25개의 게시물을 찾았습니다.
Here'e some more nocturnal impressions(*) from Chungshin-dong "redevelopment" zone in Seoul's Jongno District (not far away from Daehak-no, resp. Dongdaemun):
* More pics you can see here!!
Y'day in Seoul(Yeouido, near the S. Korean Nat'l Assembly): once again party atmosphere(^^), aka Anti-KORUS-FTA protests...
Related reports/articles:
☞ “국민의 뜻이다 한미FTA 폐기하라!” 국민 분노 표출 (KCTU, 11.03)
☞ FTA 반대 집회, 젊은층 대거 참여...제2의 촛불? (OMN, 11.03)
☞ 한미FTA 저지 범국민대회, 국회 앞 충돌...23명 연행 (NewsCham, 11.03)
☞ 'Again 2008', 한미FTA저지 촛불 여의도에서 점화됐다 (VoP, 11.03)
☞ Assembly session abruptly canceled, delaying FTA bill (JoongAng Ilbo, 11.04)
☞ Why Is the Korea- U.S. FTA So Controversial? (Chosun Ilbo, 11.04)
☞ Unfounded anti-FTA rumors spread via SNS (K. Times, 11.04)
The following piece was published in today's Hankyoreh...
And if we're clever, we can use the subject to stop the entire "redevelopment" project in Myeong-dong (at least for a while) untill we're able to enunciate our objection/demands to achieve a "redevelopment law", which is not AGAINST THE ['ordinary'] PEOPLE!
Myeongdong Cathedral forced to suspend redevelopment project
Academics recognize the area under the construction site as a ‘minefield of relics’
A suspension was called in the Myeongdong Cathedral redevelopment effort embarked upon last month by the Catholic Diocese of Seoul. The diocese continued with the project in spite of concerns from the academic community.
The debate over the justification for the move is being replayed after construction was halted due to the discovery two weeks ago of a late Yi Dynasty brick drainage pipe at the construction site for the cathedral’s northern parking facility.
Despite a Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) decision to have a full excavation, the construction company used excavators on Oct. 29 and 31 to illegally dig the area, including the site of the tennis courts and hill behind what was formerly the bishop’s house. The construction was only halted after a civic group lodged an accusation with police against the diocese and company.
The situation now sees a Catholic order accused of violating the Cultural Properties Protection Act.
The drainage pipe that was unearthed is thought to be a rare relic showing the change from Joseon (Chosun)-era manual engineering technology to modern British-style technology. Since only a portion was found protruding, a full excavation is very likely to turn up other relics from life in the late Yi era.
The CHA and academic community expressed consternation at the illegal excavation of the area by the order without any experts present even after the discovery of such an important relic.
At a press conference Wednesday morning at the cathedral’s main gate, the Korea Cultural Heritage Policy Research Institute and other civic organizations said, “We cannot contain our astonishment at the illegal actions of the diocese, which put up a fence on a public holiday and dug up a site where cultural heritage is buried.”
The groups called for a provisional designation of the entire cathedral area as a national historic site and the formation of a cultural heritage investigation committee.
CHA said, “It is impossible to comprehend their performing construction work illegally without an expert present.”
“For now, we plan to extend the excavation period by about 70 days and conducted a close survey of the area where the relic was found,” the administration added.
The Diocese of Seoul has kept quiet.
In a telephone interview Wednesday, its public relations department said, “We have no established official position.”
Observers within the order are saying signs have been detected that the leadership plans to quickly go ahead with the scheduled construction effort in spite of whatever objections might come from outside. The argument is that the diocese is feeling the push to quickly resolve the longstanding redevelopment issue, including the building of a diocese complex, ahead of the retirement of Cardinal Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk, which is scheduled to take place early next year.
A religious official said, “My understanding is that reporters with religious news organs like the Catholic Times were forbidden to write articles about the discovery.”
“There are a lot of indignant people out there,” the official added.
At the moment, the diocese management bureau’s construction office is in charge of the effort, but Bishop Andrew Yeom Soo-jung, the Auxiliary Bishop of Seoul, and secretary Father Ahn Byeong-cheol are known to be the main figures giving directions at the scene.
The area around the Myeongdong Cathedral main gate has been recognized by academics as a “minefield of relics.” It includes the sites of houses of the faithful during the age of persecution in the early 19th century, as well as remains from the diocese’s missionary era early in the late Yi period. Diocese officials agreed that further excavation would likely turn up a large number of buried artifacts from the early 19th century or major relics dating to the Gyeongseong Diocese days of the late Yi period and Japanese occupation.
Observers also said the preservation conflict with the academic sector and civic organizations is certain to intensify.
In a celebratory address at the groundbreaking ceremony for the redevelopment on Oct. 16, Cardinal Cheong said the effort “is intended to create a society filled with peace and justice... through the church communicating more actively with the world.”
Observers, however, contend that reality is on a path in the opposite direction of his hopes.
http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_entertainment/503807.html
While comrade Kim Jin-suk y'day "celebrated"(??) her 300th sit-in struggle day...
...on crane no. 85 in Busan's HHIC shipyard, the Hankyoreh demanded that's...
Time to end the HHIC standoff
It was early in the morning on Jan. 6 when Kim Jin-suk ascended Crane No. 85 at Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction‘s Yeongdo shipyard in Busan. From a precarious position 35 meters in the air, the Direction Committee member from the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions’ Busan office took a stand with all her strength to call upon HHIC to withdraw its unjust layoff plans. She persevered through an unusually harsh winter and the following spring and summer into the fall. Yesterday, she marked the 300th day of her aerial protest. Now the cold winds of another harsh winter lie in wait before her.
Those 300 days provide an indication of how inhuman South Korea’s pariah capitalism is, how greatly labor is disregarded here, and how firm the alliance of interests is among the Lee Myung-bak administration, corporations, and the conservative media. A National Assembly hearing has clearly shown that HHIC’s layoffs are essentially an abuse and a far cry from the “urgent economic necessity” claimed by the company. For this reason, ruling and opposition party members of the National Assembly‘s Environment and Labor Committee unanimously established a recommendation on Oct. 7, one that HHIC Chairman Cho Nam-ho was obliged to accept.
But in labor-management negotiations since Oct. 11, the company has rejected union demands for acknowledgement of the layoff period in the workers’ term of service, the recalculation of severance pay, and the payment of school expenses. Instead, it has stubbornly insisted on a written apology from Kim Jin-suk. Interest from the mainstream politicians who once raged about the HHIC situation and salvos against Cho from the conservative press have already long since quietly disappeared.
But Kim’s 300 days also provide an object lesson about what kind of struggle and solidarity is needed if the values of humanity and labor are to be restored. The five Hope Bus Campaigns that have traveled to Busan since June have given a clear sense of the power of solidarity and hope for a world where workers are respected, one without unjust terminations and irregular employment. They were expression of the righteous anger of the 99% toward the rapaciousness of the 1%. Since the HHIC layoff matter has not yet been resolved, a sixth Hope Bus Campaign will be making its way to Busan on Nov. 26 for the National Workers’ Rally.
The solution to the HHIC situation is obvious: Cho Nam-ho, who already accepted the recommendation, needs to take real responsibility and negotiate with the union. The National Labor Relations Commission and the Ministry of Employment and Labor also need to actively mediate the negotiations to ensure that the spirit of the National Assembly’s recommendation is upheld, and the union needs to show a willingness to compromise. Let’s help Kim Jin-suk come down from the crane. It is against civility toward humanity and labor to allow her to spend another winter there.
http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_editorial/503618.html
Related articles:
☞ 6차희망버스 11월26~27일 부산 갑니다! (KCTU, 11.01)
☞ 달이 빛나는 밤, 김진숙의 청춘 이야기 (NewsCham, 11.02)
☞ 김진숙 크레인 농성, 야만의 세상과 소통한 300일 (NewsCham, 11.01)
For more info, please check out: ☞ JINSUK_85 !
Here'e just some nocturnal impressions from Chungshin-dong "redevelopment" zone (Seoul, Jongno-gu, not far away from Daehak-no...):
최근 덧글 목록