General Assembly

Newly elected directors

Yesterday I attended Hansalim’s General Assembly which was held in Daejeon. The elected representatives from each cooperative and producers association as well as each of the other parts of Hansalim came together to hear reports of the previous year’s activities, the financial state of the business operations, the auditors report and the exciting progress with a new initiative creating multi-stakeholder care cooperatives.

There was a buzz of excitement at the meeting as people greeted each other and caught up during the breaks.

There was frequent cheering as the election of a new president and 22 new representatives was announced and they were confirmed by a final vote and welcomed into their new positions.

All in all, it was a lovely experience to see the elected representatives of each part of Hansalim greeting each other warmly and reflecting together on the challenges of the past year as well as their hopes for the future of the movement.

Gender representation

One thing that struck me as an outsider was the ratio of men to women among the representatives as a whole and the group of newly elected directors in particular.

It was very obvious that the majority of Hansalim’s leaders are women. Indeed, both the previous president and the incoming president of Hansalim are women. Yet Hansalim have never called themselves a women’s organization or a feminist movement. Rather they tend to think of themselves as a movement for the liberation of all people from the oppressive and coercive abuse of power. This goal brings to mind the type of movement described by bell hooks in her book “Feminist Theory.” One which seeks the end the oppression of all people - women, children and men - from every race and class.

This feature of Hansalim is becoming a key theme in my mind that I hope to explore further in my journal papers and book.