42 lines
1.9 KiB
Markdown
42 lines
1.9 KiB
Markdown
The **Sabuk Uprising of 1980** was a
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[strike](List_of_Strikes "wikilink") turned
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[uprising](List_of_Revolutions "wikilink") in [South
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Korea](South_Korea "wikilink") in
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[1980](Timeline_of_Libertarian_Socialism_in_Eastern_Asia "wikilink")
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that was almost successful until betrayed by the government, [part of a
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global wave of democratic unrest at the
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time](Revolutions_of_1979_-_1985 "wikilink"). It also happened a few
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weeks before the much more famous uprising in the city of
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[Kwangju](Gwangju_Uprising_\(1980\) "wikilink").
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## Background
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The coal-mining town of Sabuk (which produced 11% of South Korea's coal
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in 1980) in South Korea was brutally poor, low wages, poor working
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conditions for miners and poor living standards (many houses did not
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have warm water) and high prices for food at company stores meant that
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people were angry. The local trade union did not do anything to increase
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workers rights, until the national miners union pushed for a 42%
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increase in wages, the coal miners offered to increase wages by 20%, but
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workers in Sabuk were not happy.
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Angered by the economic conditions and lack of democracy in the unions
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and South Korea as a whole (then a military dictatorship) the workers
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demanding a meeting with the bosses. When they refused to show, they
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occupied the office and were soon attacked by the police who were armed
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with rifles. Protesters fought back and pushed them out of the town,
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stealing weapons from the police station and explosives from the mine.
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The town was completely independent for free days, as the government
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agreed not to punish the striking workers and a 42% wage increase in
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exchange for the workers surrendering their weapons.
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## Results
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After the workers gave up their weapons, the government instantly
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betrayed them and did not live up to their demands, torturing many of
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the key activists.
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## References
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(Source is in Korean language) -
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<http://hadream.com/xe/history/42507?ckattempt=3> |