Jeon Tae-il

On 14 October 2020, "The Jeon Tae-il Memorial Month" was proclaimed about a month ahead of the 50th anniversary of Jeon Tae-il's death. World-renowned digital media artist Hooranky Bae unveiled a digital art work with the motif of Jeon Tae-il's passion with the Jeon Tae-il 50th Anniversary Event Committee at the proclamation ceremony held at Jeon Tae-il Bridge in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 14th. In an interview with Yonhap News, He said, "It's a great impression. He's a martyr who goes beyond human limits."

The 2012 Documentary film Mother tells the story of Jeon's mother, Lee So-Sun.

In April 2012, his younger sister, Jeon Soon-ok, was elected a member of National Assembly of South Korea, as a member of Democratic United Party.

The biographic film A Single Spark details Jeon's struggle. A bestselling biography of him was published in 2001.

Since the beginning of the first anniversary ceremony of Jeon Tae-il, a Christian youth in 1972, the title has changed to the commemoration ceremony of the labor activist Jeon Tae-il in the 1980s. His mother, Lee So-sun, was called the mother of workers by devoting herself to supporting the Cheonggyecheon union and supporting the labor movement until her death. In 1984, the Jeon Tae-il Commemorative Project was organized in Seoul, centered around labor activists and in 1985, the Jeon Tae-il Memorial Hall was opened. Afterwards, the Jeon Tae-il Foundation was organized to start awarding the Jeon Tae-il Literary Award and the Jeon Tae-il Labor Award. After the June Struggle in 1987, labor groups gathered and held workers' meetings from July to August of that year. On 15 July, the '87 Declaration of the Liberation of the Working Class' was held in reference to his commentary. In November 1988, a national workers' meeting was held in Seoul to commemorate Jeon Tae-il's self-immolation and is held every November. In 2001, Jeon Tae-il was approved as a member of the democratization movement. On 19 September 1996, Jeon Tae-il Street was created in Euljiro 6-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul. In commemoration of this, a memorial performance was held in front of a painting containing the image of Jeon Tae-il's self-immolation. In this Jeon Tae-il Street','Jeon Tae-il Street Cultural Festival' is held to commemorate Jeon Tae-il.

At that time, Kim Dae-jung, a candidate for the president of the New Democratic Party, also announced at the press conference on 23 January 1971, "Implementation of the spirit of Jeon Tae-il" as a pledge. Since then, the New Democratic Party has developed a policy of favor for the labor movement and protesters often took refuge in the New People's Party, avoiding oppression by the police and government.

In 1968 he noticed that there was a work standard law that is law to protect workers' human rights. After that he bought manual of work standard law and studied by that. While studying the contents of the law, he was angry at the reality that even the minimum working conditions prescribed by law were not observed. In June 1969, he founded the Fool's Association (바보회), the first labor movement organization in the Peace Market. The name "Fool's Association" reflects Jeon Tae-il's thoughts as a worker. Rather than struggling to argue that workers also have human rights, his point were that they were fools who conform to an exploitative working environment. He informed the workers of the Peace Market the contents of the Labor Standards Act and unfairness of their current working conditions. Also, he surveyed the current status of work through a questionnaire.

He learned to sew from his father, but he ran away from home again with his younger brother in 1964 and went to Seoul. He peddled at Dongdaemun Market, delivered newspaper, and did other small labour work such as shoe polishing. He was employed as an assistant at the Seoul Peace Market's clothing store by the sewing skills that he learned from his father. He worked for 14 hours and was paid 50 won per day for a cup of tea. When he turned 17, he became a sida ("chore" in Korean) at Sam-il sa in the Peace Market and soon became a tailor .

However, the family returned to Daegu in 1960. He did not finish elementary school. After that, he had an underprivileged childhood with little formal education and began peddling on the street to live. In March 1963, he entered Cheong-ok High School in Daegu, but due to family circumstances, he dropped out of school during his first year in December of that year. His father, Jeon Sang-soo, forced his son to drop out of school to do sewing work at home. He was frustrated that he couldn't go to school and he ran away from home and returned home in three days. His father said that he had to earn money to study, and kicked him and beat him, forcing him to leave school.

Jeon Tae-il (28 September 1948 – 13 November 1970) was a South Korean sewing worker and workers' rights activist who committed suicide by self-immolation at the age of 22 in protest at the poor working conditions of South Korean factories. His death brought attention to the substandard labor conditions and helped the formation of labor union movement in South Korea.

Jeon Tae-il was born on 28 September 1948. He was the son of Jeon Sang-soo, a poor worker in Namsan-dong, Daegu, and his wife, Lee So-sun. At one time, his father, Jeon Sang-soo, also tried his hand at the domestic water industry, but failed repeatedly. His maternal grandfather was killed by a Japanese police officer on charges of joining the anti-Japanese independence movement. In 1954, he and his family members came to Seoul, but were homeless under the Yeomcheon Bridge near Seoul Station. His mother begged in Manni-dong while Jeon Tae-il's father, who did sewing work, got a job, so the family could live in a monthly rental room.

On the 22nd, about 40 college students at Sae moon-an Church held a fasting prayer for the Atonement saying that society is responsible for the death of Jeon Tae-il and that they are also conspirators. On the 23rd, Christianity held a memorial service in collaboration with Protestantism and Catholicism.