Coupang logistics center and green juice delivery part-time job experiences have been shared by Park Ji-hyun, the former Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea. On the 19th, she articulated her thoughts on the realities and structural issues surrounding dawn delivery. Recently, Park has been updating mainly on her labor site experiences rather than political scenes. She stated, “We need to question again the cost of the ‘speed’ and ‘convenience’ we enjoy.”
On this day, Park posted an article titled “Daily Wage of 190,000 Won, the Real Story Behind It” on Facebook, where she detailed the behind-the-scenes of the high allowance she received during her September dawn shift part-time job at the Coupang logistics center. She noted that she worked from 1 AM to 9 AM and received 199,548 won, which became a talking point.
In her post, she disclosed the promotional conditions set by Coupang. These included clauses such as no work history in the last 28 days for new helpers, invalidation of the promotion if late or leave early, non-overlap with other promotions, and non-eligibility for CLS contract applicants.
She pointed out, “These phrases mean that the high hourly wage is not a reward for existing workers but a one-time bait to attract new manpower.”
She continued, stating, “The actual work was arduous and intense. Although the 190,000 won was the price for my physical strength and time, I have never seen the same promotional text since. The longer you work, the more the allowance actually decreases.”
She mentioned reactions from fellow part-time workers, like “I ran away after 4 hours,” and confessed, “I also wanted to escape, but if I left early, I would have to give up the high allowance, so I endured till the end.”
Park expressed regret, saying, “I was embarrassed to be focused solely on the excuse of ‘I was really doing the part-time job you told me to do’ when I should have been addressing structural problems as a politician. Yet, I lingered in personal experience.”
Park concluded from her labor site experiences that it is a “structure that is difficult to overturn with individual will.” She said, “In the past, I only saw the pouring goods, but now the lives of those moving those goods come to mind first.”
Regarding the recent social debate on the ‘ban on dawn delivery,’ Park emphasized the need for structural reform.
Reflecting on her experience, Park stated, “Now I understand that certain labor is indeed someone’s livelihood, occurring within a structure that cannot be overturned by individual will.”
She further questioned, “Even knowing this reality, can you say that dawn delivery is essential, where people whose lives are urgent have to make a ‘forced’ choice, not a ‘choice’?”
Finally, Park emphasized, “I believe that politics and change start by acknowledging the cost behind speed and convenience.”