A true champion of the working class and gender equality. Woman. Mother. Wife. Comrade.
SIMPLE. Jin Sook laughed easily, belting out a roar, face turning crimson, hands clapping, after hearing a funny story or a good joke. Her tastes were simple. Like most people, she preferred simple home cooking and her own bed, especially after long travels. Our apartment was always clean, comfortable, and minimal. Her clothes dated back many years and sometimes decades, and her accessories were few (her most prized accessory being the zirconia earrings I bought for her in Frankfurt, Germany during the 2004 Book Fair). She liked bags but usually toted around things she had collected from labor events over the years. She liked being home, doing nothing. She enjoyed walks. Mostly, she enjoyed being around us, her family, even if we didn’t speak, didn’t do anything, just occupying the same space. Watching a movie at home or a murder-mystery serial was our usual entertainment.
COMPLEX. She was deeply immersed in major issues, such as: changing geopolitics and resulting threads of impact on women and migrant workers; the difficulties of lending support to vulnerable workers with finite resources of time, funding, and people; evolving labor movements in South Korea, United States, Europe, and elsewhere. She was always seeking and absorbing information, analyses, and insights about moving variables that ultimately affect workers. Racking her brain, she tried to devise a road map for various situations, looking for actionable practice that would have an immediate impact and contribute to a longer-term goal. She often verbalized these thoughts to the family, mostly me, to just listen and occasionally react. After returning home from field visits or major events, she emptied her bag of experiences and observations as she emptied her luggage of goodies that she bought for the family. She always had many heartwarming or heartbreaking stories about the workers with whom she organized. She told many stories, some as ongoing saga, about her fellow activists/organizers. Ambet (Yuson), BWI colleagues in headquarters and the regions, Rita (Schiavi), Peo (Per-Olof Sjöö), Gail (Cartmail), Kirsty (Drew), Chidi (King), Bill (Street), Carmel (Abao), Elizabeth (Tang), and many others have become famous names in our household.
FOCUSED. As her husband, I sometimes got upset with her, because I saw her running on empty, running on fume. I tried to be gentle, diplomatic, or forceful, asking, sometimes demanding, that she be selfish and put her health before anything else. But she was always focused on her work, which was almost always connected to workers struggling at their respective work sites.
Seven years ago, during her breast cancer treatment, which started with the gift of a cancer diagnosis on our 20th wedding anniversary, Jin Sook and I played hide-and-seek in our small apartment, where she often snuck away during family movie or TV time to make a call or email someone. Not understanding her motivation and always concerned about her health during that period of intense chemotherapy, I tried to coax her into surrendering her mobile phone and laptop, sometimes threatening her with an ultimatum: I would move the family to a remote mountain cottage without electricity if the phone and laptop remained turned on. This was playful initially but became a little heated after her calls became more frequent and her voice became more intense. Eventually, she explained to me about the preparations for World Cup 2022 in Qatar, about the significance and magnitude of launching a sports campaign to safeguard basic worker rights for thousands, about the immense challenge of building dialogue and cooperation with the Qatari government and FIFA while also coordinating with global trade unions and key leaders, and about the day-to-day struggles of migrant workers at the construction sites in Qatar. Her passion and sincerity silenced me, once again.
Early this year, when her endometrial cancer returned after the final treatment had ended just two-and-half months before, she struggled with intense pain and fear, plagued by the thought of another grueling round of treatment and the possibility that she might not be so fortunate this time. And yet, I saw her on the phone and typing away on her laptop. This time, I was angry. I demanded that she stop everything and rest. Clearly fatigued and struggling to maintain focus, she said migrant workers in Qatar were quarantined due to the Covid-19 lockdown. Their tight living quarters put every one of them in danger, so she searched for both solutions and people able to make a difference. In a frail voice, she said, “Who is going to protect these workers?”
BASIC. Oftentimes, Jin Sook’s words were few in describing her childhood, her upbringing. Over the years, she told me in bits and pieces about her mother’s death, which happened when she was age 15 and her sisters were ages 14 and 12. As a young teenager, who typically needs a mother’s warmth and care, she assumed the unenviable role of being surrogate mother to her sisters. Feeling empty and overwhelmed, everything was difficult, even cooking the next meal. And she carried a deep sorrow of losing her mother under difficult circumstances. But she worked hard on everything required of her as a sister, university student, young feminist/activist, grassroots organizer, and trade union campaigner, starting in Canada, then in the United States, South Korea, and Switzerland.
I think she saw pieces of herself in women and migrant workers. Of course, she acknowledged she was privileged, compared to workers toiling in foreign lands, earning meager wages that sustain their families back home. But she identified with the pain of family separation and one’s longing for a loved one. Through her own immigrant experiences in Canada, she understood some of their struggles, in trying to adapt to different cultures, languages, rules, and norms. Most of all, she saw them simply as people with families, as someone’s wife or husband, mother or father, sister or brother, no different from her or anyone in this world. To her, lending support to women and migrant workers was both necessary and natural. To her, what really mattered the most was workers receiving fair wages on time and returning to their families unharmed. She never lost sight of those most basic and sacred objectives. The endless back-and-forths with governments, organizations, and people about international standards and protocols, agreements, site visits, etc. were all necessary parts of a journey that should end with the fulfillment of those objectives. If those objectives were not met—when workers were not paid their fair share for their hard work, when workers were injured, when workers died at job sites—she exploded with rage and anguished for the workers and their families. It was as though she had failed and everyone and every organization involved in the journey had also failed. Conversely, if workers received fair compensation and completed stadiums and other structures without accident or death, if safety and training and decent work conditions were met, she breathed a sigh of relief and looked forward to another day of striving toward those objectives for workers so far away from home.
When Jin Sook was young, she dreamed of traveling the world. She eventually lived the life she wanted. She loved her family; she raised two independent young women; and she saw the world, the whole wide world, not as a tourist or bystander, but as someone striving to make it fair, just, and humane.
Kyung Kyu Lim
28 April 2020, Geneva
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About |
|---|---|
| Name | Jin Sook Lee |
| Date of Birth | 1966 |
| Date of Death | April 7th, 2020 |
| Interests | Trade unionism, Gender equality and feminism, migrant workers’ rights, Occupational health and safety, sports and human rights, forest certification and labor rights, MNC and labour rights |
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Milestones |
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| 1985 - 1989 | University of Toronto, Bachelor of Arts | ||
| 1989 - 2002 | Member, Young Koreans United (YKU) | ||
| 1990 - 1993 | Program Director, Korea Information and Resource Center (KIRC) | ||
| 1998 - 1999 | Logistics Coordinator, AFL CIO | ||
| 1999 - 2003 | Executive Director, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA) | ||
| 2006 - 2009 | International Director, Korean Federation of Construction Industries Trade Union | ||
| 2009 - 2020 | Global Migration, Gender, Campaign Director, Building and Wood Workers International (BWI) | ||
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published a tribute .
Dear Kyung Kyu, I am only now learning that Jin Sook Unni passed away. Can you please contact me? I am so deeply saddened and shocked. She was such a wonderful, special person - one of the most caring people I ever met in my life. I am in total disbelief right now.
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published a tribute .
Jin Sook Lee con amigos y compañeros del SUNTRACS de Panamá. Ecuador 2016
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published a tribute .
Varias fotos con Jin Sook Lee de septiembre de 2016 en Quito, Ecuador cuando participamos como BWI y afiliadas de Panamá, Argentina, Brasil y Ecuador en el Foro de Naciones Unidas sobre Migración y Desarrollo
published a comment .
Ernesto Marval BWI AL&C, Jin Sook Lee BWI Global, Per Olof Sjoo Presidetn of BWI, and Nilton Freitas BWI AL&C Regional Representative in Habitat III of UN, Quito, Ecuador 2016
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published a tribute .
2015. Nicaragua
Después de una actividad de trabajo, Jin Sook acompañó al staff de la ICM de América Latina y el Caribe a conocer un poco de Nicaragua. Esta foto fue tomada mientras estábamos en una lancha, en uno de los tantos lagos de Nicaragua
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published a tribute .
2016, España.
Jin Sook Lee junto a las mujeres jóvenes del staff global de la ICM en ese momento
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published a tribute .
En 2016. Reunión del Staff Global de la ICM en España. Después de nuestras sesiones de trabajo, fuismos todos juntos a marchar
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Jin Sook (pregnant with Hansoo) and AFL-CIO comrades. (May 1999)
When she was Executive Director of Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), she launched an aggressive campaign to seek out and network with Asian American members of various unions that belonged to the AFL-CIO. She organized conferences to bring Asian American members together to hear them and give voice to their issues.
When her work was beginning to bear fruit, our family relocated to Daejeon, South Korea. She agreed to leave APALA to honor my decision of working in Korea. Seven years later, I reciprocated by following her to Geneva in 2010.
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YKU in the US hosted visits by many activists from South Korea.
One such group was Tobakyi (“Hometown Son/Daughter”), which was a progressive theater company that created and staged plays about the Gwangju People’s Uprising of 18 May 1980. YKU organized Tobakyi’s North American tour in 1994 and 1996. The director, Hyo Sun Park (far right) was one of the leaders during the uprising. He and his comrades staged a final stand in the city hall, which was violently overtaken by paratroopers. Many of his comrades died during the gun battle. Those who survived were arrested and brutally tortured, including Park. Many sustained permanent physical and psychological damage, preventing them from functioning in society. After several years in prison, Park returned to Gwangju and resumed his activism, this time through writing and theater.
He passed away in 1998 (age 44), leaving behind a young wife and children. He was buried in Mangwoldong cemetery in Gwangju, joining his comrades of the uprising.
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YKU brought out the best in Jin Sook. She was tested again and again, as she pushed herself to take on bigger challenges.
Some members of YKU’s Washington DC chapter.
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Jin Sook at Oberlin College (Ohio) in 1991.
She spoke at universities about Korea’s division and the need for peaceful reunification. She also spoke about international solidarity with peace and democratic movements around the world.
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Jin Sook is speaking at an event commemorating the Kwangju (Gwangju) People’s Uprising of May 1980. (May 1992)
After South Korea’s military dictator Park Chung-hee was assassinated in October 1979, the military staged a coup d’état headed by Chun Doo-hwan, who eventually strong-armed his way to become president. Following Park’s death, South Korea’s democratic movement so brutally oppressed by Park, staged rallies and protests across the country, demanding a democratic transition of power and rule. Chun, then leader of the military junta, responded by sending troops to various cities. In May 1980, he sent paratroopers to the city of Gwangju to wipe out all democratic protests and activities. The troops entered the city with tanks, helicopters, and heavy weapons. Hundreds (and later thousands) were killed, beaten, and raped during the military attacks. However, Gwangju for 10 days (from May 18 to 27) remained liberated from military dictatorship as the citizens rallied together and peacefully ran the entire city. On the 27th, the military overtook the city. Over 5,000 citizens were killed during the 10 days of attacks.
The Gwangju People’s Uprising of 18 May 1980 eventually gave birth to a new generation of activism in South Korea.
One of the activists from Gwangju, who was declared public enemy number one by Chun Doo-hwan’s government, fled to the US and formed Young Koreans United (YKU). He lit the fire of activism among many young people of Korean ancestry in the US, Canada, Germany, and Australia. Jin Sook was one of them.
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In October 1991, YKU staged a hunger strike across from the UN in New York to bring attention to Korea’s division. Because a peace treaty was never signed to end the Korean War (1950-1953), the two Koreas are still technically at war. The areas adjoining the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), separating the two Koreas, has the highest concentration of weapons and military presence in the world.
After the Korean War, the US military, representing the UN, deployed nuclear weapons in South Korea. In 1991, President George H. W. Bush announced the withdrawal of land-based and naval nuclear weapons. In recent years, North Korea became a nuclear-weapon state.
The Korean peninsula is a ‘powder keg.’ It was especially so during the early 90s when North Korea refused International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA’s) special inspections and threatened to leave the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). Tensions are still high between the two Koreas.
Jin Sook takes a break after helping activists with their hunger strike.
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Young Koreans United (YKU), Amnesty International, and other organizations exposed South Korea’s dirty secret: people imprisoned for decades for their political belief under the notorious National Security Law.
One political prisoner of conscience was Kim Sun Myung who in 1992 had been imprisoned for 41 years. He was arrested in 1951 during the Korean war. Motivated by ideology, Kim, who was born and raised in southern Korea, had joined the northern army when the Korean War started in 1950.
After he was captured, Kim was subjected to torture and starvation over many years. With beatings and starvation, the jailers forced Kim to denounce his ideology. But he did not relent. Many of his friends and comrades, subjected to the same horrific conditions, died in prison. Kim was freed in 1995, after 43 years and 10 months of solitary confinement.
Jin Sook spoke about South Korea’s political prisoners at a YKU-organized event in Washington DC. (1992)
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I don’t know whether her trip to India happened before or after forming a Korean-Canadian women’s group.
No matter… I love this photo for her beautiful innocence.
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published a tribute .
FYI: Videos are uploaded in the "MEMENTOS" menu near Jin Sook's photo near the top.
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published a tribute .
This woman, my colleague and comrade, who remains in my memory beautiful,clever and ambitious, left so quickly and definitively. Jin continues to infuse us with her energy and strength, to guide us in our choices while being alongside Esther whom she loved so much.
Jin Sook loved Esther.
Esther had dinner at our house before leaving for a period of rest and reflection at a remote cottage in Valais, Switzerland. What a lovely person she was!
Jin Sook often talked about how brilliant she was. Mostly, Jin Sook said Esther was one of the kindest persons she has ever met.
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published a tribute .
One of my favorite photos of Jin Sook, but not her favorite.
This picture was taken in Bassins (not far from Anita’s house) on our way back to Geneva after our family trip to Gruyères (where the famous cheese is made). A few weeks later, on the day of our 20th wedding anniversary, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
This photo reminds me of how beautiful and energetic she was even though her body was engaged in a bitter war against cancer that was particularly difficult to treat.
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published a tribute .
Jin Sook, one year on and you are as missed as ever. I very much miss our phone calls, our laughter, our shared disbelief at some turn of event. You were always at the end other end of a phone call, if I wanted to think something through. Or just have a chat. So grateful for the break in Paris. You live on. Your legacy lives on. Much love
She spoke fondly of the time she spent with you and Kirsty in Paris.
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published a tribute .
We will always miss your smiles, assuring us that all is well! Long live the Spirit of Jin Sook Lee long live!
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published a tribute .
I met Jin Sook and her family just over 10 years ago. Both our families had just arrived in Switzerland. We met by chance, thanks to our son, and have become very good friends since.
Meeting Jin Sook and her family was always pleasure and a moment to look forward to. I really enjoyed our conversations and Jin Sook opened my eyes on many issues she was fighting for and which we don't always comprehend. She was truly and sincerely passionate about the causes she was defending and her passion was contagious. I also remember lighter conversations where Jin Sook proved to be funny and full of humour.
I am sure that all the people who had the privilege to know her miss her dearly as I am sure she continues to look after the less fortunate, like she always did, from where she is.
Jin Sook always looked forward to seeing you and your lovely family. Your wife was like a sister to us. (She still is to me!) We really enjoyed watching your son and daughter reaching various milestones in life.
Jin Sook and I often talked about the great fortune of meeting some of the nicest people in the world here in Geneva. Your family and other families we’ve met in the past 10 years made us feel at home here.
published a comment .
한번도 뵌 적은 없지만, 세상 사람들을 위해서 자신의 몸도 돌보지 않으시고 봉사하셨던 분이라 들었습니다. 이 진자 숙자 선생님께 삼가 머리숙여 경의를 표합니다. 언제나 사람들 곁에서 사람들과 함께 하려 하셨던 높은 뜻을 후세 사람으로써 인생의 후배로써 잘 받들어 앞으로 세상 사람들을 살리는 대의로 삼겠습니다. 언젠가는 하늘에서 같이 뵙겠지요. 항상 임경규 팀장님과 아이들을 지켜주시고 천상에서 의통성업을 집행하는 조화정부에서 큰 일 해주시리라 믿습니다. 멀리서나마 두손모아 기도올립니다.
살아생전에 세상의 약자들을 위해 주야가 없이 활동하며 지구촌을 누비고 다녔습니다. 그동안 살아오면서 겪었던 아픔과 고통을 벗어버리고 천상에서 천하를 위해 활동하며 저를 많이 도와줄 겁니다.
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published a tribute .
Remembering Jinsook
By Annie de Leon-Yuson
I remember Jin with fondness and admiration.
To me, she was not just Ambet’s colleague who he frequently talked with on the phone discussing migrant workers’ campaigns. More than that, Jin was a friend, a co-mother, and an activist with a purpose.
As a friend, I recall her sending me a cooked meal during the time I just had a leg injury, knowing the challenge of having to prepare family meals with my impediment. Having a common fondness for Asian food, she would send me Korean cuisine recipes and delight us with some Japanese pastries from her trip.
As a co-mother, I cherish our exchanges and challenges on finding ways and means on raising our kids to thrive and succeed with confidence in an international environment.
And finally, as an activist, I take inspiration in witnessing her inner strength and determined effort to overcome her illness with a steady calm, so that she could continue with the bigger battle of fighting for the migrant workers rights. She was the epitome of a graceful warrior, kind and human yet strong and relentless.
Jin was like a sister , a kindred spirt and a kind soul, full of life and hope until the end. Thank you Jin for touching our lives and making a difference in improving the lives of the migrant workers.
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published a tribute .
Reflect frequently on the influence and impact Jin Sook Lee had on me. Lucky enough to have worked with her and learnt so much in her company. Stolen too early from her family, friends and our movement. Her contribution to our class and our memories are her lasting legacy and our inheritance. But, typically, Jin Sook would say about such warm words ‘Yes, that’s nice but what are you going to do now’? Miss you Sister. X
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published a tribute .
Agradezco a esta incansable mujer por ser un ejemplo de lucha, fortalesa, humildad y devoción confio en Dios Todopoderoso la premiará en cielo. Gracias por todo.
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published a tribute .
Honor y Gloria a la Compañera Jim Sook, en vida luchó junto al proletariado en defensas de sus intereses en distintas partes del mundo, su legado es inspiración para la lucha de miles de obreros del mundo,!Hasta la Victoria Jin
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published a tribute .
Il est encore difficile pour moi d’accepter que cette femme, ma collègue et camarade, belle, intelligente, et ambitieuse, et qui avait tout pour elle, soit partie si rapidement et définitivement. Ses précieuses idées et conseils nous manquent certes, mais elle reste toujours bien présente dans mon quotidien et dans ma mémoire aux côtés d’Esther qu’elle appréciait tant.
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published a tribute .
Mesmo sem ter conhecido Jin Sook Lee pessoalmente, conheço seu legado, sonhos e realizações não só na ICM, mas em benefício da classe trabalhadrora do mundo. Por isso eu a admiro e sinto que está e estará viva em cada conquista dos trabalhadores e trabalhadoras. Jin Sook, presente!
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Death is nothing at all.
It does not count.
I have only slipped away into the next room.
Nothing has happened.
Everything remains exactly as it was.
I am I, and you are you,
and the old life that we lived so fondly together is untouched, unchanged.
Whatever we were to each other, that we are still.
Call me by the old familiar name.
Speak of me in the easy way which you always used.
Put no difference into your tone.
Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow.
Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes that we enjoyed together.
Play, smile, think of me, pray for me.
Let my name be ever the household word that it always was.
Let it be spoken without an effort, without the ghost of a shadow upon it.
Life means all that it ever meant.
It is the same as it ever was.
There is absolute and unbroken continuity.
What is this death but a negligible accident?
Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight?
I am but waiting for you, for an interval,
somewhere very near,
just round the corner.
All is well.
Nothing is hurt; nothing is lost.
One brief moment and all will be as it was before.
How we shall laugh at the trouble of parting when we meet again!
Death Is Nothing At All
- By Henry Scott-Holland
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Remembering Jinsook
By Ambet Yuson
We have lost Jinsook. Twice, she fought cancer. The first time, after an excruciating ordeal, she won. The second battle, she lost.
We also lost. For me, it is a huge personal loss. She was a dear friend who shared my load and re-charged my batteries when times were tough. She was trustworthy, selfless and loyal.
Jin was so loyal that she would tell me, usually nicely, if she thought I was making mistakes. She would even criticise my choice of neckties.
Jin died young. However, her life was so intense that she lived as much as three normal people.
Her passion, her outrage, and her sense of justice never flagged.
Jin has left us, but she will live on in all of us who were lucky enough to know her. But she also touched the lives of many thousands who never met her or knew her name.
One day, migrant workers in Qatar will have free trade unions and this will spread to the rest of the Gulf countries.
Jin’s energy and resolve and talents have also meant progress for migrants elsewhere in the world and on global policy. Her leadership was not just for BWI, but for the global trade union movement.
BWI has few women workers in its sectors compared other global unions and yet we have helped make great progress in developing women leaders. A lot of credit must be given to Jin.
Not only did she believe that injustices to women must be corrected, but she helped ensure that gender was not an add-on but at the heart of BWI strategies.
All of these campaigns and other efforts were about human rights. Jin never thought that our job was to protect workers. Instead, our mission was to protect their rights so that they would have the power to protect themselves, every day, on the job, and in their communities.
She will remain in our hearts and stay at our sides in our struggle for social justice, freedom, and dignity.
We will miss Jin.
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Hi Ambet,
Sometimes you were more popular in our household than me. She always talked about you and your commitment to everything you did with utmost respect and affection. Her loyalty to you and BWI meant long hours, day and night, on the phone or laptop. She lived the way she did due to her activism and her belief in BWI’s mission.
You were always her friend!
Kyung Kyu
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published a tribute .
Jin Sook was more than a work colleague to me. She was a friend and a very committed woman with whom I shared many values. At first I had a hard time imagining the continuation of the union work without Jin. But I think it is in Jin's spirit that we continue her work with great commitment. This is what she would have wanted. Her memory gives me strength for our struggle for a better and fairer world.
Rita,
You occupied a big space in her heart. She loved you very much!
Kyung Kyu
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published a tribute .
Defending the rights of migrant workers and voicing their aspirations at every floor of the GFMD and related forums.
Long live Comrade!
May your Soul Rest In Peace!
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Representing YKU, she joined a delegation of US activists to visit the Zapatistas in Chiapas, Mexico in 1991 (maybe 1992), near the onset of their armed struggle against their oppressive local and federal governments.
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Jin Sook joined Young Koreans United (YKU) in 1989. YKU was a grassroots activist organization that sought to advance peace and reunification of Korea. Founded in Los Angeles with chapters in various cities in the U.S., Canada, Germany, and Australia, YKU participated in the peace movement of those countries and collaborated with solidarity organizations that promoted peace, freedom, democracy, and self-determination in South Africa, Palestine, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and elsewhere.
She was transferred from YKU’s Toronto chapter to Korea Information and Resource Center (KIRC) in Washington, DC. KIRC was the ‘lobby’ wing of YKU. Jin Sook endured nearly four grueling years of networking with DC activists, helping organize the anti-war movement during the 1990-1991 Gulf War, publicizing Korea’s issues of division and ongoing status of war, de facto U.S. military colonialism of South Korea, and government crackdown of activists in South Korea. She was always poor, because she wasn’t paid (in fact, she had to pay member dues every month and give money to various organizing campaigns), and she always gave all of herself to whatever KIRC and YKU initiated (sounds familiar?). She contributed in many, many ways. For example, she and her colleagues helped free political prisoners in South Korea by enlisting support from the US activist community and from liberal political officials in the federal government.
I joined YKU in early 1990. We met at our annual conference, called ‘the October Conference,’ held in New York that year. Mutual attraction was immediate….
In the photo, she stands right behind the mike stand on the right. If you can find her, you have excellent vision!
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published a tribute .
How can such a precious life disappear so fast? we were too comfortable in our dreams rejoicing what was borrowed to us.
Everyone touch by Jin’s life will for ever be grateful, she was very special! Thank you very much for this special life that had touched our lives in a special way. Long Live Jin.
Rest In Peace!
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published a tribute .
Jin was a fighter, defending the rights of of the voiceless!
RIP
Comrade
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published a tribute .
After graduating from Toronto University, she worked in Toronto as a counselor for a community organization, assisting newly arrived immigrants find jobs, access government services, and integrate into their new communities. Then, one day, she wanted to travel alone to India. There, she met many wonderful people, including loving families who took her in for many days.
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published a tribute .
She was one of those people who could light a fire. Above all, her ability to inspire others we are missing. I'm very greatful that I meet her a few times.
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published a tribute .
I am grateful that I had the opportunity to meet Jin Sook and be inspired by her commitment and level of energy. I remember meeting her for the first time in a meeting in Dehli and how she almost frightened me with her drive!
Today I work from Jin's office every day and I can feel how the walls around me carry her expectations. I will do my very best to meet those expectations. While hoping that wherever she is, she knows that we all do our utmost to carry her work forward and that all the work done within these walls will be done in her honour.
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published a tribute .
My Sister, My Comrade, My Friend Jin Sook Lee, you have touched our lives in a positive way, left a mark that cannot be erased by no one!
You were our shoulder to cry on, your ear to listen to our challenges we will for ever be grateful, for the Mark you have left.....Long Live Jin Let your Memory Lives On!
We are for ever grateful to your family especially your daughters for sharing your life with us, as wise and humble as you were! Rest In Peace Sis.
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published a tribute .
We pray for jin sook Lee who passed away one year before she was a brave and competent leader in the world and served the working class with all best ability she was shinning like sun .Thankfully for her best and excellent activities .God bless her grave
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published a tribute .
You inducted me into Global Unionism, we will not rest until the workers struggle is achieved, young people included in decision making and gender equality is an everyday life.
published a comment .
Comrade SinJook, your presence will still be in the memories of all activist trade unionists, your courage in fighting worker's rights will still motivate us to achieve what you have started.
We miss you comrade Sinjook, continue your rest in peace
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published a tribute .
Dear JIn I remember you coming to Japan many times and working for Japanese construction workers. It was my last visit to the ILO office in 2019. I will never forget your smile. Thank you very much. ZENKENSOREN JAPAN Keiji KATSUNO
published a comment .
You left too early. There is so much happening now that your thoughts and energy would have made so much difference in moving forward. We continue knowing that the partnerships we have established are something you would be more than pleased to see. Your flame continues to burn.
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published a tribute .
Some people leave a bigger mark in their efforts to make the world a better place. Jin Sook did that by always putting other people's welfare before her own, she burnt her candle in both ends and her family tried to help her slow down. I remember when they came up to the house to tell us about the first cancer.. After that she made even more efforts for others.. She made her mark and a real difference for many migrant and other workers. RIP
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published a tribute .
Jin Sook Lee siempre fue y será una de las personas más inspiradoras dentro del movimiento sindical que muchos hayamos conocido. Muchas gracias por el legado. Prometemos continuar la lucha
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published a tribute .
Thank you, Jin for your work. It still gives resultat and inspiration.
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published a tribute .
I will never forget your willingness to help another tradeswomen. I reach out Jin from the US to help a group of Tradeswomen develop a global network to connect rank and file members around the world. Although our group is small Jin 's help was invaluable. I only had the pleasure of meeting her once but I new she was a force. Rest in Power Sister
published a comment .
Kathleen and I and other s who are writing are founders of Building Bridges: the North American Network of Women Working in the Construction Trades. We exist because of Jin Sook's inspiration. I was -- I realized later-- some of those phone calls she might have let go of but did not as we planned what would have been the first international tradeswomen's conference in Madrid. It did not happen but it will and when it does, it will be dedicated to Jin Sook Lee, the women who believed that women construction workers can unite across the globe. !Presente! my sister.
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published a tribute .
We first met in the year 2012 during the Africa and the Middle East Regional Conference of BWI which was held in Nigeria she was very receptive we talked about gender issues she gave me her words of encouragement which later became a guide for me when handling gender related issues in the trade union indeed she was a strong voice for gender issues ... The legacy she left behind will never be forgotten by the many lives she touched.
May her gentle soul continue to rest in perfect peace Amen
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published a comment .
Jin Sook leaves a huge hole in our world..her friendship, passion for justice and strategic thinking was a great comfort and support for all of us. Rest In Peace Jin and please know you will always be with us in spirit.
published a comment .
Nunca olivaré nuestra conversación en abril del 2016 cuando me dabas ánimo para seguir adelante con nuestra enfermedad en común, me contabas tu experiencia y tu positivismo para salir ganar esta batalla. En el 2020 perdí a mi gran compañera Jin y mi hermana Gladys, esto me ha dado más fortaleza para seguir luchando y ganando todas las batallas de esta enfermedad, Descansa en paz Jin, seguiremos tu ejemplo como nos ha enseñado,
published a comment .
Poco tiempo conociendo a Jin, pero había escuchado tantas cosas buenas. Se nos fue una excelente compañera de trabajo, un ejemplo de ser humano, un alma alegre y trabajadora.
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published a comment .
Jin Sook Lee fue una gran compañera de trabajo: incansable, pero siempre atenta y paciente para ayudar a todos y todas. Exigente, vigilante de la calidad y objetividad de los procedimientos. Además una persona siempre amable y compañera.
published a comment .
Jin Sook Lee querida compañera , una ferviente militante de los derechos de las mujeres y de la lucha sindical, que dejó su huella en ICM y que siempre estará presente.
Desde UOCRA Argentina nos sumamos a este merecido y sentido homenaje.
published a comment .
Gracias Jin Sook Lee, por tu apoyo en todas las tareas que emprendimos en el equipo de la ICM, por tu alegría frente a lo simple y sencillo y tu empuje y coraje frente a la adversidad.
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published a tribute .
Il y a quelque chose de plus fort que la mort, c'est la présence des absents dans la mémoire des vivants. Merci pour tout ce que tu as donné, merci pour ce que tu as été.
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published a tribute .
Jin,
Il restera de toi…
Il restera de toi ce que tu as donné.
Au lieu de le garder dans des coffres rouillés.
Il restera de toi de ton jardin secret,
Une fleur oubliée qui ne s’est pas fanée.
Ce que tu as donné, en d’autres fleurira.
Celui qui perd sa vie, un jour la trouvera.
Il restera de toi ce que tu as offert
Entre les bras ouverts un matin au soleil.
Il restera de toi ce que tu as perdu
Que tu as attendu plus loin que les réveils,
Ce que tu as souffert, en d’autres revivra.
Celui qui perd sa vie, un jour la trouvera.
Il restera de toi une larme tombée,
Un sourire germé sur les yeux de ton coeur.
Il restera de toi ce que tu as semé
Que tu as partagé aux mendiants du bonheur.
Ce que tu as semé, en d’autres germera.
Celui qui perd sa vie, un jour la trouvera.
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published a tribute .
Jin Sook had a rare intelligence, sense of strategy, and capacity for work. However, they were all driven by an impressive commitment to and passion for trade unionism and social justice. Wherever and whenever people were treated unfairly, whether it was women, migrants or any other group or person excluded from the good graces and rewards of life, she was there. She knew that righting injustices meant shifting the balance of power. Jin Sook left us a year ago, but she will always be present in our hearts, in our lives, and in our movement.
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published a tribute .
Jin Sook was an inspiration, a sister in our struggle for global justice and worker's rights. She was a soul mate and friend. I miss Jin Sook very much indeed and my one regret is that I did not meet her sooner. That said the campaigns Jin Sook led with incredible outcomes are her legacy that lives on. I more or less always took Jin Sook's advice and tips, including the crab cakes in her favourite Washington haunt. To Jin Sook's family I say we feel her loss and yet blessed to have known her, she was so proud of you too. That we lost Jin Sook in Spring as the sap is rising feels symbolic of what we know would be her wish, that we unite and carry forward the struggle she was dedicated to. With love.
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published a tribute .
I had the pleasure to spend time and work with Jin Sook on many different issues. At one point it seemed like we were following each other around the globe. She was always good company and a passionate champion for BWI and the work being carried out. Her spirit lives on in all the regions and through the legacy of strong independent unions she helped to build.
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published a tribute .
Dear Jin, you will be always remembered! I learned so much from you and I hope that I am implementing it in best way. No matter how, but you are with us!
published a comment .
Dear Jin Sook , we will always remember You.. You are in our thoughts
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Dear Jin Sook, incredible woman and colleague, I am still finding myself dreaming that we are meeting at the office and going to have a dinner to evaluate the day and to laugh to foolish things.
And I can still not find the strength not to cry while I am thinking of you. Missed your calls, your directions, your jokes. Your ambitions energetic voice. I hope you are peaceful wherever you are now. Love you XX Gulsah
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published a tribute .
Jin, allways a good friend and a comrade in our commune cause. We miss you.
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Jin Sook Lee: comrade, friend, sister
by Carmel Abao, Philippines
Comrade
Jin Sook and I had a number of mutual friends in the labor movement. I think it was Ambet who first introduced us to each other. I also remember chatting with her and Elizabeth Tang (formerly Chief Executive of the HKCTU and now General Secretary of the International Domestic Workers Federation or IDWF) in Hong Kong. Drinking coffee with her and Tos Annonuevo (BWI Education Secretary) in Geneva and milk tea with her and Dong Tolentino (BWI Asia-Pacific Represenative) in Malaysia. And having dinners with her and good friends Tes Borgonos (formerly BWI Asia-Pacific staff) and Ellene Sana (Executive Director of Center for Migrant Advocacy Philippines) whenever she would be in Manila.
My earliest collaboration with Jin Sook as BWI Global Campaigns Coordinator was in 2007 when I did the evaluation of the BWI-FNV Project on Organizing and Networking Migrant and Cross Border Workers in Asia. Back then, even trade unionists held the misconception that “migrants steal local jobs” and this BWI-FNV project was meant to build solidarity among unionists – migrant or otherwise – within BWI. From then on, I collaborated with Jin Sook on many migrant workers’ campaigns especially for the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) and other such global forums.
I also worked with Jin Sook in three Global Summer Schools for BWI Youth Leaders: in Germany in 2013, in the UK in 2017, in the Netherlands in 2019. Jin Sook was very hands on in the design and implementation of these youth summer schools, especially the first two (she was already quite sick by the time of the third Summer School). Through this collaboration, I got to know Jin Sook as the BWI “whip” (to borrow Ambet’s term) or “bad cop” (my term) -- always demanding for deliverables and expected outcomes. Jin Sook was fierce at work but she was also very compassionate. She always made sure that everyone around her were well taken cared of.
I never collaborated with Jin Sook on the BWI Qatar project but I know this was one of the projects closest to her heart. She would always update me about this project (even if I wasn’t involved in it) and I think she was greatly challenged by the fact that this was the GCC and in this region, trade unionism was the exception and not the norm.
Jin Sook was never the type to be intimidated by challenges. I think she even loved these challenges. Her goals for the BWI campaigns were very clear to her and she would always walk (run) the extra mile to achieve these goals. She was never a whiner. She was always a problem-solver.
Jin Sook also never cared for labels. In all the years that I worked with her, I could see that her politics was very left-leaning, very feminist and very green. But I never heard her claim to be any of those. Perhaps she didn’t really need to as the body of work she produced already speaks of all that.
Friend
I think Jin Sook and I became friends and not just comrades when we started talking about our personal lives. We would talk about problems and challenges at work. About how difficult it was to be women in very male-dominated union movements and political movements. We would also talk about our dreams – about what we wanted to do outside of work. About where we wanted to go for vacations. And we talked a lot about food. Jin Sook had lived in various parts of the globe but to her, South Korea would always be home because she loved Korean food the best. We always talked about eating Korean food – in Korea. (Alas, this never happened!).
I remember asking her how she managed being away from her family very often and for long periods of time. I will never forget her reply. She said “don’t think so much about the distance. Don’t dwell on family. Just focus on your work. But when your daughters call you, you pick up that phone, any time of the day. It doesn’t matter where you are or what you’re doing – you drop whatever it is you’re doing and you pick up that phone”. (I have been following this advise since. Everytime I leave my family to go abroad for work, I always tell them: Call me, anytime. And I do pick up that phone everytime family calls.)
Sister
I believe Jin Sook became my sister the moment she shared with me her struggle with breast cancer in 2013. I remember admiring her spirit. She was always very positive. And she never stopped working.
The only time she shared negative thoughts with me was when her cancer re-emerged in 2019, this time, as uterine cancer. I remember her ranting: “I’m very angry. Why didn’t anyone tell me six years ago that I could get uterine cancer after getting breast cancer”? I remember humoring her and saying: “Oh no. They forgot to tell you that the breast and the uterus are cousins”. And she laughed so hard when I told her that. “I know, right?”, she quipped.
When Jin Sook had breast cancer and had to go through chemotheraphy, her major concern was losing her hair. She had beautiful black, straight hair. I remember she even wrote an essay about this. About losing hair.
When she had uterine cancer, her major concern became her digestive system. She already anticipated that this would be a side effect of her radiotherapy. One of her last emails to me was about this. I had suggested that she replace her coffee with a fresh ginger drink. Her reply was heart-wrenching: “I forgot about the ginger. These days I am making daily ginger honey tea for my daughter as she has a sore throat. I should do it for myself. Funny how your children come first even when you are sick.”
Jin Sook struggled with cancer in the same way she struggled for workers’ rights: always headstrong. And always reflective.
published a comment .
Still thinking of you and missing you Jin, my comrade, friend, sister.
published a comment .
Dear Carmel,
We’ve never met, at least that’s my recollection, though my memory is sketchy these days.
I don’t remember your face, but I remember you by your name and the stories I’ve heard about you through Jin Sook.
Yes, I know for certain that you two were sisters. You two were comrades, joined in a grueling struggle to make this world a little better, a little more fair for all.
Thank you for your lovely words. The reservoir of anguish that I’ve been containing in my heart heaved a bit due to your words. I’m afraid of surrendering myself to my feelings because the walls could crack and the reservoir could flood out into the open. I can’t afford to be a mess now, not until I feel my girls and I have landed safely on our feet. We still have ways to go, so I’m grieving in tiny increments… a little thought, a little sadness, a little regret, here and there.
Thank you again for your words of remembrance.
Kyung Kyu Lim from Geneva
published a comment .
Dear Kyung Kyu, yes, we have never met but Jin Sook also shared stories about you. Nice stories of course!
I understand how hard it must be for you since you are Jin’s family. But I have no doubt that you and your daughters will get through this grief, precisely because you are family.
I hope to meet you and your daughters one day so that I can attach names and faces to the wonderful stories that Jin had shared with me about her family. Till then, hope you all stay safe and well.
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published a tribute .
You left a vacuum that no one can fill but we thank God for the time you lived as you left the footprints on the sands of time through defending the workers' rights with all your wisdom, knowledge and power. RIP my dear.
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published a tribute .
When i first met you i was new for the trade union movement. After few meetings, i saw in you a powerful women who has a little girl's heart.
Without knowing you took my hands and lead me to the right way of doing my work... you made me fall deeply fall in love with my work and that defending workers' rights is the air i am breathing.. through you i enjoyed everything i do for the BWI..
You were my role model..
I still remember when you asked me to do a simultaneous interpretation in Tunisia in 2012 and it was my 1st time.. that day you weren't happy so instead of translating i was telling you jokes and you laughed from your heart.
In 2018 and 2019 we were discussing alot of matters and sometimes you were not happy with my performance, untill we solved it when you knew what i was passing through..
Our last phone call in February 2020, you told me: Wassim you have to be proud of what you have achieved and i want to see more because you have the skills so just be brave.. i told you: Just guide me and you know that working with you is a joy for me.. you replied: we will meet soon and i will engage you more in our communication and campaign work..
You left, yes you left to a better place, but i want you to know that everyday passes i remember you, sometimes i cry and other times i feel strong and say i want to show Jin Sook that i can do it.
You are my role model Jin Sook, and i promise you to keep up the good work.
You will never die on my heart and thoughts, your positivity and good spirit will remain leading me my sister and Friend
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Jin Sook Lee-In Remembrance
By Bill Street
“Don’t waste anytime mourning-organize”
Joe Hill, 1915 A martyred Swedish American trade union organizer.
Each and every one of us is born with a mission, that one thing that we are literally born to do. For the majority of us we spend our life searching for it. Many never find it. Others can vaguely make out the outlines of what their life’s work could be. Then there are those few who know, who almost seem as if they were born knowing. They possess and radiate a type of personal destiny.
Of those who know even a smaller percentage, a much smaller percentage, are willing to accept the challenge and sacrifice of having found their life’s work, to do their life’s work. These extremely rare individuals do not merely accept their destiny, they embrace it and excel. This microcosm of humanity, who are completely dedicated to their life’s work, who fully embrace every aspect of it, are a challenge for those of us still searching. Their absolute unwavering confidence, their commitment is hard for to us to understand. Their willingness to sacrifice for those of us among the general population leave us with with a sense of awe and wonderment.
Jin Sook Lee was such a person. She was born to organize. Speaking truth to power was of little use to her if the voice speaking was not supported by millions of other voices. She was the archetype campaigner for social justice for workers and especially those workers facing the harshest abuse.
She understood long before others that migrants were denied basic human rights by virtue of not being citizens of their adopted county. She experienced first hand and fought everyday against sexism both in the workplace and in the union. She was determined that her children would grow up in a better world then they were born into.
I first met her in an IFBWW organizer training workshop in Indonesia. Her confidence which some saw as brashness and her energy and fearlessness others mistook as ambition. What I saw was an organizer. An organizer who would set up the meeting, make sure the details were covered, lead the meeting, and take the group to the streets all with equal aplomb and ease.
Her campaign planning skills were uncanny. She could assess a situation and find that point of vulnerability in her corporate opponents. For those making millions off the backs of workers, many of whom were barely surviving, she gave no quarter. She could find that place where minimum resistance would yield maximum results. Be it on the picket line or in the streets when others questioned their own resolve she would be a beacon of strength. In those moments she was truly fearless.
She was proud of her heritage. When South Korea won a medal in the Olympics, a moment she shared with her family, her eyes beamed with joy recounting the look of confirmation she saw in her children’s eyes.
The world today, and I do not exaggerate when I say the “world”, is a better place because of who she was and how she lived. She touched the life of migrants, and woman, Middle East construction workers, brick makers in India, and descendants of slaves in Virginia in ways they will never know.
We will all soldier on, she would have wanted us to, no she would have demanded it.
It is a sad day for the deities. Because if there is any injustice in the afterlife, Jin Sook Lee is already organizing the angels and divas to engage in the eternal struggle for justice for which she was born to do.
published a comment .
Dear Bill,
Thank you for your remembrance of Jin Sook. Thank you for understanding who she was.
Jin Sook held deep affection and respect for many people. I knew this due to the way she spoke about them. I’m certain you were one of them. Her trust in you was ironclad. Your words of advice were always treasured.
Thank you!
--Kyung Kyu Lim
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published a comment .
Dear Gail,
I never thanked you for your words of reflection. Thank you! Thank you!
I cried when I read your words, so fresh as the air of the wee hours of the morning that you composed them. Jin Sook’s sisters also cried, knowing their sister was so loved by another equally beautiful soul.
The difference of culture, ethnicity, upbringing—which so often divide people—seemed to have enriched the relationship between two powerful women, who could stare down a tiger, who often stared down their adversary across the table at so many negotiations. You two were comrades, sisters, soul mates.
I was very privileged to know something about you, not only due to the knowledge communicated though Jin Sook’s words but also through the spirit and affection of those words that she spoke about you.
Thank you!
-- Kyung Kyu Lim
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published a tribute .
I was blessed to know you and treasure the time we had together. It’s been a year now and I miss you so much. You will always be in my heart. To Jin, my dearly departed friend, comrade, sister – your spirit will never fade and the time we had be a constant reminder of how special you were to me. Your guidance and patience no matter what I was doing has helped develop me into the person I am today, you instil the fighting spirit in me - fighting for justice for workers/ migrants/ women.
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published a comment .
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