(LibertySociety.com) – Although protests have been at the top of American news over the last couple of years, the United States isn’t the only place citizens take their voices to the streets. On October 20, members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) in South Korea dressed up in “Squid Game” costumes to protest their working conditions and low pay.
But union members didn’t portray the participants in the popular show’s win-or-die game; they dressed up as the referees, representing how little they feel those in power care about them.
A "Squid Games" Workers' Protest In South Korea Demands Job Security https://t.co/zNXX2rrrby pic.twitter.com/yMqSlHw6UN
— NDTV News feed (@ndtvfeed) October 21, 2021
About 80 KCTU members demonstrated in full costume to speak out against the long hours they have to work with no job security. Protesters say they don’t appreciate the class system currently existing in South Korea. That system shows a few privileged and connected wealthy people running corporations with the help of the government.
The union members drew parallels to the “Squid Game” as business owners laid off the show’s characters, then dangled money in front of the struggling group to entice them to compete in a “Hunger Games” type scenario. In fact, something similar happened in 2009, when many auto workers lost their jobs in the Asian country, leading to bankruptcies and suicides. Understandably, the 80,000 members of the union across 13 cities who demonstrated in total don’t want to see that happen again.
Unfortunately, Seoul filed a police complaint claiming the protest gathering violated “coronavirus safety rules.” But the KCTU feels those restrictions violate South Korea’s constitution, and they continued their defiance by beginning a strike the same day.
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