Welcome to BASE21

The 2002 World Cup Finals, co-hosted by Korea and Japan kicked off on 31st May. This session of the World Cup Game is expected to be the biggest sporting event to be held in Korea after the Seoul Olympics in 1988. Approximately 13,000 people will participate in the Game, among which 736 are athletes. 3.5 million people are expected to flood in and out of the stadiums, while 45 billion people will watch the competitions on television. These estimates are enough to show the sheer size of the event, and also the profitability.

Major transnational businesses have gathered to take their share in this extravaganza. Companies such as Kodak, Phillips and Nike have obtained monopoly rights to advertise on subway trains and stations. In one station in the main business area of Seoul, not a single bit of the wall has been left unpasted with massive advertisements of Nike. The Korean government is also in full gear for the grand sporting event -from banning all demonstrations, to threatening deportation of migrant workers, to forcing workers to declare 'peace' during the event, to wiping out any signs of 'poverty' from the streets of Seoul.

Those few activists who are not absorbed in watching football matches on television and are keeping a distance from the patriotic fever of the Red Devils, have started various campaigns and actions targeting the World Cup -and the misery it brings to the people. On 27th May, TNC workers and activists from Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Japan and India came to Korea to join Korean activists in the 'Joint Action against TNC World Cup Sponsors that Exploit Child and Adult Labor'. The campaign was aimed at exposing the reality of sweatshops and the abuse of child labour of sports goods TNCs, namely the companies that produce the actual balls for FIFA. It was also aimed to bring attention to the situation of Southeast Asian workers who are being exploited by Korean investors. The campaign started off on the 27th with a press conference, followed by a street action in the afternoon. The press conference and street action received a lot of publicity, even from the mainstream media. The participants at the press conference stated that "the World Cup Game is, in fact, not a festival for the people but an arena for TNCs to exploit profit. People are forced to simply enjoy the 'spirit of sports'. However, we know that there is no fair play -only a dark reality behind the Game", and also that "the footballs used in the World Cup are made by children and women workers who are deprived from workers' rights promulgated by international agreements such as the ILO."

The next day, participants held a public forum to discuss the issues in depth and to come up with more concrete strategies on how to promote solidarity between Asian workers against TNCs. International participants testified on the atrocities committed by global capitalists and by Korean capitalists. Activists also shared experiences on monitoring activities and the attempts to set up a binding regulatory system. A speaker from Korean People’s Action against BIT & WTO(KoPA) commented that the issue of workers’ exploitation by TNCs should not be limited to monitoring/code of conduct activities but further broadened into a struggle against neoliberal globalisation based on firm workers' solidarity in the region, while an activist from Korean House for International Solidarity(KHIS) criticised the lack of understanding and action on the part of Korean trade unions towards exploitation of Asian workers under global and Korean capitalists. Unfortunately, there was no trade unionist to hear her.

From 29th to 31st, international workers and activists, including the fifteen year-old Sonia who has lost her sight while stitching footballs since she was five, went on a tour around Korea to visit and meet with Korean textile workers and activists. Although the campaign was short and more of an event in time with the commencement of the World Cup, it brought focus to the much overlooked issue in Korea. The Korean trade unions have historically called for solidarity from international activists and workers in times of struggle, but have tended to neglect calls from workers outside of Korea who are just as much in need of solidarity. Also, as the speaker from KoPA said at the forum, looking at the issue in the context of neoliberal globalisation and at the essence of the role the World Cup Game itself in promoting globalisation, is essential to forming effective strategies.

Many other groups and organisations are keeping up the actions amidst the World Cup fervour. The migrant workers are relentless in their struggle against the voluntary reporting system, while street-stall owners and the urban poor are fighting against the attempts of the government to sweep them off the streets. [PICIS]