ABSTRACT
One cold day in February 1986 at the Korea Shipbuilding and Engineering Corporation (KSEC) shipyard in Pusan, South Korea, a group of middle-aged male skilled workers, who were deep in discussion, called out to a young worker passing by. They were all colleagues of the same shop, Slip Assembly (sŏndae chorip), which put together large steel blocks to form the body of ships.1 The older workers asked the young welder, “Why don’t you try it [i.e., running in the upcoming union representatives election]?” Without waiting for a reply, the older workers happily clapped their hands, saying, “That concludes the matter!” (C. Kim 2006a).
