‘15살 여공 출신’ 박영숙 활동가, 국민훈장 목련장 수훈

On February 2nd, Park Young-suk, the former chair of the North Chungcheong Women's Union, received the National Honor Medal for Sustainability at a ceremony in Seoul's Peace Park. The award recognized her decades-long activism for gender equality and workers' rights, particularly in the region of North Chungcheong, South Korea.

Park is a former laborer who began her activism at the age of 15, working in a textile subcontracting factory. Her experiences, including being laid off due to marriage and being fired from irregular employment, sparked her involvement in women's labor rights. She joined the North Chungcheong Women's Union in 1997, serving as its chair and leading efforts to protect the rights of irregular workers and promote gender equality.

Throughout her career, Park has been involved in various initiatives, including founding the Women's Hope Counseling Center and the Household Management Association in Jeonju. She has also supported workers facing layoffs and discrimination, such as the Trans Women's Environmental Ecology Center dismissal case and the Jeonju Cultural Broadcasting irregular worker layoffs. In 2011, she spearheaded the Non-Regular Workers Rights Finding Movement Headquarters, advocating for the rights and organization of irregular workers.

For the past two decades, Park has served as the joint chair and senior representative of the North Chungcheong Women's Union, connecting women's issues to policy and promoting gender equality. She has actively worked to establish the North Chungcheong Women's Family Association and has been involved in local gender equality councils.

Park emphasized that the challenges faced by women workers are systemic and cannot be addressed by individuals alone. She believes that empowering women workers to voice their rights and connect with each other is a crucial aspect of women's activism. The North Chungcheong Women's Union acknowledged this award as a meaningful achievement in recognizing the value of long-term field activism and the collective voice of women in the region.