Red Star Over Asia

On March 20th, home care workers in New York went on a hunger strike to demand an end to the dreaded 24-hour workday. States in the Global North seek to alleviate their aging populations by bringing in workers from the Global South, where imperialism and neoliberal policies have forced these workers to immigrate to global metropoles such as New York City, only to end up trapped in sweatshop labor. Jun and Yolanda from Youth Against Sweatshops and the Ain't I a Woman campaign share with us stories of home care workers struggle, as well as connecting the fight against the 24-hour day with gentrification and Palestine. You can support home care workers by donating to: https://nomore24.org/ Follow the Ain't I a Woman campaign here: Website: https://www.aintiawoman.org/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aiwcampaign/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/aiwcampaign Follow Youth Against Sweatshops here: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/youthagainstsweatshops/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/youthasnyc

Red Star Over Asia interviews Sun Cheol, who explains how the South Korean climate justice movement emerged out of tensions with the broader environmental movement's reluctance to confront "green capital," building ties with trade unions and social movements, the historical role global solidarity played, as well as resisting co-option by the state. Sun Chul is a climate activist and organizer Public Policy Institute for the People/사회공공연구원 http://m.ppip.or.kr/ Energy Labor Social Network/에너지노동사회네트워크 https://www.enosa.kr/

We are back after a long hiatus, with a brilliant guest to discuss China, a topic many of our listeners have long asked us to cover. Our guest is Yueran Zhang is a PhD student in sociology at UC-Berkeley studying workers democracy movements in China, particularly in the 1970s-1980s. This episode was initially intended to be focused on the specific era of workers' self-organization in the late 1970s-1980s, but our guest also gave a brilliant schematic overview of the Chinese Revolution, the Mao era, the Deng led 'reform' period and how workers organized throughtout, all the way up to the present. This episode therefore serves as a great introduction to PRC politics generally. You can find his work and contact info here: https://sociology.berkeley.edu/graduate-student/yueran-zhang https://jacobin.com/author/yueran-zhang

Both Koreas have a historically frought relationship with Japan, due to the history of colinization. Beginning in the late 19th century, there were waves of Korean immigration to Japan. This accelerated dramatically with Japan's formal annexation of the Korean pennisula in the early 20th century. In Japan today, the descendants of these Koreas are known as Zainichi. We are joined on this episode by our friend Haruki Eda, a third generation Zainichi. We talked about the complex and fascinating history of Koreans in Japan, the politics of the community, how this diaspora relates to both North and South Korea, and so much more. Haruki Eda is an interdisplinary social scientist specializing in ethnicity and nationalism, international political economy, gender/sexuality, and cultural ecology. He recently completed his PhD in Sociology at Rutgers University and is preparing to publish his first book, Queer Unification: Community and Healing in the Korean Diaspora. He is also an activist with the U.S. based Korean organization Nodutdol, comprised of diasproic Koreans and organizing for a world free of imperialism, and for Korea’s re/unification and national liberation. You can follow him on Twitter @zainichipoetics and check out his website here: https://www.harukieda.com/ And follow Notdutdol on twitter @https://nodutdol.org/ and their website: https://nodutdol.org/ ​

The South Korean intelligence services and police raided the headquarters of a major umbrella labor union in central Seoul in late January 2023, on dubious suspicion that some members had violated national security laws. This is the audio version of a recent video livestream correct the record and discuss how this is an attack on South Korea's young democracy that risks dragging us back to the dark times of military dictatorship.

This is audio from a live stream on the South Korea truckers strike. In November, South Korean cargo truckers representated by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) launched a nationwide strike around the extension of a minumum wage guarantee and related work safety issues. The Yoon administration has responded aggressively, issuing an executive order for truckers to return to work or face steep fines, possible jail time and other penalities. In response, KCTU held a one day all-union national strike on Tuesday, December 6th. Joining for this special livestream to help us understand the strike and what's at stake are: Yeonwoo Choi, a student activist and organizer in Seoul Sanggu Gang, a member of KCTU's young wing in Busan Bori, a co-host of Red Star Over Asia, but also currently a staff organizer for KCTU in Seoul, so he will also be sharing his analysis.

We're thrilled to present this new epsiode with Joe Buckley, author of a fascinating new book, 'Vietnamese Labour Militancy: Capital-labour antagonisms and self-organised struggles' Vietnam has been undergoing significant changes, with a new Labour code that became law in 2021 allowing workers to join ‘worker representative organisations. Together with the increasing penetration of global capital into Vietnam, the situation in the country rasies a lot of interesting questions. And it's quite difficult to get solid, Marxist analysis of Vietnamese labor and social movements in English, so we were thrilled to have this conversation with Joe and we think you will find it insightful as well. Slight disclaimer, we did have some tech equipment and connections issues on both ends so it's not the clearest audio, but we did clean up the majority of the background noise in post-production. It's certainly very listenable and you, like us, will learn a lot from Joe's analysis! Joe Buckley received his PhD from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, UK and recently published a book: Vietnamese Labour Militancy Capital-labour antagonisms and self-organised struggles. He is a labour consultant focusing on Southeast Asia and has written and taught widely on labour issues in the region, especially Vietnam. You can find him on Twitter here: @JoeJBBuckley And check out his book: https://www.routledge.com/Vietnamese-Labour-Militancy-Capital-labour-antagonisms-and-self-organised/Buckley/p/book/9781032003139 And a recent article from him on Vietnam's labor reforms: https://thediplomat.com/2021/12/the-limits-of-vietnams-labor-reforms/

This is the raw audio/podcast version of a YouTube livestream recorded the evening of 3/8/22 (election night), before the results were announced. We are posting this the morning of 3/9/22 and we now know that Yoon Suk-yeol, the main conservative candidate, is South Korea's President-elect and will take office in May. However, much of the commentary and analysis here is still very relevant and worth listening to. We discussed how the campaign played out, major themes of it, and most importantly, what the terrain of struggle will look like over the next five years for the South Korean left and social movements + much more! We'd like to thank special guest Dae-han Song of the International Strategy Center for joining us on the stream. To find out more about International Strategy Center, check out their website here: https://www.goisc.org/home

Vladimir Tikhonov, also known by his pen name Pak Noja/박노자, is a Russian-born scholar of Korean Studies and a Professor at the University of Oslo in Norway. He has written numerous articles and books on Korean politics, particularly on the history and legacy of Korean socialist and Communist movements. His lastest book (currently only available in Korean) is available here: https://tinyurl.com/2p95684y In this episode, building upon our previous discussions with Owen Miller (see our episodes 'Early Korean Communism Pts I and II), we talk about the general arch, legacies and lessons of Korean Marxism and socialism of the 20th century. Pak Noja is also a member of the Labor Party (South Korea)/노동당 and you can find many of his articles in English here: https://uio.academia.edu/VladimirTikhonov He's also on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vladimir.tikhonov.5

This is part two of a two-part episode. Part one covered the origins of the Korean Communist movement and how they survived multiple splits and waves of repression by the Japanese Empire. Now, with part two, we jump forward to 1945. World War II has just ended, taking the Japanese Empire with it. Korean communists have to deal with occupying American and Soviet armies, which help create the conditions for the long-term division of the peninsula. We also cover figures such as Pak Hon-yong (a prominent leader of the South Korean Workers Party) and the purges that plagued the movement in 1955. The history of Korean Communism has long been obscured by the myth making of anticommunist regimes in the South, but also in the North, where Korean leftists outside of the partisan tradition have been erased. Owen Miler is a professor at SOAS University of London. His current research interests include: the social and economic history of 19th and 20th century Korea; urban history; Korean nationalist and Marxist historiographies; the economic history of North Korea; and state formation in Northeast Asia. You can find him on twitter @SOASModernKorea or at his faculty page here: https://www.soas.ac.uk/staff/staff31439.php

The history of Korean Communism has long been obscured by the myth making of anticommunist regimes in the South, but also in the North, where Korean leftists outside of the partisan tradition have been erased. In the first part of this interview with historian Owen Miller, we uncover the birthplace of Korean communism in the expatriate communities in Siberia and Manchuria, review how fair Korean communists reputation for factionalism was, and their stubborn rise through the height of Japanese repression. Owen Miler is a professor at SOAS University of London. His current research interests include: the social and economic history of 19th and 20th century Korea; urban history; Korean nationalist and Marxist historiographies; the economic history of North Korea; and state formation in Northeast Asia. You can find him on twitter @SOASModernKorea or at his faculty page here: https://www.soas.ac.uk/staff/staff31439.php

For this episode, the crew discuss two recent articles. The first, 'The Specificity of Imperialism' by Salar Mohandesi, engages with some recent debates around whether 'imperialism' is still a relevant concept for understanding contemporary capitalism. In the second piece, 'Towards an East Asian Solidarity from Below', South Korean militant Myungkyo Hong argues in favor of a recalibrated internationalism 'from below' and puts forward his own understanding of East Asia as both a geopolitical identity and a unique terrain of class struggle. We chat about some of the various issues these provocative articles bring up and more, enjoy! The articles discussed: https://viewpointmag.com/2018/02/01/the-specificity-of-imperialism/ http://platformc.kr/2021/07/towards-an-east-asian-solidarity-from-below/

This is part two of a two-part episode with Sofia Japardize, a labor activist based in Tblisi, Georgia. Before preceding, we highly recommend hitting the pause button and starting with part 1! Georgia is in some ways ‘a land between’. Red Star tends to focus on East Asian topics, but we had the opportunity to have on a good friend of the show, Sopo Japardize. She's a labor organizer based in Tblisi, Georiga, a fascinating country located at the nexus of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Most listeners will probably know Georgia as the former USSR republic. Sopo and her comrades host a great podcast focused on this legacy called ‘Reimagining Soviet Georgia’, links to which are below. In this two part episode, we talk about the legacy of Soviet Georgia, the country’s experience having been the laboratory for the darkest fantasies of US libertarian think tanks following the socialist bloc collapse in the early 90s, and contemporary social movements in the country. In part 2, we get more into how the new left is attempting to forge and independent path between NATO expansionism from the West and the cynical transgressions of Russia’s oligarchy from the East. Sopo Japardize is on at Twitter @sopjap Her podcast Reimagining Soviet Gerogia is available here: https://anchor.fm/sovietgeorgia/ You can also check out her written work at Open Democracy and Jacobin: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/author/sopiko-japaridze/ https://jacobinmag.com/author/sopiko-japaridze

For this episode, we go to the far Western edges of ‘Asia’, the Republic of Georgia. Georgia is in some ways ‘a land between’. Red Star tends to focus on East Asian topics, but we had the opportunity to have on a good friend of the show, Sopo Japardize. She's a labor organizer based in Tblisi, Georiga, a fascinating country located at the nexus of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Most listeners will probably know Georgia as the former USSR republic. Sopo and her comrades host a great podcast focused on this legacy called ‘Reimagining Soviet Georgia’, links to which are below. In this two part episode, we talk about the legacy of Soviet Georgia, the country’s experience having been the laboratory for the darkest fantasies of US libertarian think tanks following the socialist bloc collapse in the early 90s, and contemporary social movements in the country. In part 2, we get more into how the new left is attempting to forge and independent path between NATO expansionism from the West and the cynical transgressions of Russia’s oligarchy from the East. Sopo Japardize is on at Twitter @sopjap Her podcast Reimagining Soviet Gerogia is available here: https://anchor.fm/sovietgeorgia/ You can also check out her written work at Open Democracy and Jacobin: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/author/sopiko-japaridze/ https://jacobinmag.com/author/sopiko-japaridze

This is part 2 of a two-part episode on Cuba with Rodrigo Huamachi. We recommend listening to part 1 first! Part 1 of our discussion focused on the history and legacy of the Cuban Revolution, as well as the structure and dynamics of Cuba's political and electoral system. Here in part 2, we cover the recent July 2021 protest wave in Cuba and unpack some of the false media narratives around it. We also talk about how the Chinese and Vietnamese models are influencing debates within the Cuban Communist Party, and dig in to some of the internal contradictions facing Cuba as it adapts socialism for the 21st century Rodrigo Huamachi is a community activist, member of the Cuban Communist Party, independent researcher, and translator based in Havana.

We're back for Season 2 with an epic two-part episode on Cuba! You might be asking yourself, "this is ‘Red Star Over Asia’, why is there an episode about Cuba?" Well, the Cuban Revolution has had a profound impact all over the world. Cuba historically supported anti-colonial colonial movements in Asia, Africa etc. and the Cuban experience offers a lot of lessons for socialists anywhere on the globe. We invited Rodridgo Huamachi on to discuss how the Chinese and Vietnamese models are influencing debates within the Cuban Communist Party, but our discussion went way beyond that. Part 1 is a deep dive history of the Cuban Revolution and a breakdown of Cuba’s political and electoral system. Part II deals with the recent protests in Cuba, as well as contemporary debates within the CCP. Rodrigo Huamachi is a community activist, member of the Cuban Communist Party, independent researcher, and translator based in Havana. This is part one of a two part episode.

May 18th is the anniversary of the Gwangju Uprising, when the citizens of Gwangju launched an armed uprising against South Korea’s military regime. On October 26, 1979, South Korea's longtime military dictator, Park Chung Hee was assassinated by his own head of secret police, ending the infamous Yushin regime. However, in December of that year, General Chun Do Hwan, chief of South Korea's internal security seized power in his own coup d'tat. On May 15 1980, students in Seoul organized mass demonstrations demanding an end to Martial Law, which had been declared after Park's assassination. Chun responded by expanding martial law to the whole nation, including the island of Jejudo. Student leaders decided to end the protests in order to discuss their next moves. Protests stopped everywhere, except for one city, Gwangju, the regional capital of the backwater Jeolla region. Kap Seol, a former South Korean activist (now based in the U.S.) and lead translator of the 'Gwangju Diaries', joins us this week to commemorate the legacy of the uprising on its anniversary. You can download the 'Gwangju Diaries' (in both English and Korean) for free here: http://eng.518.org/sub.php?PID=0401&page=&category=&searchText=&searchType=&action=Read&idx=583 We also recommend reading Kap Seol's recent Jacobin article about the struggle for and emergence of South Korean 'democracy': https://www.jacobinmag.com/2020/06/gwangju-uprising-korean-war-seventieth-anniversary

(This is part 2 of a 2 part discussion. We highly recommend listening to part 1 before starting this episode). In February of 2021, Myanmar's military leadership annulled the results of a general election and removed the National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Aung San Suu Kyi, from power. Popular resistance immediately erupted in response to the coup, but the military has responded with an increasingly violent crackdown. The military has dominated politics in Myanmar for decades, with NLD and Suu Kyi having long been the darlings of Western liberals (the latter enjoying an almost saintly media status for a time). But what is really going on here? Geoff Aung joins us this week to discuss the coup, growing resistance, as well as the broader political context that set the stage for these events. We cover a lot of ground - everything from how Myanmar's colonial past still haunts the present to the history of Burmese left. Geoff Aung is a PhD candidate in Anthropology at Columbia University, with a research focus on Southern Myanmar. You can follow him on Twitter @Rgnhardliner Also check out some of his recent writings: Keep the Streets: Coup, Crisis and Capital in Myanmar: https://spectrejournal.com/keep-the-streets-coup-crisis-and-capitalism-in-myanmar/ Dead Generations: https://nplusonemag.com/online-only/online-only/dead-generations/ And for more general background on Myanmar/Burma: https://newleftreview.org/issues/ii60/articles/mary-callahan-myanmar-s-perpetual-junta

In February of 2021, Myanmar's military leadership annulled the results of a general election and removed the National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Aung San Suu Kyi, from power. Popular resistance immediately erupted in response to the coup, but the military has responded with an increasingly violent crackdown. The military has dominated politics in Myanmar for decades, with NLD and Suu Kyi having long been the darlings of Western liberals (the latter enjoying an almost saintly media status for a time). But what is really going on here? Geoff Aung joins us this week to discuss the coup, growing resistance, as well as the broader political context that set the stage for these events. We cover a lot of ground - everything from how Myanmar's colonial past still haunts the present to the history of Burmese left. Geoff Aung is a PhD candidate in Anthropology at Columbia University, with a research focus on Southern Myanmar. You can follow him on Twitter @Rgnhardliner Also check out some of his recent writings: Keep the Streets: Coup, Crisis and Capital in Myanmar: https://spectrejournal.com/keep-the-streets-coup-crisis-and-capitalism-in-myanmar/ Dead Generations: https://nplusonemag.com/online-only/online-only/dead-generations/ And for more general background on Myanmar/Burma: https://newleftreview.org/issues/ii60/articles/mary-callahan-myanmar-s-perpetual-junta (This is part 1 of a 2 part episode, so stay tuned for part 2 next week!)

The panel (minus Jay - he was out sick for this episode) discusses the nature of anti-Asian racism in the U.S., in the aftermath of the March 16th Atlanta shootings. *Disclaimer*: this was recorded in the immediate aftermath of those tragic events, when details were unclear. Please excuse any factual inaccuracies in our description of the shooting. That aside, we think you will find the general discussion interesting and useful. During the show, we mentioned ways to concretely assist anti-racist organizing. Donating to the South Korean Migrant Workers Union is one of those. Please contribute to one of the organizations here, if you're able: https://twitter.com/chaiwalla5/status/1376859990464425994?s=20