The motif of this book is the story of laborers dismissed by Cort Guitars (Cortek), a South Korean musical instrument manufacturer, who have struggled for ten years to regain their work. Writer Jeon Jin-gyeong set up a studio on the site of the company’s factory in Bupyeong/Incheon as a form of squatting and spent time with the firm’s workers there for ten months, from April 2012 to February 2013. She has written and illustrated this volume on the basis of that experience.
The Sound of a Guitar in an Empty Factory is a work that prompts even youngsters to ponder on the meanings of terms including “layoffs,” “unemployment,” “reinstatement struggles,” and “labor unions.” The book is expected to serve as an occasion for children to realize that such can apply to our own families and neighbors instead of existing simply in the news and to tak interest in social problems.