The women's division of the National Teachers Labor Union (NTLU) has made various efforts to eliminate gender discrimination in classroom instruction. The division published textbooks and instruction guides regarding sex education and gender discrimination.

Along with the NTLU's Division on Gender Equa1 Education, it also organized a teacher training seminar. The 1993 training session focused on identifying teachers' prejudices regarding gender roles and on developing ways to eliminate them.

As a further effort to develop a gender equa1 education, NTLU teachers have organized new fairy tale writing projects. An example of these newly written tales is as follows:

"A New Fairy Tale"

0nce upon a time, there lived a beautifu1 princess named Seu1-ki ('Wise'). This princess lived in a castle and had many expensive dresses. The princess was promised to marry a prince named Oh-man ('Haughty').

One day, a giant dragon appeared, set the princess's castle on fire, and with its hot fiery breath, burned all of the princess's dresses, and kidnapped the prince. Princess SeuI-ki resolved to chase after the dragon and save her prince

The princess searched for some clothes to wear, but all that was left was a paper bag. So, the princess threw on the bag and went after the dragon.

At last, Princess SeuI-ki arrived at a cave that had a grand door. The princess took hold of the knocker and knocked on the door. The dragon stuck his nose out the door and said,

"Oh, it's the princess! Princesses are delicious to eat, but since l ate the whole castle toady, I'm already full. Why don't you come back tomorrow?"

The dragon shut the door so fast that the princess almost hit her nose on the door.

'Wait!' Princess SeuI-ki shouted. 'Is it true that you are the world's most magnificent and fearsome dragon?'

'Of course,' replied the dragon.

'Is it true that with your fiery breath, you can burn down ten forests?' asked the princess. 'WelI. of course,' said the dragon. With that, the dragon let out a long, deep breath and burned down fifty forests.

' Wow! That's reaIIy magnificent!' said the princess.

The dragon drew in another deep breath, but this time, nothing came out. The dragon did not have enough fire left to fry an egg.

Princess SeuI-ki walked past the dragon's be1ly and opened the cave door. Inside sat Prince Oh-man. Prince Oh-man looked at the princess and said. 'You 100k really filthy! You smell like ashes, and your hair is tangled! On top of that, you're dirty, and you are dressed in a paper bag. Go and come back dressed like a rea1 princess!

'Prince Oh-man,' the princess said, 'I think your clothes are really nice, and your hair looks good. You look like a true prince, but you yourself are a worthless felIow!'

They say that after that, Princess Seul-ki and Prince Oh-man never married.

It is that 'women are not born but are made' implying that women are created by society from the time they are born. Factors contributing to the socialization of women in Korea include the culture, education, legal system, and customs. This report analyzes the extent of gender discrimination in education by analyzing elementary and middle school text books. It also considers what an education truly based on gender equality would include.

1. Fundamental direction and problem of our education
   Korean women today define their lives within the segregation and prejudices rooted in traditional gender roles; they are taught not to extend beyond these limited boundaries. For example, textbooks always portray the mother as the housewife who stays at home, while the father is seen as the head of the household who has a job and participates in the broader society. In addition, men are portrayed as active and willing to assume leadership, while women are passive and emotional.

   The few stories about women portray them in such roles as the filial daughter, the good mother, or the good wife. Women who have played important social or political roles are not portrayed or are undervalued.

   For instance. Yoo Kwan_soon the woman who fought for Korean independence during the Japanese occupation, is called "our big sister" rather than "our heroine." In this way, Korean education today fails to instil1 a healthy perspective on gender roles. It also fails to reflect major social changes, such as increased female participation in all sectors of society.

   (The following is an excerpt from 'A Study on Gender Roles Portrayed in Elementary and Middle School Textbooks. compiled by the Women's Development Institute.)

2. Gender roles seen in textbooks
   1. The neglect of women

      ( Table 1) Proportion of women appearing in textbooks
      

      Category	Elem Sch	Middle Sch	HiRh Sch
      Narration	39.2%	31.9%	94%
      Illustrations	39.1%	37.7%	24.4%

      As seen in Table 1, the proportion of women appearing in currently used textbooks falls far below that of men. Particularly when textbooks introduce famous people, they are almost always men. Elementary school textbooks, for example, carry such stories as 'The Story of Choong Moo Gong' (third grade), The Story of Pavre" (third grade), and "Edison" (fourth grade). The situation worsens in middle school textbooks, in which 'An Anecdote about Curie's Wife' (seventh grade) is the only story with a female main character.

      In addition, all historical leaders portrayed in textbooks are men. It is difficult to see accounts of women's private lives. Middle school textbooks include a total of only nine stories about women in history; high school textbooks eleven.

      Even among these stories about women, only one -the story of Shin Sa-im-dang (a famous female artist during the Chosun Dynasty period) -portrays a woman who contributed a meaningful skill to her society. It is through these kinds of textbooks, which place more importance on men, that students learn to take for granted the alienation of women from all sectors of society, culture, and history.

   2. Women's roles

      As elementary school is a time when children begin to consolidate their knowledge of previously learned gender roles, elementary school textbooks must make a particular effort to teach equality in gender relations. Some stories in current textbooks are making this effort.

      "The Non-discriminating Heart," a story in a fourth-grade ethics textbook, shows a group of students discussing and rethinking their ideas regarding gender discrimination. 'Our Equa1 Community' (fifth grade) includes a sketch cal1ed, 'My Father Prepares Dinner', which deals with the division of domestic labor in double-income households.

      Apart from these efforts, however, textbooks on the whole still reflect traditional gender ro1es. For example. domestic labor is seen to be, without question, the responsibility of the mother, even if she is employed. This trend also appears in illustrations as pictures of mothers in aprons appear often and instill the idea that women must always be housewives.

      Such gender role portrayals are evident particularly in social studies, a subject that focuses primarily on instilling an upright understanding of society and human relations. Yet, analyses or elementary school social studies textbooks show the following trends:

      man = society           woman = home
      man = producer          woman = consumer
      man = worker            woman = non-worker
      man = high status job   woman = low status job
      man = leader            woman = follower
      

      This 'woman in the home, man at work' mentality is most clearly evident in the division in the vocational arts between home economics and technological arts. Through this division, women are taught about life in the home, while male students are taught about life in society, in particular about participating in the state's economic growth plans. For example, in instructions regarding computer usage, home economics textbooks describe computers as consumer products needed for leisurely use.

      On the contrary, in technological arts textbooks the uses of computers in modern society are explained more broadly describing the uses of computers in various social organizations and explaining their potential uses.

   3. Women's employment

      In elementary school textbooks a total of 111 men with jobs are portrayed, while only l6 women are shown. Twenty-two fields of employrnent are shown for men, while women's jobs are limited to eight fields, which include teacher, nurse, and receptionist.

      Even within the same professional fields, men are shown to be in planning, manufacturing, and managing positions. Among teachers, for instance, the regular teachers are women, while men are principals or assistant principals. The same trends appear in textbook illustrations or photographs.

      In illustrations. 41.7 percent of people with jobs are men, while 27.3 percent are women. Hence, the percentage for women fall far be1ow the actual female economic participation rate (47 percent in 1992).

   4. Women's ethics

      In elementary school ethics textbooks, men and women appear in different ethical spheres. Female main characters appear more in the 'individual' sphere, representing the ethical value of respect for human life (40 percent), or they appear in the 'family' or 'neighborhood community' sphere representing the values of love for one's home (42.9 percent), love for family (38.9 percent), and etiquette (38.5 percent).

      Female main characters appear less in the 'civic' sphere to represent values such as justice (12.5 percent) and obedience to the law (11.1 percent). as well as in the 'national sphere to represent such values as love for state (l3.O percent). These facts show that the ethical values traditionally emphasized for women have been 1ove, etiquette, and sacrifice; for men, justice and strong will.

      In addition, depictions of female personality traits in elementary and middle school textbooks emphasize passivity, emotion, and sensitivity. Men, on the other hand, are portrayed as adventurous, active, and willing to take up new

      Table 2: Male-female comparisons of adjectives describing textbook characters (data from 'Korean Education and Gender Discrimination,' a compilation by the National Teachers Labor Union)
      

      	M	F
      industrious	3	1
      beautiful	2	1
      honest	3	0
      neighborly	1	0
      patient	1	0
      praiseworthy	3	2
      friendly	2	0
      puts in effort	3	0
      courageous	6	0
      intelligent	2	0
      good	2	4
      brave	2	1
      strong	4	0
      prudent	1	0
      healthy	2	1
      broad-minded	6	0
      hard-working	7	1
      honorable	2	0
      fair	11	0
      firm	1	0
      benevolent	2	0
      independent	4	0
      responsible	0	0
      loyal	0	0
      Total	61	11

      challenges. Men are also futre-oriented, while women are past-oriented. These differences are evident when we compare the adjectives in Table 2 used in textbooks to describe male and female characteristics. As shown in Table 2, adjectives such 'courageous', 'strong', 'and hard-working' are frequently used for men; words like good. "pretty, 'meek', and 'praiseworthy' for women.

3. Teaching equal gender roles
   1. Reforming the textbook writing and editing process
      1. Greater female participation in textbook writing teams

         Approximately 80 percent of textbook writing teams in sch001s at all levels consists of men, and there are some teams with no women at all. Such trends create the potential for an education based on a male-centered view and value system, as well as the alienation of female students, who form one-half of the recipients of this education. Textbook writing teams usually comprise research, writing, and illustration divisions, but increased female participation is particularly important in the writing field in order to influence the contents of our textbooks.

      2. Educating textbook writers about gender-equal roles

         As important as increasing female participation in textbook writing is changing the ideology of the writers themselves. We need to create materials to educate writers about equal gender roles.

      3. Guidebooks for textbook writing

         As current textbooks fail to depart from traditional ideas, we need to formulate detailed guidebooks regarding equal gender roles and use them as standards in the writing of textbooks.

      4. Participation of female specialists in the educational process

         In promoting a gender-equal education, female education specialists must participate in every stage of educational reform. They must participate not only in the Committee for Deliberations over the Educational Process, but also in the general meetings and detailed discussions regarding reform.

   2. Improving the content of our education
      1. Presenting future-oriented female images

         -We must portray women actively entering into advanced employment fields. In addition, we must change the tendency to depict a traditional gender role division of labor within the same job.

         As more women are becoming active in regional communities and in national policy decisions, we must reflect images of such women actively taking leadership roles in society in our textbooks. The traditiona1 'female' areas of consumer and service activity must be expanded to include traditionally male fields such as po1itical activity.

         -We must go beyond such traits as tenderness, gentleness, and delicacy to create stronger, more active, and enterprising female personality traits.

         -More images of working mothers must be presented in a more positive light. The apron, used to symbolize the housewife, should appear only when appropriate.

      2. Presenting works of women writers and stories regarding famous women.

         In order to encourage female students to develop positive identities, more works of women writers must be published. We must find and include stories with female main characters. It is possible, for instance, to modify fables or children's stories by changing the main characters into women.

      3. Actively investigating women in history.

         We must revise historical writings to instill the understanding that historical development has come about through the cooperation of both men and women. We must begin active investigations into important women in history and to have fairer evaluations of the activities of such women.

      4. Actively depicting male-female cooperation in household labor

         Changes in women's roles must be built on the premise of changes in men's roles. Male-female cooperation in household labor must be accepted as natural. We must present more images of the father taking care of the children, doing housework, and when necessary wearing an apron.

      5. Requiring home economics and techno1ogical arts for both male and female students.

         According to the Sixth Educational Curriculum announced in 1992, home economics and technological arts are now requirements for both male and female middle school students.

         But, the high school curriculum has not fo1lowed suit. To prepare students for modern industrial society and new, future-oriented gender roles, home economics and technological arts should be prerequisites for both genders. The contents of the home economics curriculum must also be modified to reflect the trends of modem society.

Beginning last July the Korean Women Workers Associations United (KWWAU), along with the Korean Women's Association for Democracy and Sisterhood and the Korean Women Researchers Association carried out the first phase of a research project called, 'Making the State Responsible for Maternity Protection Costs.' The following article summarizes the contents of this project, which KWWAU plans to continue unti1 1994.

Whenever a phase of this project is completed, the results will be published so that they may be used by women's organizations and activists in the workplace.

1. Are protection and equality compatible concepts?
   According to international standards for protection and equality used by the UN and ILO, such protective measures as maternity leave which are directed related to women's capacity for pregnancy and childbirth are being strengthened, while other protective measures which have only been applied to women without relation to pregnancy are being applied equally to men.

   In addition, the problem of child-rearing is considered to be the responsibility of the broader society, while within the home, it is considered to rest equally with both the mother and father.

   We believe that in the long run, Korea must also keep pace with these international trends. The problem, however, is that Korea's labor conditions remain far below western standards, while the government is attempting to eliminate or reduce protective measures for women workers without ofFering any altematives.

   Recently, the Ministry of Labor considered labor 1aw reform measures such as repealing limits on nighttime work and work hour extensions, making menstruation leave unpaid when requested by the worker, and relaxing provisions forbidding women from working rn certain jobs.

   We cannot accept the explanation that companies are hesitant to hire women because of the excessive number of protective measures for women. This is further evident from survey results which indicate that the top priority of both government and business in labor force development lies in attracting married women and temporary workers. Rather, the hesitancy to hire women lies with the fact that companies have thusfar been held fiscally responsible for maternity protection costs.

   The reason that protective measures have not been implemented to the minimum legal standard also lies with this fiscal burden. We oppose the repea1 of protective measures for women workers for this reason..

2. State policies in the West regarding maternity protection.

   The United Kingdom presently has a socia1 welfare system which includes a health care provision with free medical service for all citizens, a retirement pension plan, an industrial injury allowance, and unemployment benefits.

   In the national insurance section of this welfare system is a set of maternity protection provisions, which guarantee income for women during the time they take off for childbirth.

   This protection plan stipulates that a woman who becomes pregnant after more than six months of work will receive from her employer a weekly pay for 18 weeks regardless of whether the woman returns to work after childbirth The average weekly pay in the ei?t weeks before childbirth must also exceed minimum national insurance payment.

   This allowance can be received 30 weeks after a woman becomes pregnant, and she take her leave between 30 to 35 weeks after becoming pregnant. Even women who are not eligible for these benefits can receive childbirth allowances in the form of childbirth allowance payments, allowances for i1lnesses, and one-time payments to hospital fees.

   In the case of Sweden, the maternity protection benefits related to childbirth and pregnancy operate like those of United Kingdom as part of the national guaranteed income policy, but its administration is included under the health insurance structure. Through this health insurance scheme, women can receive, in-kind, pregnancy allowances, delivery fees, parental insurance, and child-nursing pay.

   From 60 days before the expected date of childbirth, women can request to be moved to 1ighter work, and if this is not possible, they can receive an additional pregnancy allowance.

   In addition, according to health care laws, all medical services, beginning with long-term medical examinations, are provided at no cost. Regardless of whether a mother returns to work, she is given a one-time newborn-child allowance (part of the childbirth allowance) to cover expenses. The basic maternity leave lasts 12 weeks (six weeks before and after childbirth respectively).

   The 15-month parental insurance system (i. e. , leave needed for childbirth) provides 90 percent of the worker's income for 12 months, then provides pay at a predetermined level for three months afterwards.

   In 1990, the parental insurance period was extended to 18 months at a 90 percent of income provision rate. Labor unions within the manufacturing industry are currently pushing for a further extension of the parental insurance period to 24 months, and are suggesting that for 18 of these months, men and women should have the right to divide up the leave time provided.

3. Problems in Korea's policy regarding maternity protection

   The f0110wing table lists the maternity protection provisions included in the Basic Labor Standards Law and the Gender Equality in Employment Law:

   	Company responsibility	Penalties for violation
   Menstruation leave	1-day paid leave per month	under W 5,000,000
   Maternity leave	60-day paid leave	under 2 years imprisonment or under W 10,000,000 penality
   Childcare leave under	under 1 year	under 1 year under W 2,500,000

   The following lists maternity protection regulations in Korea :
   1. Barring any special circumstances, maternity leave allowances will be provided in kind within three days of childbirth for mothers with less than three children. As these allowances constitute insurance benefits, "in-kind benefits will consist of the health insurance administrative organization's payment of insurance costs to the hospital.

   2. If the child is delivered in a place different from where medical treatment was received, the childbirth allowance will be paid by the labor union after childbirth (W 400 for the first childbirth, W 46,400 for second and all successive childbirths).

   3. The amount of childbirth allowance is determined by the labor union constitution within a maximum of W 50.000. However, as the determination of the amount by the union is done on a voluntary basis, no union has carried out this right as of yet.
   There are several particularities of Korea's maternity protection policies. First, fiscal responsibility for all protective measures now rests entirely with businesses. These policies prescribe a passive role for the state, which merely oversees adherence to regulations and levies fines for violations. Secondly, the contents of the policies themselves are inadequate.

   The 60-day maternity leave is far below the ILO standard of 12 weeks. Even in Thailand, where the leve1 of economic deve1opment is far behind Korea, maternity leave of 90 days is provided. Moreover, income provisions are not even mentioned, and there is no basis to establish a subsistence level pay guarantee system during time of leave.

   Currently, paid childcare leave can be received only by forming individual agreements with the company. Third, the childbirth allowance and hospital fee provisions included in the health insurance scheme are limited. There are also no insurance benefits to cover medica1 examinations during pregnancy. As unions are not ensuring that childbirth allowances are paid, this regulation has become a dead letter.

4. Results of a survey on the status of Korean maternity protection

   From August to October 1993, KWWAU distributed questionnaires to labor union officers in 94 workplaces in the manufacturing, banking, and medical fields. 94 is a small sampling, but is helpful in drawing out general trends.

   First, surveys showed little difficulty in receiving menstruation and maternity leaves, but the number of workers who actually use these provisions remains remarkably low. Pregnancy or childbirth is often linked, as always, with being laid off from work.

   With menstruation leave, 50 percent of the workplaces surveyed were said to allow free usage, while 17 percent cited difficulties. In the case of maternity leave, 78 percent of' the workplaces allowed free usage; 3 percent, only a portion of the leave allowed and 5.3 percent, no usage.

   Survey results showed that workers could not freely use their leave for miscarriage and childcare. 58.5 percent responded that they had no previous usage of miscarriage leave. The fact that childcare leave has not even found its place in company regulations is evident when considering that 72.3 percent of the unions did not respond at al1.

   Among the reasons cited for difficulty in using miscarriage leave were the fact that it has not yet been legalized (16.0 percent), the lack of precedent (11.7 percent), and that taking such leave increases the work load for co-workers 5 percent).

   Reasons for the difficulty in using childcare leave included income-related reasons (l8.1 percent), the lack of precedent (12.8 percent), problems with personnel managers (7.4 percent), problems with childcare after returning to work (6.4 percent), and the fact that workers are not guaranteed the right to return to work (2.1 percent).

   When asked for the main reason that maternity protection within the company were not implemented properly, the responses included the lack or company awareness (36.2 percent) and the company's financial burden for the cost of such provisions (14.9 percent).

   These results indicate that placing the entire financial burden for maternity protection benefits on the company is becoming an obstacle in the fulfillment of these provisions. Other reasons included the lack of awareness among workers (23.4 percent) and the lack of union responses (64. responses).

   When asked about the legal development of the current maternity protection system, 93. 6 percent responded that it was at an insufficient stage and must be expanded. Among those areas that respondents considered most important to develop first were maternity leave (42.6 percent), paid childcare leave (26.6 percent). 1egal guarantee of leaves for periodic medical examinations during pregnancy (18.1 percent), legal guarantee of leaves for miscarriages (7.4 percent). and maternity leaves for spouses (2.1 percent).

   Responses regarding the best means of covering the costs of maternity protection included the collective responsibility of state and business (39.4 percent) and business responsibility with indirect government aid (35.1 percent).

   As such results show, responses favoring either direct or indirect aid from the government total 74.5 percent. Regarding the division of financial responsibility when maternity leave is extended, 79.8 percent responded that the state and business should share the cost.

5. Proposals for the expansion and stabilization of Korea's maternity protection

   The Korean Women's Organizations United named 1990 the Maternity Protection Year' and 1991 the 'Year to Secure the Right Equal and Permanent Work.' It has focused its efforts on the health of women workers and the issue of childcare, both of which begin with the provision of maternity protection.

   The various regional Women Workers Associations have responded by organizing conferences to present cases regarding job-related illnesses and maternity protection, expanding childcare facilites, pushing for greater government aid, and publishing guidebooks regarding the execution and stabilization of maternity protection provisions.

   Last year, the WWAs cooperated with labor unions to publish a fact book called 'The Women's Labor Policy that Working Women Support.' It also pressured each political party to implement these policies.

   We believe that the government must first and foremost view the mother's capacity for childbirth as a necessary social capacity for human reproduction. It must adopt the attitude that maternity protection constitutes a social right not merely a set of protective measures for physically weak women. In addition, 'women's protection' should be extended to male workers in the future and must match international standards.

   In order to bring about these goals, we must adopt policies which stipulate that the financial burdens for maternity protection, which now lies only with business, be shared with the government.

• Lively move to devise a Women's labor Policy

  
  Lately, an active move to solve women's issues  is in more rapid progress than at any other time. The voices and activities of women workers at the work places has developed in an active way. Government has declared its good will to carry out a policy for women.
  
  In addition to this last March 19th the Korean Women Workers Association United had a meeting with the 2nd Minister of State Affairs and developed ideas about a scheme for establishing women's policies. This was fol1owed on Mar. 22nd by a talk with the women's department chief of the Labor Ministry and the youth section chief about a plan to  realize sexual equality of the Labor Ministry.
  
    Korea Women Workers Association United had a discussion about a multilateral plan for solution to women workers matters at the talk.
  
  0n the other hand, the National Women Workers Conference in honor of the 85th anniversary or Mar. 8th Int'l Women's Day had sent to the chief of State Affairs of The Blue House an inquiry regarding the government's course and plan for women workers' policy. A reply to the inquiry was received from the 2nd Ministry of State Affairs
  
            After receiving the answer, there was a meeting where women workers analyzed the contents of the answer sheet and adjusted their  stance toward the solution of the problems of women workers. In addition it was resolved in the meeting that they would go on with research & study for the formulation of a law or part time workers protection, revision of the law for sexual equality, a plan of national responsibility for the cost of maternity protection, women's' work training and employment quota system. Hopefully the contents of a concrete women workers' policy will be summated within this year. It is also expected that 1993  will be a lively year when solidarity between the white collar and blue collar women workers will become firm.
  
  

• A forum on policy for day care center

  
  The Korea Women Workers' Association United held a forum on policy for Day Care Center on the 28th of May. In the forum they evaluated the accomplishments of day care center projects run by Women Workers' Associations, combined with a discussion on how to expand the day care center projects in the future.
  
  It was an opportunity to lay out a scheme to strengthen solidarity with private day care centers and for the enlargement of teachers organization and expansion of parents organizations along with laying out of a policy concerned with day care centers.
  
  

• Lectures on organizer training

  
  About 40 national women workers gathered and participated in the program of organizer training for women leaders two times from March 20 to 21 and from April 1O to 11. Korean Women Workers' Association united opened the training program for vitalizing organizing activity in all the work places. The content or the training was gathered from the experiences of women worker organizing activities in the work place.
  
  Following a lecture the titled 'Basic principles of counseling and proper attitude of counselor'. the case of JOC small group meetings which has carried out lots of organizing the case of Pucheon YMCA women's organization and the case of insurance marketing were presented in the program. There was also interpersona1 relationship training.
  
  To share frank and sincere experience between you' and me' and to do self-realization and to discover haw to live together in harmony. Those present evaluated that the training program was a beneficial course to draw up a versatile scheme for solution to problems which had been faced during organizing activities. They resolved to
  
  

• Published leaflets "Let's revise the current Men and Women Equal Employment Law in this way." It contains about why the Law has to be revised and
  what the points are to be revised.
  
• Published a material 'Women Labor Policy-Voices from the working women'. It was co-published by KWWA affiliated women groups.  It explains about the basic policy of women workers' welfare (1998-2001), employment stability, job recruiting, equal employment, maternity & health, and child caring, etc.
  spur their organizing activities even further in the work places.
  

• Campaign against bribes
  
  Seoul Women Workers Association launched a street campaign on May I2th urging 'Let's not give an envelope with money in it'. It  was a warning against a trend of bribery prevailing in our society. Because it rained by fits and starts, there were not as many people as usual in the Kuro market. However. from the serious appearance of people in the area who were reading the distributed leaflets, we discovered the interest of our people in the campaign  for driving out bribery.
  
• Seminar on women labor policy
  
  Seoul Women Workers' Association seminar on Feb. 20th on the policy for securing lifetime employment for women workers under the joint sponsorship of the Nationa1 held a Labor Union Association United and Korea Women Association United. Thirty five female executive staff members of each labor union had a good discussion and brought their ideas together about women workers' issue.
  It    was a meaningful meeting. To break through the present situation of facing insecurity of employment, part time employment, destruction of women worker's reproductive health, etc, a collective action of all women workers is needed along with the response of labor  union.
  
      At the seminar meeting, the 35 executive staff of each labor union exchanged their opinions and brought their ideas together on the practical contents of the three aspects of a women's labor policy ; Increasing maternity protections, guarantee for employment stability & equality, expansion of day care centers at work places.
  

• Springtime women culture lectures

  
  At the 'Women's Place of Sharing' of the Incheon Women Workers Association a spring time series of cultural lectures for women workers was instituted. It consisted of beginners class and housewife class, intermediate class having lectures on folk music instruments and clay craft making clocks, mirrors, dolls etc. About 40 women workers attended the lectures.
  
  Those who have learned folk music instruments in the first session, became lecturers and showed their skills to the full. On the other hand, in clay craft class which was taken by the majority of garment workers they were able to display their hand skill abilities to the best. On the basis of their achievements, it is planned to hold an exhibition of what the learners have learned and made in a result of the 1ectures along with a graduation ceremony for bonding mutual friendship.
  
  

• A program of education against wage discrimination

  
  Machang women workers carried out an education program against wage discrimination and sexual discrimination, etc. as the wage struggle started on April. 23 1993. Twenty workers attended from various companies. It provided an opportunity to recognize the injustice of discriminatory treatment caused by  sexual discrimination. Hereafter through a series of education programs for women workers, the association has a plan not only to broaden the chance for women to recognize their prob1ems systematically but also to give them the   determination to solve their problems of their own accord.

  
  

• Research & study department under countermeasure conference for employment prob1ems will take action.

  
       On the basis of an employment status survey made in Masan Free Export Zone last year, the Masan Changwon Women Workers Association formed a research & study department under the countermeasure conference for employment problems in the area of Masan and Changwon. The department decided to  start to take action. Through their activities, it is expected that this particularly severe prob1em of employment insecurity of women workers will be approached jointly on a broad scale through out the region.
  

• Study room giving a party to see the Year Out.

  
  Tyun Tyun Yi study room annexed to the Bucheon Women Workers' Association held a Old Year Out party on Dec. 29.
  

  
  Eighty children of the study room. parents and teachers had great fun at the party. For only 2 months since it opened on Sept. 26, children and teachers had developed an intimate relationship. They prepared versatile programs such as organ performance, demonstration of Taekweondo(Korean martial arts), writings,  poem reading, beginning with a speech made  by president of the association. Dance performance as the last program of the first part was the peak. In the second part named Together with family' there was a contest of families. It was f1ooded with applications of families on the spot who had not applied in  advance.
  

  
  Closing the party with greetings to each other and thanks for delicious food, all who attended have pledged themselves to meet the new year, l993 with fresh hope and an exchange of best wishes for the new year.
  
  
  

• Training Conference of Working Women

  
  Kwangjoo Women Workers Association held "A training conference for women working in Kwangjoo, Changwon area to develop a healthy and meaningful life". It was held in the Kwangjoo Moodyungsan Byeolbat children's house.

  
  Fifteen active women working in Mokpo and Kwangjoo area took part in the conference. They heard the main lecture on working women's activity life and its direction ( Han Myung-Hee, the president of Seoul women workers association) and had a serious discussion about the burden of individual problems in today's stagnant situation of the movement They encouraged one another and pledged themselves to live an active life in their work place with a healthy and lively attitude.
  
  
  

• Guitar performance

  
  On Dec. 26, a Guitar group of the Busan Women Workers' Association gave a performance before their fellow workers and members or the association. The guitar group is composed of blue collar workers and has two classes ; a middle level class, which started from March 1992 and a beginners' class, which began in late October.
  

  
      So far they have been having a meeting once a week. In spite of such a short time training, they brought their talent into full play enough for the audience to give them a big hand and to exclaim how great they were
  

  
      At present there is a meeting every Thursday WELCOME WHOEVER WANTS TO JOIN THIS CLUB.
  
  
  

Sammi Special Iron's located in CHANGWON City is one of the largest companies in the Int'l with about 4,500 workers of which almost 3 000 are labor union members.

The company produces a yearly quantity of iron or l m11110n tons which makes an annua1 income of nearly 500 million won. The total annual income of Sammi group is 800 millon won. The work site of the company is badly heated with a lot of noise and dust and two or three kinds of big industrial disasters break out every year. In addition the workers there have to work three shifts a day. In spite of such poor working conditions, the main reason Sammi special Iron has grown to be such a big company is the result of the workers' greasy sweat. They have toiled despite such an unreasonable working environment

Strike starting with fury of unionists

Nevertheless while the labor union demanded a wage raise of 4.95% less than the 5% of total wage which is the criteria claimed by government, the company took a severe measure of wage freezing and workers slash of more than 1,000 under the excuse of financial difficulties.

Such conduct on the company side drove all of the union members into a rage and they went on a strike from Sept. in order to keep their right to live. Since the strike started, the company side has committed acts of brutality rather than showing its sincere effort to resolve the strike. They locked out the factory. cut off the communication system and blocked food supply and families visits through disployment or law enforcement authorities around the company.

Furious over the acts of cruelty, the unionists organized a reasonable defense force under the direction of leaders leading the strike and selected representative from sections in order to have discussions. Through such an organized response the workers showed their reserved power which resulted in blocking the invasion or law enforcement authorities two times.

The longer the strike went on, the more union members joined in. In spite of blockage of supply by police, union members on the strike formed a supply team of their own ingenuity and provided food voluntarily enough for 2.000 people to survive for 18 days.

To get the food the team had to climb a mountain 4 hours walk away from where they were and waded back and forth through the sea. They showed their creative and clever talents to independently break whatever difficult circumstances they encounted.

Families' struggle to save the strike site

With nothing to start with, unionists of Sammi Special Iron continued to fight capitalist and law enforcement authorities up to 18 days. Above all, what made the struggle possibe was the families' resolute struggles in supporting the unionists on strike.

Hearing their husbands went on a strike, wives came together with their babies carried on their backs and made up a supporting line of the struggle. Facing body search, examination and check-up by combat police, and even worse, falling down under the trampling of policemen's boots, the families resolutely carried out a sit-down demonstration around Changwon bridge, when traffic was paralyzed for about Z hours.

Walking 4 hours in the dark, they have brought first-aid and food to their husbands on strike. In addition when it was expected that law enforcement authorities would involve, they blocked the authorities out a few times in the cold rain with their babies carried on their backs underneath the bridge of Changwon. The families' support gave life to their husbands' struggle.

Demanding a solution to the authorities interruption and blockage of food supply. the families staged a demonstration in Whang Nak Joo's office, a congressman of the area. However, his conduct to try to pass the responsibility for the strike onto the unionists made the families so angry that they went up to Seoul and expanded their struggle all the stronger. However, they were forced out by brutal policemen, which was an unexpected response when considering President Kim's smiling face on T V.

All the more the Sammi Special Iron families made an impressive struggle to support their husbands on strike through fighting to provide food and publicity about the strike. A11 the more impressive, through the struggle of 1400 families were able to meet their husbands at the gate.

Families rising again out of despair

However, in the teeth of the families' bitter wrenching struggles, the government and capitalist trampled down the workers' strike site by use of law enforcement authorities who fo1lowed a helicopter bombing with pepper fog at dawn Sept. 25. Hereby the strike site of l8 day's struggle was conquered by pepper fog.

However, Sammi Special Iron workers and their families' struggle didn't come to an end there. After law enforcement authorities came in, 20 workers couldn't get back home and had to begin another struggle life in a cold jai1, Therefore families of the arrested and the workers on the 'wanted list ' had a meeting with a united purpose.

They also issued 'News of Families' and distributed it to union members. In addition they have formed an active struggle with dismissed workers against mass dismissal of union members and disciplinary punishment such as frontage protest struggle, daily struggle to attend work, collection of funds to support living expenses.

Besides, a lot of people gave a big hands with tears to the workers singing 'True Love' at the evening National Workers Rally on Nov. 7. This also won the grand prize in a song contest under sponsorship of Masan Catholic Women's Association.

Moreover, at the I4th presidential election, they worked as an advisory organization for a fair election in Masan Changwon in order to execute a fair election and developed voluntary activities. That they spent valuable time in cementing further ties with union members with opening 'A Day's Hops' sponsored by the arrested, wanted and dismissed workers' families. ('A Day's Hops' means taking over a place which serves beer, other drinks and snacks so that the profits for the day go to the sponsoring group.)

Now under the ruthless oppression of the company , l37 union workers were put under disciplinary punishment along with 18 arrested workers, 12 wanted, 30 dismissed. , Besides the 69 workers were sued for damages and their retirement grants and their sponsors were put under a temporary possession.

The announcement that the company would reduce l,000 workers this year produced a terrifying atmosphere among workers and such suppression by the company side is expected to become acute. However, the Committee for countermeasures for the struggle of Sammi Special Iron's workers has survived under the suppression and came into a rearrangement of their organization, expecting a joint struggle of their members who would be set free sooner or later.

They also resolved to establish their organization on a firmer footing and to move forward in a resolute way. Combined with the devotional and positive support of their families, news of Sammi Special Iron workers' victory will be conveyed to us for sure.