The Smokestack

In Yu Gi-jeong’s “The Smokestack,” the factory girls at a large silk mill go on strike to protest the company’s plans to increase their working hours and lower their wages. After firing the commuter workers en masse, the management threatens to do the same to the workers living in the factory dormitories. Facing intensifying pressures, the factory girls struggle to maintain a brave united front. “The Smokestack” provides interesting insights into the historical lives of factory girls. Moreover, the short story, both in its subject matter and style, raises important and thought-provoking questions about the social role of art and the relations between literature and politics.