Fisherman in Tegal, Indonesia in February 2016. Fishery workers from Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesia, come to South Korea for better pay but some suffer labor abuse and human rights violation. / Courtesy of Advocates for Public Interest Law



By Ko Dong-hwan



A migrant workers' rights activist has lambasted the South Korean government for ignoring migrant seafarers' working environment, fraught with abuse, revealing part of a poem shared by the Vietnamese sailors who refer to themselves as "dogs and cows."



Kim Jong-chul, a lawyer from Seoul-based Advocates for Public Interest Law (APIL), spoke out for the victims in front of Cheong Wa Dae, the presidential office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on May 29. Joined by members from Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and activist groups like Migrants Act, Joint Committee with Migrants in Korea and Green Party Korea, the press conference berated the Ministry of Justice's lax labor laws that have left migrant seafarers open to verbal abuse and physical and sexual harassment.



Kim cited a poem verbally spread among Vietnamese seafarers in Korea that reflects their psychological distress under harsh working environments. He said he heard it from Vietnamese sailors two years ago. Here is a word-to-word translation of the lyrics that all Vietnamese fishermen know, whatever vessel they are working on:



Neon signs are my sunlight and waves my friends / Once the work starts, we work 18 hours nonstop / Now, I understand Korea / They like those with sleight of hands, who can work fast / Slow hands are called "ssiballom" (explicit Korean slang referring to those who would deny their ancestors) / They order even when we eat / Don't eat but swallow / No matter how fast we eat / We cannot satisfy the speed they want / Korea, I will never dream of coming here again / Although I may make a thousand golds / Because you will be a widow and your children bastards / They don't give us a bonus / Just a little something for living like a cow and dog tomorrow





Activists gathered in front of South Korean presidential office Cheong Wa Dae in Jongno-gu, Seoul, May 29, demanding the government prosecute the captain and family members for abusing two Vietnamese seafarers for months. Advocates for Public Interest Law lawyer Kim Jong-chul is fifth from left. / Yonhap