Anarchist Yondae (Anarchist Solidarity) is an organized coalition of
revolutionary anarchists in South Korea. Over the past months, they haveorganized study groups, translated key anarchist texts into Korean, and
created a digital archive of Korean anarchist materials. Their members
have made great efforts to pass on the knowledge of Korean anarchism,
some of which will be heard in this interview. The following is a
detailed, engaging and informative interview with Anarchist Yondae,
which you can also find on their website. ---- What role would you like
to play in the global anarchist movement?
We know that a global anarchist movement is necessary, but we never
"hoped" to play a role in it. We believe that solidarity within the
global anarchist movement should not be a simple statement of solidarity
with anarchists around the world. But it is also not possible for us as
anarchists to lead or be led by other anarchist groups, because we are
not some "International Communist Party". That is why we decided to
focus on our abilities right now and right here, to demand the maximum,
to strive for freedom in life, to organize our surroundings, while
constantly following the international movement. We believe that our
role in the global anarchist movement will naturally flow from all of this.
As Kropotkin stated in his The Conquest of Bread : "In the world of
production today, everything holds together." Today's capitalist society
is a network of capital in which the push of a button today can affect
tomorrow's access to food for people on the other side of the world. And
South Korea is a big part of this international capitalist mechanism,
this network. So we believe that building a society where people can be
themselves will naturally contribute to the global libertarian movement.
Frankly, South Korea gets rich by exploiting Vietnamese factory workers,
Nepalese construction workers, Chinese housewives and janitors,
Cambodian garment workers, and so on. South Korean companies like
Samsung or LG build their plants overseas and exploit workers from these
regions. South Korea is clearly an "empire" in terms of global economic
imperialism. Therefore, as anarchists from the Korean region, we must
tear down the "Korean Empire" and fight to achieve it. We will fight
immigrant workers. We will fight Korean companies that exploit overseas
workers when they start their own struggles. Because lives dependent on
exploiting other people's labor can never be independent.
How do you manage your organization and who makes decisions for you?
We run our organization based on the principles of our platform . The
platform was established based on the agreement of all our members. New
members must accept this platform upon joining our organization.
However, we do not consider the platform to be an absolute dogma. If any
of the members demand any change in the platform, the organization is
required to consider the change and if all agree, the change can be
implemented.
We make organizational decisions based on the principles of deliberative
democracy and unified consensus. So no one decides for anyone else, but
everyone decides for everyone. We can analyze these two principles in
greater depth.
Deliberative democracy means that any decision is preceded by a
thoughtful conversation. Reasonable conversation means that it is not
enough to simply ask for a "yes" or "no" for a certain decision. The
decision must be explained and sufficiently discussed. And the principle
of uniform agreement certainly refers to the principle of collective
agreement and collective responsibility in the execution of decisions.
And fortunately, or unfortunately, we are a new and small organization,
so these principles can be applied within the organization. With the
growth of our organization and with the ability to communicate with the
masses, we are thinking about how big the organization can reach while
maintaining these principles. And we believe that it will be a
meaningful experiment in preparation for the upcoming organization of a
new form of society.
However, we do not want to give up these principles even if the
organization grows to the point where it is unable to operate according
to these principles. In our opinion, our organization will be "too" big
in such a situation. Therefore, if we are to face this (joyful)
situation, we have decided to divide Anarchist Solidarity into
sub-sections, so that the principles of deliberative democracy and
unified consensus can work both within and between sections. We are
preparing for this.
Korean anarchists have traditionally collaborated with anarchists from
other countries in the region, such as the Eastern Anarchist Federation,
which had members from China, Vietnam, and Japan, or The Black Friends
Society, which included Japanese anarchists in its membership. Are there
similar international ties today, and if not, how might such ties
strengthen the movement?
Unfortunately, there are NO such links left today. The demise of the
revolutionary anarchist movement on the Korean peninsula after the 1930s
(or after the 1970s, if we count its last signs of life) has a large
share in this. Moreover, it is clear that the anarchist movements in
three (four) East Asian countries (China, Japan, two Koreas) have
largely not changed since World War II. In South Korea, anarchism merged
with nationalism and turned into anti-communism. And the self-proclaimed
Korean "anarchists" are still obsessed with the anarchist tradition of
the "National Liberation Movement". Japanese social movements as such
disappeared after the failure of Zenkyoto (joint all-campus struggle
committees). Pseudo-socialist dictators in China and North Korea have
magically made anarchist movements disappear.
But we firmly believe in the need to renew these ties. And above all,
wouldn't it be wonderful to have comrades to fight with in a place
accessible by an hour's flight and an 80,000 KRW (£50) ticket? Wouldn't
it be great to have comrades with whom we can meet and negotiate and
announce joint resolutions?
When this pandemic is over and when this unintentional national
isolation is over, we would like to meet with the comrades in East Asia
and discuss a program of what to do to restore this bond of solidarity.
Jeong Hwaam (or Jang-Whan[English transliteration - translation note])
was radicalized by, among other things, the plight of Chinese women
workers. How does the intersection of issues of gender and class
oppression relate to the modern Korean struggle?
First of all, we don't see it as an "intersection of gender and class
oppression", but rather as a "multiple intersection of oppression based
on class, race, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, age group,
etc." the liberation of the people cannot be achieved until we get rid
of this multiple intersection of hierarchies. Let's keep this in mind
for our answer below.
To answer this question, we will first outline the current state of the
Korean working class movement and then tell you about the situation in
2021, in which Anarchist Solidarity supported the ongoing efforts as
much as possible.
After the local economic crisis in 1997, Korean workers had to face
extreme flexibilization of work. We call flexible work "irregular
employment". And we, Anarchist Solidarity, realize that the harmful
effect of "irregular employment" falls especially on certain genders,
certain races, certain age groups, certain nationalities, etc. It is
obvious that this multiple intersection of oppression is inevitable from
the point of view of preserving the hierarchy.
LG, one of the leading Korean companies and one of the pioneers of
international capitalism, on January 1, 2021, laid off 80 cleaners after
10 years of working in their headquarters building. These workers were
not paid the proper minimum wage, worked overtime and were harassed by
managers. So they formed a union and demanded better working conditions.
And LG responded to their demands by "legally" firing all of them. The
union and the 20 workers who decided to join them engaged in a stubborn
fight, occupying the building's lobby and main gate. The struggle lasted
until April 30, and on the historic day of International Labor Day, all
20 workers were re-employed, with much better conditions. Anarchist
solidarity focused on the fact that most of these workers were women,
uneducated and of advanced age.
Old and uneducated female employees are usually assigned to workplaces
with the worst conditions - they have the hardest, least stable and, so
to speak, raw jobs. Under these circumstances, total freedom cannot be
achieved either by an exclusive obsession with the "working class
movement" (as is the case with Marxists) or by completely abandoning the
"working class movement" (in response to the Marxists). Anarchist
solidarity sharpens its revolutionary blades while fighting the multiple
intersections of hierarchy through the voluntary organization of the
working class.
Members of your group have translated "classic" anarchist texts, such as
those by Kropotkin or Malatesta, into Korean. What parts of this
tradition do you see as common in Korean anarchism and which would you
like to take forward?
It was never explicitly about translating "classic" anarchist texts, but
looking back at what we translated, we definitely focused on the
"classics". There were two main reasons that led us to this.
First of all, we must restore the "anarchist traditions" that have
disappeared in the Korean region. As already stated here, there has been
no revolutionary anarchist movement in this area since the 1970s. (If
this article reaches any underground organization of revolutionary
anarchists based in the Korean region, please contact us. We have been
waiting for you for 15 years.) Therefore, we could not become familiar
with any anarchist references, whether classic or "modern." We have
noticed that many comrades do not know whether they are anarchists or
not, because they are unable to find anything that can confirm their
anarchist identity, so they end up compromising themselves and becoming
social-democratic politicians or Marxist-Leninist ideologues. One of our
members had no choice but to be a member of a social democratic
political party or a liberal "youth" political party. According to him,
it was very fortunate that Anarchist Solidarity was founded, otherwise
he would have been just one of the party members.
Given these circumstances, it is clear how much we appreciated the
recently published translation of The Winning of Bread . It was pure
joy to realize that "I may actually have been an anarchist all along!"
That is why we focus on translations of "classic" anarchist texts to
allow others to feel the same. We do this to "transplant" or "restore"
the "tradition", "history" or "foundations" of anarchism.
These texts were also needed to overcome the Korean radical fronts'
misunderstanding and mistrust of anarchism. After the anarchist movement
revealed itself as the second column of nationalists, the era of
"pseudo-anarchism" came. We have only been an open anarchist
organization for a year. However, we had to face several
"self-proclaimed anarchists." They referred to themselves as:
"Anarcho-Bitcoinists" - who claim that since Bitcoin is a stateless
currency, all anarchists should buy DogeCoin or something.
"Anarcho-racists" - who claim that black people have larger testicles
than other races and are "genetically more violent than any other race,
so it was perfectly reasonable for the police to murder Mr. George
Floyd". This was indeed not said by a neo-Nazi, but by an "anarchist".
"Anarcho-conscript" (who believes that since abolishing the military has
many side effects, anarchists should support conscription. If you deny
this, you are a pro-hierarchy authoritarian anarcho-fundamentalist.
These "self-proclaimed anarchists" defend themselves by saying:
"Anarchism is a state without dogmas. Therefore, we can also be
anarchists." Therefore, we needed to show people that maybe this is not
a dogma, but that there are some basic principles accumulated from the past.
The second reason why we mainly translated "classic" texts is that, in
our opinion, "contemporary" anarchist texts should not be translated,
but should be written by ourselves, from our own perspectives. We
believe that "classic" is "tradition" and "contemporary" is a fighting
tactic. And we think that when we are to engage in combat in the Korean
Peninsula area, the tactical approach should reflect the context of the
region.
Take, for example, the problem of housing. Korea was a nation-state that
traditionally (by "traditionally" we mean the past 500 years or so)
considered "the state responsible for the welfare of its people." That
changes a lot of things. In fact, politicians are considering
government-owned housing rented to the homeless. Can squatting be a
meaningful tactic under these circumstances? What about the rent strike?
Therefore, we publish texts that reinterpret the "classics" in the
context of our socio-economic situation and the historical context of Korea.
What can people learn from Korean anarchism, both past and present? What
are the most important theories? Are concepts like Juche in their
original concept of "autonomous, self-regulating community life" still
relevant?
In Korea, there is an expression '????.' He expresses that someone who
fails can be your teacher because he will teach you what not to do..
THIS is what we consider Korean anarchist tradition.
As already stated, the anarchist movement in Korea developed with an
attitude of "national liberation" in the context of the colonization of
Korea by the Japanese Empire and collapsed after national liberation. If
you look closely at the history of Korean anarchism, you will see a
movement with a 100-year history that collapsed dramatically in 15
years. It was not a gradual decline, but a dramatic destruction of the
movement. What I think people should take away from Korean anarchism is
how easily anarchism can destroy itself when it combines with hideous
totalitarian mutants like central control or nationalism. The Korean
anarchists of the time participated in the creation of the "Provisional
Korean GOVERNMENT." They collaborated with the Chinese Nationalist
Party, or Chinese Communist Party. After the liberation of the Korean
nation, the Anarchists formed a political party to aid right-wing
authoritarian governments in the name of anti-Bolshevism. In doing so,
they lost touch with the masses of the working class. Collaborating with
totalitarianism for the temporary gain of power or for practical reasons
will surely kill anarchism. This is what Korea teaches us.
However, we believe that people can learn a lot from the Korean social
movement. For we believe that although the "anarchist movement" in Korea
is destroyed, the social movement as a whole is more "anarchist" than
anywhere else. There is a confederation of trade unions with 1.1 million
members who are not controlled by any political party or vanguard group.
The workers know that self-willed struggle is necessary to achieve their
own demands, so they fight against their bosses. When they realize the
solidarity among the masses oppressed under similar conditions, they
organize general strikes with 100,000 participants, which have been more
than a year in the making. They build communal relationships within
unions with colleagues who have worked for the same company for more
than a decade but have never met before. There are also "revolutionary
socialists", reformists or left-wing nationalists who try to lead the
workers politically, but the majority of workers are not very interested.
It can be seen that even though Korean anarchism is destroyed, the
anarchist mass has more life than ever before. In our opinion, people
can learn that anarchism does not exist in some enlightened minds or
revolutionary books, but in the life and action of the masses.
You asked us if "terms like Juche are still relevant." It was confusing.
We have been native Koreans for several decades. However, we have never
used the term "Chukche" in any other sense than the "Chukchism" of the
pseudo-socialist dictatorship of North Korea. The concept of "Chuchche"
is tarnished. It no longer means "autonomous, self-regulating community
life". However, this idea of "autonomous, self-regulating community
life" still survives among the masses.
During the movement for Korean independence from Japan, anarchists had
to face challenges from growing nationalist attitudes both within and
outside the movement. Today, there are still many unresolved issues
regarding the unification of the Korean Peninsula. How do you face the
challenge of nationalism in today's context?
First of all, did they really face the challenges of nationalist
attitudes? As far as we know, all the anarchists of the time, every one
of them, from anarcho-syndicalists to anarcho-nihilists, allied
themselves with nationalism.
It is impossible to talk about nationalism in Korea today without
mentioning the subject of reunification. We believe that the most
important prerequisite and the only method for reunification is for the
people of North Korea to fight on their own initiative against the
fascist regime of North Korea, and for the people of South Korea to do
the same against the capitalist regime of South Korea. If this does not
happen, any kind of talk of unification, whether it is led by the South
Korean government (as right-wing nationalists claim) or the North Korean
government (as left-wing nationalists claim), will inevitably bring a
dire future. However, calls for "unification from below" are just the
opinion of a minority.
The influence of nationalist forces in this area is thus deeply rooted.
Whether they are "leftist" or "rightist", "progressive" or
"conservative", it is difficult to get rid of nationalist influences. At
this point, it is probably impossible to get rid of these influences.
But we try not to be silent about nationalism. We will persistently
oppose nationalist sentiment. We will practice fighting against the
nationalist-imperialist Korean state, which is developing into an
economic empire in the Asia-Pacific region. We will criticize the
despotic military regime called the "Democratic People's Republic of
Korea", although in the Korean social movement it is something like "the
one whose name must not be spoken".
We hope that the message of anti-nationalism from our (relatively new to
Korean society) point of view will be beneficial even if we do not
succeed in completely removing the deep roots of nationalism.
More generally, what specific challenges do you face in Korea and how do
you deal with them?
Perhaps surprisingly, we are not currently oppressed as anarchists. It
is true that some of our members are under government surveillance and
are heavily fined or imprisoned. But this is not because they are
anarchists, but because they are members of a militant trade union. They
were arrested while participating in mass demonstrations and resisted
fiercely when the police forcibly seized the headquarters of the trade
union confederation. We really hope to be oppressed by the state,
capital or the regime, because the regime does not oppress anyone who is
not a threat to it. The fact that we are not oppressed paradoxically
shows how little revolutionary anarchists threaten the regime.
The most difficult struggle we have to face is therefore the
indifference towards anarchism, and what is even sadder, the fact that
for a long time anarchism has been nothing but a target of ridicule. As
we said earlier, there was an era of pseudo-anarchists -
"Anarcho-BitCoinists," "Anarcho-racists," "Anarcho-Conscripts" - who
called themselves "Anarchists." Understandably, no one considers
anarchism a serious method of transforming society.
Some of these Korean "anarchists" believe they are under state
oppression and surveillance. In our opinion, this is nothing but
paranoia. The Republic of Korea is busy oppressing and tracking more
dangerous groups such as Marxist-Leninists or left-wing nationalists.
That is why we are leading this fight against "indifference" by
participating in as many mass events as possible. At the same time, we
have our flag with us in the largest possible size, with the inscription
"Anarchist solidarity" in the largest possible font. It's not because
we're showing off. In Korea, mass demonstrations with the participation
of 10-100 thousand people are held several times a year. It has been 10
years since we participated in these demonstrations individually, but we
have never seen any "black flag" at them. That's why we have this big
flag with us. We are trying to let people know that "anarchists can
really affect the transformation of society. Anarchists can stand side
by side with the people."
What tactics do you use when trying to reach the public?
The members of Anarchist Solidarity are "materialists" who "support
direct struggle in industry and the economy" and at the same time seek
to create a "voluntary federation of workers." Naturally, we thus use
the tactics of the class struggle. We are talking about the working
people we meet in our daily lives.
Some members are university students. They visit workers in building
management and security (since these are mostly "irregular" jobs) and
talk about a possible union they can organize themselves.
One of us works in an international trading company. He visits other
countries with his business visa (we won't specify them for security
reasons) and distributes leaflets we created for free trade unions.
One of us is an active union member and organizer who always tries to
organize the unorganized workers and help them in their efforts.
At the same time, we publish theoretical works to create a better ground
for future anarchist movements.
We are translating some anarchist texts because we don't want anarchism
to be an "elitist" or "scientific" movement requiring knowledge of
multiple languages, since there are no texts in the Korean language.
We write our own texts because we want to show that it is possible to
interpret the socio-economic conditions of Korea from an anarchist point
of view.
We publish books about these texts. It's not just because we want to
spread anarchist texts. But rather we want to exercise our "legal duty"
to "provide samples of any printed books to the National Library" as our
means of promotion.
We run our own study group. In doing so, we are trying to create groups
of anarchists where before we existed only as solitary individuals.
We group these individual actions under the name Anarchist Solidarity.
And through grouping it is possible to expand these actions. This is our
"tactic."
What advice would you give to people who want to create a movement like
yours?
We will give you two pieces of advice. Above all, please don't stay in
the internet world and rather act in the real world. We know that the
Internet can be an important means of influence. It's easy to group
people online, and these public groups can certainly have an impact in
the real world. But the important thing is that the influence is
extended to the "real world". Unless these online groups are trying to
influence the "real world", their voice can never be more than text.
Text can be written, get "likes" but nothing else. Texts can only have
an impact through their realization in the real world.
If you want to change any space, the transformative action should be
done in that space. And we do not want to reshape the Internet, but
rather the real world outside the Internet in which we live, where other
people live, where they work, sweat, communicate and are oppressed by
authorities. We must stand with the people, analyze the reality, fight
against repressive authorities. A social revolution will never be made
up of millions of #SocialRevolution tweets.
The second piece of advice is: before creating an organization, please
decide what you would like to accomplish with it. Organization is a
means to an end. It should not be - and cannot be - an end in itself.
Let's take our organization as an example. The decision to form the
organization by the first two members was preceded by six months of
talks about what to do. As more members joined the project, it took us
another three months to determine what kind of anarchist movement we
wanted to-and could-build. We spent the next six months working on our
platform. And we went public after agreeing on the principles. We
believe that this period of discussion and reflection allows us to have
strong positions when we are hit by the struggles of popular movements.
So please don't go the route of creating an organization, recruiting
people, and then asking those people what to do. Please first talk to
people about what to do and ask them how to do it, then build the
organization. People are not idiots. Organizations without goals are
easy to lose. And anarchism will once again become a target of ridicule.
https://anarchiste.org/pouceni-z-neuspechu-rozhovor-s-korejskymi-anarchisty/
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