics,
Guro Industrial Complex
for example,
even if I happen to work in a factory

Jang Youngsun
Hired in 1982 and
Forced resignation in 1985
by Garibong Electronics,
Guro Industrial Complex

and nobody appreciates,
that is what I want to be

And my teacher said,
"you want to be a 'factory girl'?"

That's a 'factory girl'

Who makes these light bulbs and heaters?
Workers do

All men are equal under the sun

So we should
all be treated equally

But the reality made me furious

- Samsung should take a step for negotiations!
- We want negotiations!

Let's change Samsung! Let's change
the world! Let's change our lives!

If we just knew the truth
while working at Samsung...

Samsung is a company
we can't hate

It's like being dumped
by someone I truly loved

I can't get myself
to hate that person

because I still have
some fond feelings left

Young workers are still there
They say the environment has changed

and many works have become automatic
I just hope no more workers are sick

I was very healthy
only two years ago

It drives me crazy to think about
what might happen to all the workers

Leukemia Incident
at Samsung Semiconductor Factory

Gasan Digital Complex

Gasan digital Complex Station
was Garibong Station back then

In 1992, if you got off
Garibong Station

you'd see job openings
on the direction board

I was searching for a job openings
when someone offered me a good job

He took me to Gabool Electronics

It was my first time at a factory
and overnight work was new to me

I couldn't imagine
working overnight

I still remember
my first day of work

Kim Soyeon
Hired in 2002 by Kiryung Electronics

Kim Soyeon
Hired in 2002 by Kiryung Electronics
It was exciting
to start a new job

Kim Soyeon
Hired in 2002 by Kiryung Electronics
after leaving a company
I worked for 8 years

One day, my colleague complained
about something to the manager

She was a dispatched worker,
just like me

And the manager would
just dismiss her for the day

Then you have no choice
but to leave

At dinner,

regular employees, contract employees, and the
dispatched workers all sat at different tables

This herbal liquor
was popular back then

And one of the dispatched worker
really wanted to drink it

So she asked for a bottle,
but they didn't even pretended to listen

But when a regular employee asked for the
same, they ordered one for her right away

We were all eating at the same time
at a same place, it was ridiculous

Kiryung Incident

Many workers were fired
before the labor union was formed in 2005

Normally, a colleague not showing up
means he or she has a day off

But for us, it meant
that the person was fired

The company mercilessly continued
to fire many workers

Only dispatched workers
were dismissed before

but contract workers were laid off
once the union was formed

Everyone stayed,
ate and slept in the sit-in site

for the first three days
and most of them were women

But some of them were very young
and couldn't stay for too long

because women are biologically
different from men

I could stop fighting and
go to another company

But will I be able to work
as a regular worker then?

Nope

Hunger strikes can be tricky

You do it to pressure the company
and solve a problem

But as it continues, your colleagues
are more pressured than the company

On the 94th day of hunger strike

I hadn't slept all night and
I was completely wiped out

The union members
got seriously worried

They didn't want to trade my life
for their demands

So I was carried to the hospital

Yet that wasn't the hardest part

The most frustrating thing was that
although I'd fought with my life

nothing had changed

Pullback!

He's losing his grip!
And legs are shaking!

Hurry up!

Why!

How could you!

People are risking
their lives up there

But no one even tries
to listen to their demands

You've killed lives
instead of saving them!

Why?

The police have turned away
from their original duty!

Such life-risking struggles made
the company and police take us seriously

Then the negotiation reopened

and the company has agreed
to employ them back as regular workers

I felt... at a loss?

Kiryung Electronics Makes "Runaway Move"
Leaving Union Members at a Loss
I can't express in words
how I felt

Kiryung Electronics Makes "Runaway Move"
Leaving Union Members at a Loss

Kiryung Electronics Makes "Runaway Move"
Leaving Union Members at a Loss
At first I was so despondent

Kiryung Electronics Makes "Runaway Move"
Leaving Union Members at a Loss

And then I became furious
Because it was just outrageous

Kiryung Electronics Fled overnight First News of the Year Makes the Union
Disconcerted And then I became furious Because it was just outrageous

Kiryung Electronics Makes "Runaway Move"
Leaving Union Members at a Loss
And then I became furious
Because it was just outrageous

Kiryung Electronics Makes "Runaway Move"
Leaving Union Members at a Loss

Kiryung Electronics Makes "Runaway Move"
Leaving Union Members at a Loss
Although the company
hadn't kept its promise

I thought the company would
at least inform us before moving

I never imagined
they'd run away like that

50th Anniversary of Guro Factory Complex and Unveiling ceremony
of 'the Statue of the woman of Export' September 16, 2014

A Factory Girl 50 years Ago
A Temporary Employee 50 Years Later
They ran away stealing all the money
they made by taking a huge margin

Life in the Bottom under Park Jung-Hui
Not any better under Park Geun-Hye

Life in the Bottom under Park Jung-Hui
Not any better under Park Geun-Hye
and all the damage,
we laborers took it upon ourselves

Life in the Bottom under Park Jung-Hui
Not any better under Park Geun-Hye

Low-pay, long hour labor
That is the miserable reality we took upon

The Base of New Industries

I needed to make a living
so I searched all the hiring notices

I took a bus and got off
when all other passengers did

I thought it was the last stop

But it wasn't
Daewoo Corporation was there

Its factory had about
12,000 workers at that time

There's a song about seamstresses
on sewing machines

Seamstresses on sewing machines looked even
cooler than a knight on a horse to me back then

Their work was acknowledged

Kim Jinsuk
worked from 1981 till 1986
for Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction

Kim Jinsuk
worked from 1981 till 1986
for Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction
I really wanted to go to college

Kim Jinsuk
worked from 1981 till 1986
for Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction

Kim Jinsuk
worked from 1981 till 1986
for Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction
But that didn't work out

Kim Jinsuk
worked from 1981 till 1986
for Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction

The society I lived in
made that impossible

News reports about a bus attendant
going to Seoul Nat'l University

sounded like a rumor to me

After all, what would be
the chance for such a person

to go to a college out of
the thousands of hundreds?

Then I also got a job as
a bus attendant at Hwajin Bus

After each shift, we had to clean
the bus all the way up to its ceiling

We would return
to our rooms at 2 AM

And we'd have to get back to work
for the first bus at 4:15 AM

It was really hard

I could manage any job I used to again But I could
never stand working as a bus attendant again

I work on hundreds of clothes
for a whole month

but I couldn't afford to buy one for myself

I'd work late night shifts
as a bus attendant with swollen legs

but still wouldn't be able to
pay the rent on time

Later I learned welding
and obtained a license

And I finally got a decent job

I became a welder

I thought my life would
finally start to bloom

I was 26 back then

I was completely terrified

Because my head was covered with
a dark cloth on the way there

That place makes you wet your pants

They don't need to say a word
or even raise a hand

All the rooms were red

The walls were all red

On one wall

there was a writing

Let's get out of here alive

I wondered who had wrote
that message of survival

In such a situation

that one sentence

became my strongest weapon
in this world full of struggles

When one dies, the corpse is
normally laid on a wooden plank

There were mortuary planks
at that place

It meant we were going to die

We were stripped naked
and given military uniforms

I overheard the torturers saying

they liked it better with us naked except
for when the pieces of flesh falls apart

Nevertheless I came out alive

When I was leaving the place

one torturer said
he admired my strong determination

He said "I hope you win"

The enemy said so

One Slip of a Tongue
Top secret to the Enemy

I wanted to ask him

Why he had to take
such extreme measures

While I was on the crane, many people
read my book, "Salt Flower Tree"

They couldn't believe what
had happened to me and asked

how could I have endured
such a life

But it's not like I was
given a choice to avoid all that

I didn't choose to go to jail

It wasn't my choice...

to undergo
anti-communist investigations

Coming down from the crane
I was asked what I wanted the most

I replied I wanted to take a bath
and then live with a choice

But I've come to accept this
as my life

Everybody has different lives

And this is how
my life turned out

I don't resent
living such a life

I don't regret my life

The difference between life and death
Is only a centimeter from the vital spot

And there are times when
even 10 seconds make such a difference

Hanjin Industries Incident
When I think that person
could have lived if I had died

the weight of my life becomes
heavier than the earth

Canadia Industrial Park
Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Where is your hometown?

Srey Touc
Hired in 2013 by A Trading Corp.

Srey Touc
Hired in 2013 by A Trading Corp.
I'm from Ken Svay

Srey Touc
Hired in 2013 by A Trading Corp.

How long does it take from
Ken Svay to Phnom Penh?

About 2 hours

To get here?
Or for a round trip?

It takes 4 hours for a round trip

How do you usually spend your salary?

Chanty
Hired in 2012 by A Trading Corp.
How do you usually spend your salary?

Chanty
Hired in 2012 by A Trading Corp.

Chanty
Hired in 2012 by A Trading Corp.
I send it to my parents

How much do you send your parents?

Most of what I make

How much do you pay for the rent?

How much do you pay for the rent?

USD 3 0 a month

What is your job at the factory?

I work on the sewing machine

do you know
the prices of the clothes you make?

The prices?

I don't know

Srey Mon
Hired in 2013 by A Trading Corp.
What is your job at the factory?

Srey Mon
Hired in 2013 by A Trading Corp.
I work on quality controls,
examining the products

I work on quality controls,
examining the products

How much do you get paid?

I earn USD 110 a month

One day, I felt really sick

So I asked the manager for a day off

But he refused

They swear and
scold us to speed up

I want to save up
so I can go to school

Thank you

Bloodshed in Cambodia

In January 2014, a demonstration took place
asking for a rise of salary to USD 160 a month.

Airborne troops were dispatched as
a repressive measure.

5 were killed by gunshot
and 40 were injured.

Rumors of intervention from
Korean corporations and

the embassy were covered
in domestic and international medias.

How much did you make
before the demonstration?

Non-regulars made USD 85,
and the regular workers made USD 95

do you know to which countries the clothes
made in the factory are exported?

And if how much they cost?

The clothes are
around USD 40 to USD 50

And they are exported to

China, Japan, and Korea

Many workers are suffering

There are many workers who hurt on the job
can't get industrial accident insurance

A petition by the Vietnamese workers

Immigrant Workers' May Day
Seoul, South Korea

Immigrant Workers' May Day
Seoul, South Korea
No more discrimination
against foreign workers

Immigrant Workers' May Day
Seoul, South Korea

Pay back the wages siphoned off
by the owner

Guarantee the same bonuses
as Korean workers

Korean workers receive
annual wage increases

Give the same benefits to
foreign workers

Guarantee annual leaves

We work in an unhealthy environment
full of harsh chemicals

However, we receive
no danger pay allowances

The company does not care
about the working environment

Equal treatment for all!

Should we march forward now?

After E-Land acquired it

the name was changed to Homever

Many customers told me

E-Land was a Christian company

and so I would be able to work

Lee Gyeongok
Hired in 2000 by Carrefour,
dismissed in 2007
and so I would be able to work

Lee Gyeongok
Hired in 2000 by Carrefour,
dismissed in 2007
in a better environment

Lee Gyeongok
Hired in 2000 by Carrefour,
dismissed in 2007

Many Christian
customers blessed me

and encouraged me like that

But E-Land turned out
to be the opposite

They changed the rest area
into a prayer room

And we prayed
to achieve sales goals

Our stores may be
fancy and clean

but workers have
no place to rest

Even the tiniest space was
used to increase sales

Employees were never
taken into consideration

With no decent facilities

we sat on cardboard boxes
and ate our lunch here

We were quite pitiful

I remember sitting here

and eating with dust
all around us

Kim Jinsuk
Hired in 2011 by A Mart
I've met all kinds of customers

Kim Jinsuk
Hired in 2011 by A Mart
Most customers give us

their credit cards for a payment

Some customers just throw them

instead of handing them over

I feel very humiliated

as I pick up the thrown card

Some costumers treat us
in a degrading way

Some of themselves may be
non-regular workers

or their children may be working

as temporary employees somewhere

The most shocking incident
I have experienced here

was hearing a mother
scolding her children

saying that
if they didn't behave

they'd end up working here later

Kim Yeonhee
Hired in 2010 by A Mart
At the online
shopping mall I work

Kim Yeonhee
Hired in 2010 by A Mart
customers can shop
with just a click

Thank you for shopping with us

A customer makes an order
on the website

The ordered products
are classified into 6 categories

Then we pick up the products

using a PDA called Teampad

We also check
the expiration dates

for dairy products or vegetables

We shop for our customers

and also make deliveries

For example,
if there are ten orders

it must be completed
in just a few minutes

If it takes longer,

we're marked with colored lines

First it's blue

then green, amber, and red

We call it BGAR

It's like a performance review score

That is how the head office
checks our speed

It looks simple

but it's complicated
and difficult in reality

Passengers aboard, let us show you
the emergency procedures

My first long-distance
flight was to L.A.

and it was too much to bear

Kim Yeongsuk (Nom de Guerre)
worked from 1988 till 2007 for A Airlines

Kim Yeongsuk (Nom de Guerre)
worked from 1988 till 2007 for A Airlines
I was pretty athletic and fit

I was pretty athletic and fit

but it was just too hard for me

So after my first flight
I decided I would quit

I just couldn't
continue this work

I didn't know flight attendants
worked so hard

On my first long-distance flight

I couldn't sit down for 12 hours

12 hours in flight
consumes 4 times

the energy of 12 hours on ground

I would always
tell junior colleagues

they were actors on stage

The aisles were their stage

and the passengers were their audience

So they should do their best
as professionals

Please fasten your seatbelts
whenever the seatbelt sign appears

Insert the belt through the buckle
and tighten Lift the cover to loosen

during emergencies, oxygen masks will
automatically fall from above

Pull the mask toward your face

and adjust the strings
for a comfortable fit

For the first round of the job interviews
about 8 of us entered the room

Everyone was so pretty that
I felt like I was in a beauty pageant

Each one of us had to closely approach
the interviewer and smile naturally

Kim Mingyeong
worked from 2011 till 2013 for B Airlines
Each one of us had to closely approach
the interviewer and smile naturally

Kim Mingyeong
worked from 2011 till 2013 for B Airlines

The interviewers told us
to smile naturally

not like monsters
as we'd practiced

I felt offended
during that interview

It was like they were selecting images
instead of looking at our characters

Kwon Sujeong
Hired in 1995 by C Airlines
We had to follow regulations
for manicure color, nail length

Kwon Sujeong
Hired in 1995 by C Airlines
earrings, rings,

skirt length and clothes

We undergo emotional labor
plus beauty labor, as we call it

We have to control
our appearances

We sit facing our passengers
during take-offs and landings

Once, a flight attendant sat across
a Japanese passenger

Flight attendants have to wear skirts
because the company insists on it

The Japanese passenger motioned
for her to spread her legs apart

It's hard to continue smiling
to such a passenger

Nevertheless, we have to smile
in front of such passengers

for a fear they might write complaints
and effect our work evaluations

Receiving a complaint
or penalty points

is what we dread the most

We are pressured
to avoid penalty points

and receive bonus points

So we have no choice
but to exploit our emotions

If you cause any damage to your team
it becomes very difficult to work

Once you receive a penalty point

you're blamed for everything and
even hindering the chief's promotion

You have to try with all your might
to avoid penalty points

One passenger committed suicide
by hanging himself in the lavatory

We kept knocking on the lavatory
and later pried the door open

And as the body fell to the floor one
flight attendant was knocked down under it

Along with physical labor we have to
consume our emotions as we work

I didn't think it was right for her
to continue such emotional labor

So I requested to give her a vacation
but it was refused

Our next flight was by the same plane
where the suicide had happened

She couldn't go to the lavatory
during the entire flight

The most difficult thing for me
was kneeling

We are trained and ordered to kneel
when talking to passengers

I feel humiliated
whenever I kneel

I don't think kneeling is necessary
to make a serviced customer feel good

There are many other ways to make
comfortable and pleasant eye contact

I couldn't bear a system that
treated me like a medieval slave

The company thinks it has ownership
over every part of its workers

and has the right
to consume them

I feel like it's time
to lose the pretentiousness

And live out my life,
which is only once

Thank you for visiting
our gas station

Aiming for 100% satisfaction,
putting the customers first

we will return your trust
with good quality and quantity

I recently received a strange call
asking if I'd ever masturbated

Kim Yeonga
Hired in 2011 by 120 Dasan Call Center
I recently received a strange call
asking if I'd ever masturbated

At first I didn't know
what he was talking about

But the caller kept asking
so in the end I hung up

Such calls leave me in panic
for at least 3 0 minutes

It's terrible to receive such calls
You're embarrassed to say anything

I get very upset and wonder
why I have to work like this

One of my pregnant colleagues
cried as she received calls

I told her to stop and rest

But she just continued
answering phones while crying

I felt sorry for her
and told her to take a rest

I tried to persuade her
to stop receiving her calls

But it's what we do
It's our work

We try our best not
to show our emotions

120 Dasan Call Center

120 Dasan Call Center
We have various duties
at Dasan Call Center

Calls come in for city hall
water supply offices, and what not

I don't know what kind of call
I'll be receiving

A red light blinks on my phone
and it rings a melody

Yang Seongyeong
Hired in 2011 by 120 Dasan Call Center
A red light blinks on my phone
and it rings a melody

Yang Seongyeong
Hired in 2011 by 120 Dasan Call Center

Then, I'm petrified because
I don't know what kind of call it is

I received each call
trembling like a leaf

For a whole year

I dreaded the morning because
I didn't want to come to work

Technically, we're allowed
to take breaks freely

but we're monitored in real time
for the calls we receive

They check if we're on the phone
or if we're out on a break

Under such surveillance,
it's not easy to take a break

The number of calls and resting time
are all reflected in evaluation

Monthly evaluation scores
influence our wages

So nobody can take
a comfortable break

More calls results in a higher wage
So nobody can take a real rest

Colleagues become competitors
I have to receive more calls

We're ranked by call records and
compared with competing companies

This place is indeed
a call factory

We used to have
factory girls in the past

In the age of the Internet

people are now guided in cyberspace
with call center girls

Many call counselors will
be offended by what I've said

There's the term "Working poor"

I have to work to survive

So I work really hard

I invest my whole life at work

But I'm still poor

I can't pay for my child's
extra-curricular activities

My parents spent
all their lives working

I'm 45 years old

So now I would like to give them
monthly allowances

but I can't

But my parents also know
I'm financially struggling

They understand my situation
but I always feel bad

That is so painful

We work hard in our twenties
and throughout thirties and forties

We work hard to take care
of our family and parents

but in reality that's not enough

When I get older and sick

if I can't take care of myself,
I might have to choose to die

That's how I feel

Anxiety for an uncertain future

Life at the edge of a cliff

Please don't ignore us
but listen to our cause

The capable city of Seoul
just continues to find excuses

Call counselors are being torn
from their jobs

we want direct employment!
We can no longer tolerate
such inhumane actions

we want direct employment!

We want direct employment!
With no lay-offs

we demand the direct employment of
all counselors at Dasan Call Center

We will not watch the city of Seoul
playing with our jobs

We will fight until every counselor
is directly employed

We've suffered and endured
until now without quitting

We look forward to the day when
we'll all work for the city of Seoul

Extreme stress dealing with insults
verbal abuse, and excessive demands!

The service laborers are not a machine

Shim Heesun Hired in 2010 by S geriatric hospital, Physical
therapist Established a labor union in April, 2015

Dedicated to my mother
who has worked in the sewing factory

and all the women
who fought to defend their labor rights

In this tumultuous life,
what is it that you hope for?

If you have wealth,
will it be enough?

Under the blue skies and
shining moonlight, I thought deeply

And realized that everything was
but a dream within a dream

wealth is no different than a dream
upon a hill in spring

Even if you live a long life,
it will fade in the blink of an eye

If you drown yourself
recklessly in debauchery

And lose everything,
will it be enough?