KBS World Radio Korea Panorama 70 Years'

The shadow of the rapid economic growth was dark. Rifts widened between the agricultural and industrial, the urban and rural, and between regions. Concentrated focus on securing the competitiveness of the export industry resulted in the ignored rights of the laborers. In the 1960s and 1970s, female workers in the textile industry suffered long work hours and low wages.

On November 13, 1970, tailor Jeon Tae-il committed suicide by burning himself to death in protest in front of Pyounghwa Market, calling for the enforcement of the labor code. His sacrifice revealed to the public the severity of the country’s labor problems.