1979 Women's Labor Movement in Gumi Industrial Complex by Kwon Young-sook : Memories Excluded from the Myth of Industrialization

Gumi, Gyeongbuk Province, is one of the cities that symbolize industrialization, having been formed in the 1970s with the creation of a national industrial complex. A large of female workers were attracted to the Gumi Industrial Complex. Kwon Young-sook, originally from Andong, Gyeongbuk, began working at the Gumi Industrial Complex in 1976 and joined the Gumi Urban Industrial Mission in 1977, leading labor movements at the complex in 1979. Kwon organized her colleagues at Seotong Co., Ltd. to conduct a survey on workers' awareness and launched a campaign against unfair dismissals. She continued her labor activism in Daegu during the 1980s. Kwon's labor movement holds significant meaning as it reflects the urbanization of Gumi, its symbolic connection to Park Chung-hee's hometown, and its alignment with the regional democratic movement. Kwon's labor movement reveals the neglect of Gumi's local community in documenting female workers and their movements, as well as the history excluded from the industrialization myth. It offers a glimpse into the “public history” of recording memories and history from the local level.