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| Minod Moktan from a documentary film "Free, Minu(2018)" / Korea Times file |
By Lee Hyo-jin
The Foreign Workers' Welfare Center in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, is launching a memorial award commemorating Minod Moktan, a late migrant worker and activist from Nepal.
According to the center, Friday, the Minu Memorial Award will be presented to those who have contributed to enhancing migrant workers' rights in Korea. The winner will also be awarded three million won ($2,520). Minu was Moktan's Korean name.
"Through the Memorial Award, we will commemorate his death and remember his accomplishments. Also, we aim to make our society a better place for migrant workers, where they can live without discrimination or exclusion," Lee Young, the center's director, said on Friday. "The fund raising campaign will officially start in mid-August. We hope for participation from those who are interested in migrant laborers' rights."
Moktan lived in Korea as a foreign worker and a human rights activist for 17 years since 1992. He was deported back to his home country in 2009, and died of a sudden heart attack in 2018.
The award ceremony will be held annually Nov. 14 when Moktan, along with fellow migrants, formed a multicultural music band called "Stop Crackdown" in 2003.
Moktan was a first generation migrant worker who entered Korea with a tourism visa in 1992, when E-9 visas were not available for foreign workers.
After winning a KBS Entertainment award for foreign nationals in 1999, he began to speak up for fellow immigrants.
He disclosed the prejudice, discrimination and violence towards foreign workers through Migrant Workers Television (MWTV) which he co-founded. His band "Stop Crackdown" released albums calling for better working conditions and the protection of unregistered laborers.
Minu was deported to Nepal in October 2009 and was banned from reentering Korea.
But he had a chance to visit Korea in 2018 when a documentary film depicting his life, "Free, Minu (2018)" premiered at the 10th DMZ International Documentary Film Festival in September.
Many were shocked to hear of his sudden death Oct. 15 that year, only a few weeks after he returned to his home country from Korea.
The fund raising campaign is open to anyone who would like to support migrant workers. They can donate 10,000 or 20,000 won per month to Nonghyup account 351-1144-1620-43.
