[Recollection] 2,018 Minutes of #MeToo Filibuster_2018.03.22~23

<#MeToo Action 2018> held its first protest on 22nd and 23rd of March after its launch.

Women's had <2,018 Minutes of #MeToo Filibuster>, a wave of speech prosecuting the experience of gender violence which lasted for 2,018 minutes(34 hours) for two days in a row, following with a protest named <Ending Gender Discrimination/ Sexual Abuse> at Chungye Square, located in the heart of Seoul, Korea.

 

Korean Women Workers Association(KWWA), in solidarity with <#MeToo Action 2018> participated as the operation staff of the events, assisted the team in arranging the Filibuster from the early morning of the 22nd, installing the stage and walls for participants to post their support and experience regarding gender violence.

 

 

 

 

 

<2,018 Minutes of #MeToo Filibuster> had an outset in the early morning, 9:22 AM, gathering lots of participants as time went by. These are some of the testimonies spoken and collected from the event.

 

 

 

The 15th #MeToo Testimony:

"I majored film and wishes to work in the production team. After working in the field, I was always lashed out by blames from coworkers that I am ‘being sissy’, ‘acting like a girl’ and not working as hard as the men do, and was belittled by thinking that my mistakes would shame all other women. I was scolded and depreciated for not being kind enough like a girl should, and often heard reckless remarks including ‘that’s why we don’t hire women in this field’. These words make the women working in the film industry suffer and feel insecure during their entire working hours, often forcing them to quit pursuing their careers.“

"In many occasions, directors force actresses to make more nudity without a former consent. I remember a director who ripped off the clothes of an actress urging that the actress ‘should look like that she is being raped’. They justify their deed as adding reality to the movie, but their films are a mere reflection of their own libido. Those perverted filmmakers keep making movies and their creations had been on screen in the theater until now. "

 

The 16th #MeToo Testimony(Kim Seung-Ha, KTX Stewardess manager) :

"Employment of KTX Stewardess started from sexual discrimination from the very first. There was a strong prejudice that females are more appropriate for care services and that they can be hired only shortly before their marriage, and this accounts for hiring KTX stewardess separately as an irregular employee with less wage and less career opportunity. No matter how hard we worked, we were not able to gain job security and compensation that the male employees were able to achieve doing the same work. We started working with pride and diligence, but faced a poor working condition at last."

"Our work environment was very unsafe. There was this stewardess who was electrocuted and hospitalized, but the Railroad Corporation(KORAIL) directed the stewardesses to not to make an interview with news channels or broadcasts. Since the stewardesses are hired in second vendor companies, male employees from KORAIL often forces us to accompany them for drinks, or dance with them. Some of them forcefully hugged or harassed us, but we were not able to say no to them since they could possibly be in charge of our job contract.“

“Those men are not changing, only the harassed victims are resigning from their jobs. No matter how hard those women try, they are not able to gain the same rights as their male co-workers and this mysogynic situation is still in progress. We are struggling but will never give up fighting against this injustice against female workers and discrimination on the job. From this year, we hope to work as the rigtful employee of KTX as well as protecting the safety of the cabin.”

 

The 26th #MeToo Testimony:

“We existed as a thin thread of voices as we were exposing our victimhood. However, it is now turning into a thicker twine with the advent of the #MeToo movement. Still, we are living with anger from discrimination and injustice, yet we are not afraid of it like we did before since hopefully, it will work as a drive to eliminate gender violence from now on."

 

The 53rd #MeToo Testimony:

"The chairman in my former workplace harassed me constantly, and I quitted working after six months of terrible experience. Victims are often blamed for being atypical, having lower work efficiency or giving the reasons for the accusers. These happened to me in the same way and it was my boss who blamed me for not working hard enough. How can I work so well and efficiently in such a condition, when someone is constanly harrassing me?“

 

The 73rd #MeToo Testimony:

"I would like to say that you have to be very sensitive and furious against people who speak out their mysoginic prejudice. When I meet such people, I ask them back: “Don’t you think that is very discriminative? I think it is very outdated to have such prejudice”. Or you can point out that it is “uncool” to do so. Those accused of being prejudiced or uncool from lots of audiences are very likely to have self-observation. I believe that those indicating words can change the world at last.“

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The speech continued even during the midnight regardless of shivers from freezing weather, completeing 1,000 minutes of the filibuster.

 

 

Some even were wearing vinyl ponchos to fight off the cold wave, but the participants were never able to stop since they were desperate for the fairer world without gender violence which existed for years. Participants were also singing their wishes out with their own lyrics showing their will.

 

 

 

The #MeToo testimonies were posted day and night, and sexual violence in workplace caught our eyes. When sexual harassment happens in the workplace, victims face a hard time exposing their victimhood since they must risk their social status and survival. KTX stwardess who had a speech also posted testimony regarding her hardship exposing the sexual harassment in the workplace.

 

 

The participants made it through the night and the sun came up, while the filibuster was still running for its last minutes.

 

 

 

The 115th #MeToo Testimony:

“We had to erase all the names of the accusers while making #MeToo testimonies since the accusers can sue the victims for defaming them although the victims were speaking out of truth. I still cannot understand why someone could be guilty of speaking the truth. This strange law system of ours makes the victims of sexual assaults become a defender in courts. Thus we were only able to make testimony in vague terms. Should it be wrong to say the victimhood outloud?”

 

The 127th #MeToo Testimony:

“As I am preparing to get a job, everything is frightening. When I get hired, I will be the youngest of the company, evidently making me an outsider due to ‘Pence rule’. Is it that hard to coexist in the same world while admitting that women are the same human as the men? Aside from this stupidity, women in Korea were always discriminated and objectified. It is very pathetic to see males who are afraid of being accused of their wrongdoings and urge such thing as ‘Pence rule’ should be done. These came to my mind as I was preparing for CVs.”

 

The 135th #MeToo Testimony:

"My husband’s family is very partiarchial, that it is very common for males to dine separately from the female members of the family. One day we were dining and when male in-laws of the family heard the news report on MeToo movement, they said many things that were intolerable to me. ‘Why are those womens raising their voices afterward?’, ‘I am sure that those women are gold diggers’, ‘Those are rumors made for political reasons’ and so much more. I could not stand that conversation. My hands were shivering……. This week I am going to refute them: ‘I had to experience all those sexual harassments in daily life, and does that make me a gold digger?‘“

 

 

The 159th #MeToo Testimony:

"I am here on behalf of someone else, but the former (testimonies) made me remind the incident that I kept for a long time. Therefore I am speaking on behalf of another woman while speaking for myself. Women are not treated as the equal human being in this society. We are insulted at school, in our own house, and workplace and exposed to violence. We were born in a rape culture, grew up with it, and face the gender violence in everyday life. Most women have to smile and be gentle in everyday life, but that is an unpleasant job only burdening women. #MeToo movement made me realize that what I experienced through life should not be belittled and forgotten. How did I ever lived silenced? I also silenced myself to survive in this society and struggled. This makes me remind of other womans who are also remaining silence and struggling to survive and then it breaks my heart. From now on, we shall struggle to make a better world lest there would be another woman belittled and discouraged.

 

The 175th #MeToo Testimony:

"I was a victim of sexual violence from an instructor. I was not able to hear any word of apology or explanation from him until now. I blamed myself for years for bringing such misfortune to myself, that it is a shame to not behave properly and let myself become an easy target for the predator. Gender violence is a result of exploiting women, and again it suppresses the victims even after experiencing such a traumatic event. Victims face the stale patriarchal system and authoritative power that are unseen yet highly hampering, resulting them to surrender and remain silent. Patriarchal culture, male-centered society, and even ourselves internalizing the norms of patriarchal society can act against the #MeToo movement. This is the movement that can make a small, yet meaningful fissure in this misogynistic culture where the danger of gender violence is present at all times. Everyone is watching the #MeToo. I am suggesting to the perpetrators to apologize and deeply regret their assaults. I am honored to unite with such courageous people like you today.“

 

One of our sister agency, Korean Women's Union‘s newcomer recited a poem by Moon Chung-Hee, named <The Crying Servant>:

“Okrye’s mother, who was always pale and green like a thistle, was a servant who cried for the deceased/

She cried instead of the triste as if the world was trembling/

And gleaned countless meteors dropped from her cry/

Her hunger, her sad mourn/

Guided everyone dead to the underworld, relieving people from burden/

Only some wandered for a while. The mother who cried sadly feverishly/

Hung the meteors on the sky up upon her head to every pit/

When will her cry stop? Okyre, our poet’s daughter, thy resembles thistle /

You will soon learn how to cry like your mother/

You will learn how to cry instead of the triste in this world

 

 

 

Kwak Mila from <Co-op Sunnyside Care>, Ansan domestic workers’ cooperative also made her speech.

 

"Domestic workers, who only get paid under the minimum wage, are constantly under danger of being sexually harassed or experiencing sexual assaults while providing their service as cleaning, cooking or housekeeping. We cannot dare to report this traumatic experience to anyone since we need that least minimum wage for the living should not be paid under the minimum wage(She burst into tears). I do not see this as a mere vice of the perpetrators. I would like to accuse this country of not fulfilling its promises to offer stable and decent job conditions for domestic workers."

 

 

 

Jeune from Ansan Women Workers Association also spoke on behalf of a victim of domestic sexual abuse.

 

 

 

The testimony continues as the Lee Song-yeon from the student solidarity group with Seongang University’s cafeteria workers continues.

 

"University cafeterias often hire the elderly females, often outsourcing them or cutting back the wage, dangering the job security of these elder female employees. Relocation of female laborers in the position of the discriminated and disadvantaged position is likely to lead women as the weak, powerless employee at the workplace who can easily be disregarded, resulting them to be a target of gender violence. "

 

Testimonies from 193 courageous women continued for 2,018 minutes and much more participated with us in the Square.

“The World shall hear as we speak. We who changed will stand up to shatter your world! Women for Rights, Changes shall be made!”

 

 

 

 

These were the strong slogans that announced the very beginning of the protest, <Ending Gender Discrimination/ Sexual Abuse>. As we conclude the gathering, many others filled the Square and showed supports.

 

 

 

 

 

Son Yung-Joo, KWWA’s president, first opened the filibuster with a speech introducing the issue of sexual assaults in the workplace. She quoted and announced the results collected by KWWA. <Call for Equality>, KWWA’s hotline for female workers, published a statistics showing the increase in sexual assaults in the workplace, whereas the government and Ministry of Labor which are in charge of preventing such offense are neglecting their duty to regulate the abusers and companies. In some occasions, labor supervisors were responsible for causing a ripple effect on victims. Most cooperations had no systematic administration which ensures thorough inspection of the assault and restitution for victims.

 

 

Later, the representatives of women's organizations, #MeToo accusers from the theatre business and literary world also continued to raise their voices.

Quoting Choi Young-Mi, a poet and accuser, “We have brought down the ‘monster’ and we shall continue to fight”.

 

After the first half of the protest, participants marched out the Jongro together shouting out the slogans below.

 

The world after #MeToo that we shall make- Slogans for <Ending Gender Discrimination/ Sexual Abuse>

-I remember / I witnessed

-We remember / We are the proof

-We are here/ Here for you

-The World will hear / As we speak

-We testify / People shall hear

-We stand here / ready to change the world

-Gender discrimination and sexual abuse / shall be eliminated from now on

-Gender discrimination and sexual abuse / must be shattered right now

-The world with difference / that we will build

-The world that #MeToo will change / shall be built by us

- Now we are the waves of change

 

 

 

- We no longer vote for politicians who are charged for sexual assaults

- We boycott misogynic media

- We boycott misogynic game companies

- We boycott entertainers who are charged for sexual assaults

- We boycott enterprises discriminating female employees

- The perpetrators should end up in jail

- They shall speculate on their fault in prison

- If “gender equality” is too hard for you, first learn to respect

- We shall lead real democracy win

 

 

 

- Stop silencing the voice of victims / There are no politics in gender violence

- How can men pick up Pence rule when women raise their voices on gender violence?

- No one defamed perpetrators but himself / Stop countercharging victims

- “Gold diggers” don’t exist / Eradicate rape culture

- We shall fight against rape culture / right now

- Stop countercharging victims / right now

- Perpetrators to jail / Victims to everyday life

 

 

 

The world will greatly suffer and change after the #MeToo incident, and it is a change to be done. At the end of the protest, there shall be a society where “no one fears gender discrimination and gender-based violence and pursue their job in a safe, equal way”. KWWA will always withstand and join as the actor for a fairer society.