The "Late Blooming" of the South Korean Labor Movement

Abstract

South Korea is generally known as an economic success story, according to which, once a hopeless "aid-junkie," it has emerged as one of the most successful NICs. But few commentators pay attention to the fact that this success has been made possible mainly by the ruthless superexploitation of the Korean working class, exemplified by, among other things, the longest working hours and the highest industrial accident rate in the world. "Weak labor" and the absence of class politics in Korea enabled this superexploitation.

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