Abstract

In 1999 the members of the Korean Teachers and Educational Workers Union (Chunkyojo or KTU) experienced an historic event: The KTU was, as Ko & Apple (1999) predicted, finally legalized, and its 90,000-member body (approximately a quarter of all teachers) gained increased political power. It was a dramatic victory for committed educators who had waged a painful struggle for 12 years despite massive lay offs and severe persecution (Chunkyojo, 1990), and for many people who supported the KTU’s struggle from inside and outside of South Korea (S. S. Jang, 1998, p. 65).