South Korean Cultural Ecology - 1905 to 1990
Part 2: "Change to the Industrial Society" - Page 12

F. Change in Confucian Ideals

The government knew that a strategy based on force or legal dicta would cause trouble. Thus it expanded its efforts to utilize labor on an ideological "war footing" against the Communist enemy to achieve the goals set by the technocrats and the conglomerates. One effort was the Factory Saemaul work teams. Employing the Confucian morality they extolled the workers to operate on such principles as "work hard without being conscious of the closing hour of work" and "workers should behave towards employers as sons to their fathers." These ideas were attempts to subvert unions and served as a means to militarize the factory atmosphere.

The Chaebol sought to create the image of the Confucian employer, with incentives such as cheap meals, bonuses, and night classes for workers and sports tournaments. In return for this "family-oriented" atmosphere, the workers were to refrain considering joining unions. Workers were asked to accept the idea that their hard, low-paid work would help defend the country from the Communist North. The government and the Chaebol attempted to utilize a very strong cultural feeling for their own purposes and if it doesn't work it could destroy this very important cultural resource. The workers countered effectively that in the image of a family-oriented group, the workers had more of the status of servants than sons and daughters. The government, the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA), and the Chaebol conspired together to see that the workers could not organize any labor unions.