28년 만의 첫 휴가 ‘택배 없는 날’ 도입...방긋 웃는 기사들과 응원하는 시민들<br /><br />For the first time in almost 30 years of South Korea's shipping and delivery history, the couriers get a day off.<br />Orders have soared in recent months as people look to avoid contact amid COVID-19, and five major delivery companies have finally agreed to participate in the nationwide "no delivery day" on August 14th.<br />Our Choi Jeong-yoon shows us the life of a deliveryman in Korea.<br />Delivery workers in South Korea are tied into an employment system that doesn't give them basic labor rights.<br />44-year-old Kwon Dong-wook has been working in the industry for 7 years, but has not gone on a single vacation in that time.<br />350 boxes... sometimes even as many as 500.<br />That's the number of packages he has to deliver in a single day.<br />"I leave home at 6 in the morning and work on average 12 to 13 hours a day. With today's workload, I expect to finish after 7 PM or it could go on until midnight."<br />A lack of employment rights means delivery workers can't take time off even when they're sick or have broken bones.<br />To take a day off, they have to hire someone from an agency, which costs them more money than they receive from the delivery company.<br />But for the first time in 28 years, they might finally be able to take a break.<br />Five major delivery firms have agreed to not receive any orders on August 14th.<br />With National Liberation Day on Saturday this year, making Friday a "no delivery day" gives the workers three full days of vacation.<br />"It's the first time that I get to go on a long vacation with such a light heart. My family is also excited. We are planning to go somewhere far this time."<br />"But for this ‘no delivery day’ to work properly, it will require active cooperation from consumers.<br />So people are voluntarily holding off from ordering on the one or two days before."<br />"Delivery services have made our lives so much easier. I make two to three orders a week. But if deliverymen get to go on holidays by me not ordering, I will stop my orders and give up that convenience for a few days."<br />This first official holiday is the result of years of fierce struggles by the union.<br />Four deaths from overwork occurred in the industry in this year alone.<br />"We couldn't get the companies on board until now. But with public sentiment supporting us and demanding that firms respect our rights, we made such a change all together."<br />A day dedicated to delivery workers is a historic move towards an improvement in labor rights.<br />But in order for this 'no delivery day' to be more than just a one-time event, institutionalizing an official holiday for the workers is necessary.<br />Choi Jeong-yoon, Arirang News.<br />
