Around 200 striking truckers huddle around gas heaters in five white tents outside the Uiwang container depot near Seoul, trying to fight the bitter cold and the government narrative that they are well paid labor aristocracy. They are aware of the impact their strike has had on South Koreans at a time of record inflation. But these drivers, and tens of thousands of others striking across the country, say their calls for minimum pay protections are all that stand between them and poverty.
We are not the enemy. Kim Young-chan, a 63-year-old container truck driver, said that they are loyal to our country because they are contributing to exports, because they transport goods such as home appliances and cosmetics between Uiwang and Busan port. Our money is stretched to eat and live for a month. This could be due to a conflict with your ad blocking or security software. There is a list of allowed sites for piano.io and jp. If this does not resolve the issue or you are unable to add the domains to your allowlist, please see this FAQ. We apologize for the inconvenience.