Are you at Chun Tae-il Bridge? The bridge where you stand now was originally called Beodeuldari Bridge, which means ‘willow tree bridge.’ What a pretty name. But when the bridge was a road, it was a commuting route of Chun Tae-il, and right near the bridge is also where he lit himself on fire. To commemorate it, someone proposed to change the name of the bridge to Chun Tae-il Bridge. In 2010, after Seoul Metropolitan Council's resolution and 's review, the bridge’s name became Chun Tae-il Bridge. Like you can see, it preserves the original name in brackets, saying Beodeuldari Bridge. On the floor of the bridge are about 3,000 commemorative bronze plates. Do you see the bronze plates embedded on the pedestrian street next to the Cheonggyecheon Stream?

Chun Tae-il is regarded as someone who advanced Korea’s labor conditions by 10 or 20 years ahead.

When Chun Tae-il was working, in the late 1960s, it was normal for people to work 15 or 16 hours a day. Dust from threads was deadly to seamstresses and tailors. But when their employees got sick, the factory or company would fire them, rather than treat them.

But this kind of working environment was illegal, in fact. The 〈Labor Standards Act〉 prohibited long working hours. When Chun Tae-il stumbled upon the Labor Standards Act, he realised that following the act would help create better working environments. So, he requested the authorities to send labor supervisors and created a group called 〈Babohoe〉 to carry out activities to observe the Labor Standards Act, but all his attempts failed.

Deeply disappointed, Chun Tae-il prepared a burning of 〈the Labor Standards Act〉 which was nothing more than meaningless words in the legislation on November 13, 1970. And on the very day, he suddenly lit fire on himself and cried: ‘Observe the Labor Standards Act,’ ‘we are not machines,’ ‘Ensure a day off on Sunday.’ These cries sound too absurd to us now, shocking even that they were not observed. But back then, they were seldom observed.

Chun Tae-il suffered burns to his entire body, and passed away 8 hours later, leaving last words of ‘I’m hungry.’ After that, his unfinished task fell to the living. His colleagues and his mother, Lee So-seon, went to negotiate with the government again. The details include a day off on Sunday, 8 hours of labor , mandatory health checks, abolishment of dual attics, and support to form labor unions. These terms were agreed upon after about one month of protests and negotiations. It marks a significant advance in the Korean labor movement.

Thanks to Chun Tae-il and many others’ efforts, the Labor Standards Act came into life bit by bit, and thanks to that, we now consider the 8-hour work per day something natural and enjoy better working conditions. Like many other things, many rights that we take for granted now are fruits of fierce fights and great sacrifices that people made in the past.

Then what can we pass on to our neighbors and the generations? Perhaps it’s a good idea to ponder that on this bridge where the statue of Chun Tae-il stands. Lawyer Cho Young-rae wrote 〈A Single Spark〉, a critical biography of Chun Tae-il, under a pen name, in an attempt to fulfill his duty. Perhaps we, too, can do something, although it may not be something as grand as that.

Now, to the next stop. Let’s go down to the Cheonggyecheon Stream Trail again and continue in the direction that you were heading. Then you’ll find a larger-sized bridge, Majeongyo Bridge. Pass under Majeongyo Bridge, and you can go back to the side road of the Cheonggyecheon Stream again. That’ll bring you right in front of Gwangjang Market, our next stop. Let’s continue our talk when we get there.