Cart was loosely based on the 2007 E-Land strike that went on for 510 days. Workers were striking against the corporation abusing irregular workers, not promoting them to regular work, not paying for overtime and most egregiously, a whole sale firing of workers for cheaper alternatives and to avoid promoting workers under the Irregular Employment Protection Act of 2006. Most of the irregular workers were women over the age of 30. Cart focused on women fighting not only for their jobs but their dignity and fair pay.

Han Sun Hee was close to being promoted to regular employee at the store after five long years. With a husband who traveled to find construction work, a teenage son and young daughter, her income was vital to the family. Lee Hye Mi was a single mother of a little boy and needed the job but refused to work unpaid overtime. One day everyone received a text message stating their contracts would no longer be honored. Hye Mi and older cleaner Kang Sun Rye gathered everyone to form a union and asked Sun Hee to help them lead it. Management refused to meet with the women, viewing them as “whining” and that there was nothing to worry about because, “They’ll tire of it. They’re just women.” Upper management couldn’t see what the problem was because the low pay was considered “pocket change” to them. The women were viewed as disposable and less than human. When the workers went on strike, the company played hardball utilizing brutal enforcers and police riot squads.

Cart had a strong cast. Yeom Jung Ah and Moon Jung Hee as cashiers, labor leaders, and Unnies gave heartfelt performances. Kim Kang Woo as assistant manager and labor leader Dong Jun added the one positive male portrayal. The story seemed unfocused at times and when an older lady told a speaker to put what he was saying in simple language, I repeated, “What she said!” Because I wasn’t familiar with the abusive working conditions and E-Land strike I ended up hitting Wikipedia to fill in the gaps. There were also events the writer failed to explain exactly what happened and it could feel like pieces of story were taped together with no connective material.

In my own country I’ve seen how people fighting to be seen, to be treated fairly, and paid fairly can run up against the wall of political or corporate bureaucracy. Goliath has the money and resources for long, drawn out fights. In the film, the women not only had to face a huge corporation, they failed to garner public support even after jackbooted enforcers pummeled them and tore down their encampments. Large corporations often have an easier time gaining the ear of reporters than disgruntled ahjummas. But when the chips are down, my money will always be on the fierceness of ahjummas, especially ahjummas willing to battle for 510 days to secure better and more fair employment.

7 August 2024