ID :
195177
Fri, 07/15/2011 - 09:50
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/195177
The shortlink copeid
Street vendors, day laborers feeling pinch from long rainy season
SEOUL, July 15 (Yonhap) -- This summer's unusually long rainy season is taking a bigger toll on street vendors and day laborers surviving hand to mouth as the continued wet weather has hit street business and halted construction work.
Kim Kwang-il, a 55-year-old street vendor, had to cut down his working days on the street near Insa-dong, a tourist shopping site in central Seoul, since the prolonged rainy season kicked off late last month. His wheeled-handcart shop has only been open seven days over the past three weeks due to the unceasing rain showers.
Full-time work at the street retail business he jointly runs with his wife earns Kim's family a monthly income of 2 million won (US$1,900) to 3 million won. But as he sits out more business days, the family income dwindles while fixed costs needed to maintain his cart's operation remain.
"After paying out insurance and monthly rent as well as other fixed expenses, even on a well-performing month's income we can hardly afford to live," Kim said on Friday.
As for fixed costs for his small business, every month Kim spends 300,000 won for storing and moving his fully-stocked cart, similar in size to a horse-drawn carriage. Electricity use and street occupancy costs him 150,000 won more, making the total unchanged expenses more than 400,000 won per month even for the time Kim is not on the street selling.
"Some street vendors resort to loan sharks to cover these expenses at times like these. And they have to wait for normal business conditions in order to pay back the money," according to Kim.
"If this pace of rain continues, our family of three's subsistence will be put at risk," he said.
Day laborers, who mostly find a day's work at Seoul's many construction sites, are also feeling the pinch from the prolonged rain-drenched summer.
Forecasts of repeated rain showers and drizzle brought scores of construction projects to a halt in the capital where a large part of the city is under construction all year round.
"In weather like this, we want to give jobs but can't help it," said a manager of an employment agency in central Seoul.
"Although rainy weather usually cuts down on jobs, the repeated rain showers (this year) slashed available jobs to almost 30 percent of normal," he said, declining to be named. "Some labor seekers leave this agency empty-handed and really furious."
Even landing a job for a day pays only 70,000 to 80,000 won and welfare support from the government is tight, said a day laborer who identified himself by his family name of Lee.
He gets work once every two to four days and even arriving at an employment agency early in the morning rarely turns up anything, the 53-year-old said.
"I can't afford to live in these conditions. I wish I could work even during the rainy days," he noted. "I'm wondering if the government has new support measures for these conditions."
Kim Kwang-il, a 55-year-old street vendor, had to cut down his working days on the street near Insa-dong, a tourist shopping site in central Seoul, since the prolonged rainy season kicked off late last month. His wheeled-handcart shop has only been open seven days over the past three weeks due to the unceasing rain showers.
Full-time work at the street retail business he jointly runs with his wife earns Kim's family a monthly income of 2 million won (US$1,900) to 3 million won. But as he sits out more business days, the family income dwindles while fixed costs needed to maintain his cart's operation remain.
"After paying out insurance and monthly rent as well as other fixed expenses, even on a well-performing month's income we can hardly afford to live," Kim said on Friday.
As for fixed costs for his small business, every month Kim spends 300,000 won for storing and moving his fully-stocked cart, similar in size to a horse-drawn carriage. Electricity use and street occupancy costs him 150,000 won more, making the total unchanged expenses more than 400,000 won per month even for the time Kim is not on the street selling.
"Some street vendors resort to loan sharks to cover these expenses at times like these. And they have to wait for normal business conditions in order to pay back the money," according to Kim.
"If this pace of rain continues, our family of three's subsistence will be put at risk," he said.
Day laborers, who mostly find a day's work at Seoul's many construction sites, are also feeling the pinch from the prolonged rain-drenched summer.
Forecasts of repeated rain showers and drizzle brought scores of construction projects to a halt in the capital where a large part of the city is under construction all year round.
"In weather like this, we want to give jobs but can't help it," said a manager of an employment agency in central Seoul.
"Although rainy weather usually cuts down on jobs, the repeated rain showers (this year) slashed available jobs to almost 30 percent of normal," he said, declining to be named. "Some labor seekers leave this agency empty-handed and really furious."
Even landing a job for a day pays only 70,000 to 80,000 won and welfare support from the government is tight, said a day laborer who identified himself by his family name of Lee.
He gets work once every two to four days and even arriving at an employment agency early in the morning rarely turns up anything, the 53-year-old said.
"I can't afford to live in these conditions. I wish I could work even during the rainy days," he noted. "I'm wondering if the government has new support measures for these conditions."
