Lawmaker helps craftsmen proud of their work

Rep. Chun Soon-ok of the Minjoo Party of Korea, right, examines shoes in a shoemaker’s shop in eastern Seoul last month. The seamstress-turned-politician assists craftsmen in marketing and sales by establishing special centers focusing on their activities. / Courtesy of Rep. Chun Soon-ok

By Kim Jae-won

Minjoo Party of Korea Rep. Chun Soon-ok used to work as a seamstress. She worked at a small clothing factory in Dongdaemun, eastern Seoul, from the age of 16, before moving to the U.K. to study labor sociology in 1989.

After coming back to Korea in 2001, she established a social enterprise helping women who worked as seamstresses to develop their skills and protect their rights. She became a lawmaker in 2012 so she could support them more effectively.

The one-term lawmaker of the opposition party expanded her aid to shoemakers, tailors, bag makers and jewelers, calling them “small craftsmen” because they have practiced their skills for decades and have risen to the level of craftsmen. Last year, she wrote a book “Small Craftsmen” after interviewing nine craftsmen.

“The government has never reached out its arms to small craftsmen, though they are the backbone of the grassroots economy,” said Chun at a dinner meeting with The Korea Times earlier this month.

“By supporting them so they can keep doing their work, we can strengthen our economy from the bottom up.” Chun said more than 600,000 workers are making a wide variety of products at 300,000 small factories and shops throughout the country, but the numbers are dwindling as old craftsmen die off but young workers are not interested in taking up their work.

She said it is important to allow small craftsmen to be proud of their work because they have long been neglected by society. Many of them are reluctant to say what they do because people look down on their jobs.

Chun told the story of encouraging seamstresses and tailors to host a fashion show in which they showed the clothes which they made. They objected to the idea, worrying that people will find out what they do, but later accepted it by listening to Chun who told them that she appreciated their work.

“It was a success,” she said. “They were happy that their families and friends were proud of their work,” Chun wrote in her book.

Reflecting on her four years in the National Assembly, she said it was interesting to meet many people and to listen to their encouraging words about her work as a lawmaker.

“I enjoyed it a lot. I realized that a legislator can help people and this is thrilling.”

Chun said that she will seek a second term in parliament and is considering running for a seat in the Jung-gu district in Seoul where she worked as a seamstress.

The general election is scheduled for April 13, and it remains to be seen how her dreams will unfold.