Kim Jin-suk (activist)
Kim Jin-suk | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 7, 1960 |
| Occupations | Welder, activist |
| Known for | Hanjin Heavy Industries crane protest; Hope Bus movement |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 김진숙 |
| RR | Gim Jinsuk |
| MR | Kim Chinsuk |
Kim Jin-suk (Korean: 김진숙; born July 7, 1960) is a South Korean welder and trade union and democracy activist. Her 309-day occupation of Crane 85 at Busan's Youngdo shipyard in 2011 inspired the Hope Bus movement.[1][2]
Early life
Kim grew up on Ganghwa Island.[3] She moved to Busan in 1978 to work in the garment industry, first at hanbok factory, then a men's clothing factory.[3] Kim became one of South Korea's first female welders when she joined the Korea Shipbuilding Corporation’s Youngdo shipyard in Busan in 1981, at the age of 21.[1] She was the only woman in the shipyard.[4]
Labor activism
She was elected as a representative of her labor union in February 1986. After distributing literature critical of the corruption in the union’s executive board, she was interrogated by the police.[1] Kim was fired from her post at the shipyard in July 1986.[1] Having been tortured in the same building as Park Jong-chul, she was inspired to take part in the June Democratic Struggle.[3] Working as a "third party" to help other workers organize (which was at the time against Korean law), she was jailed twice between 1987 and 1996.[5]
2011 crane occupation and reinstatement campaign
Kim garnered international attention for her 309-day occupation of a crane at Youngdo shipyard in 2011. Her occupation was in protest against the plan of Hanjin Heavy Industries (now HJ Shipbuilding & Construction) to lay off 400 shipyard workers, which had set off a wildcat strike. Kim chose to occupy Crane 85 in honor of union leader Kim Ju-ik, who had committed suicide during a 2003 occupation of that crane.[5]
From the crane, she tweeted under the handle @JINSUK_85. Her first tweet read, "My new high-rise home has a great ocean view."[5] Her tweets helped garner national attention to the occupation. She was supported by the "Hope Bus" movement, which organized nationwide convoys bringing supporters to the shipyard. After 309 days, the union members unanimously approved a new contract, and most of the remaining fired union workers were rehired with severance pay.[5]
However, she did not secure her own job. As she battled cancer, she launched a second national movement, which secured her honorary reinstatement at HJ Shipbuilding & Construction Co. She was reinstated and retired at a ceremony on February 25, 2022.[6][5]
Legacy
Labour activists have argued that the Hope Bus movement marked a change in the Korean labor movement toward a strategy of broad social solidarity, in which ordinary citizens are enlisted in the fight.[7]
In popular culture
The 2016 documentary film The Island of Shadows by Kim Jeongkeun examines Kim Jinsook's crane occupation.[4]
Her speech from a reinstatement rally in Busan was sampled in the title track of the 2025 Korea Music Awards-winning album Hail to the Music by Danpyunsun and the Moments Ensemble.[8]
References
- 1 2 3 4 Park, Tae-woo (February 24, 2022). "Kim Jin-suk, trade unionist who scaled crane to protest layoffs, reinstated after 37-year struggle". The Hankyoreh. Retrieved May 14, 2026.
- ↑ Laurence, Jeremy; Park, Ju-min (July 12, 2011). "Woman striker rallies Korea workers from the top of a crane". Reuters. Retrieved May 14, 2026.
- 1 2 3 Working Class History (August 19, 2024). "E91-92: South Korea 1987". Working Class History (Podcast). Retrieved May 14, 2026.
- 1 2 "The fight for workers' rights in South Korea". UCLA Center for Korean Studies. April 20, 2017. Retrieved May 14, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Seol, Kap (December 16, 2020). "The Welder Who Helped Bring Democracy to South Korea". Jacobin. Retrieved May 14, 2026.
- ↑ Hwang, Jang-jin (February 25, 2022). "Labor activist symbolically reinstated 37 years after dismissal". Yonhap. Retrieved May 14, 2026.
- ↑ Jeon, Jong-hwi (August 25, 2014). "Three years later, how the Hope Bus changed S. Korean activism". The Hankyoreh. Retrieved May 14, 2026.
- ↑ "단편선 순간들 [음악만세] – 한국대중음악상시상식" [Danpyunsun and the Moments Ensemble [Hail to the Music]- Korean Music Awards]. Korean Music Awards. 2025. Retrieved May 14, 2026.